Infant

From the very first day, your child will experience a broad and balanced curriculum. We take pride in offering a teaching programme which educates each child academically, creatively, physically and spiritually. The smiling faces of our happy and ‘rounded’ children, alongside the evidence of their achievements, are living proof that our approach works.

Beyond the daily curriculum, children ‘grow’ in understanding and confidence through a range of experiences, and each gets the opportunity to ‘shine’ via a carefully considered programme of events throughout the year, from our Harvest Festival to our Christmas performances, and from Sports Day to Art Exhibitions. All children attain proud achievements through the year, and these are celebrated at our annual Prize Giving ceremony.

There are five year groups within the Infant Department, with up to three years in Foundation Stage (age 2 – 5) followed by the two years of Key Stage 1 (age 5 – 7).

Foundation Stage

Our setting is registered with Ofsted; children from the age of two can attend for as many sessions per week as their parents choose, can be cared for from 8:10am and up until 5:00pm (6:00pm from the September following their third birthday) and for anything between 36 and 50 weeks per year (including Kidzone), all at the convenience of their parents’ needs. We are also registered with the government’s Nursery Grant scheme, which gives a significant saving on school fees.

Our environment is very much play-led, yet carefully managed and monitored by staff to ensure that quality individualised teaching occurs; we quickly recognise each child’s gifts, talents and weaknesses and put appropriate opportunities and support in place, as required. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (go to www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/eyfs/site/index.htm for more details), yet our small family-sized groups and specialist staff enable us to offer so much more in terms of learning.

Even at this early stage, children benefit from the facilities and staff expertise available in a school which educates up to GCSE. Foundation Stage children have weekly swimming lessons in our own indoor heated pool. They also have weekly Music lessons with a specialist teacher and enjoy weekly computer lessons in the school’s networked ICT Suite.

As early as age 3, staff begin to put in place the early reading and writing skills, in a manner appropriately engaging for children of this age. It goes without saying that each child is heard to read daily, individually, by their class teacher, from the moment they are first emerging as early readers, to the end of their infant phase, and well into juniors.

Key Stage One

Throughout Key Stage One, the timetable is structured to allow the crucial skills of literacy and numeracy to be developed on a daily basis, with weekly lessons too in Science, ICT, Humanities, PE, Games, Swimming, Music, Art, DT, PSHE and RE. We follow the National Curriculum, but again, small class sizes allow us to enhance the children’s learning in each area. At this age, children also begin to participate in some of our extra-curricular Clubs (Spanish, Gym and Speech and Drama are all very popular).

Daily individual reading, both with the class teacher and with an adult at home, continue to feature as vital practice. By the end of Year 1, children start to bring home early spelling lists to learn for weekly tests; this prepares children for Year 2, when daily short homework tasks begin, alongside each evening’s reading.

Years 1 and 2 join the juniors each week for ‘Friday Prayers’, when children present ‘show and tell’ contributions on a rota basis, after sharing the day’s Bible lesson. From Year 1, specialist teaching opportunities extend further to include a weekly Design Technology lesson with our DT specialist teacher, as well as a structured Games lesson every Friday afternoon. Year 2 enjoy a weekly story session with our Year 3 teacher, to develop a firm relationship for the next year, when they transfer to juniors. In this way, end of year transition becomes stress-free for the most important people – our children.

Year 2 children take the Key Stage One SAT tests in May each year, and our track record on results demonstrates a consistently high standard of achievement. Year 2 children also participate in English Speaking Board exams at the end of the year, which begin to train them in the essential life skills of public presentation; ESB exams continue to feature throughout junior and senior years at Kingsmead.