TEACHING, LEARNING & CURRICULUM

RATIONALE

At Christ Church School we believe in the concept of lifelong learning. We maintain that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone: it should be fun. Through our teaching we equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to be able to make informed choices about the important things in their lives. We believe that appropriate teaching and learning experiences, based upon our central Christian beliefs and values, will enable children to lead happy and rewarding lives now and in the future.

PURPOSE & AIMS

Our aims for teaching and learning are that all children will be given equal opportunities to:

• Achieve their full potential in terms of academic progress, aesthetic appreciation and spiritual awareness, within a Christian ethos.
• Become confident, resourceful, enquiring and independent learners.
• Develop the Christian values of tolerance, understanding and sensitivity towards others.
• Show respect for all cultures, and in so doing, to promote positive attitudes towards other people.
• Foster children's self-esteem and help them build positive relationships with other people.

TEACHING, LEARNING & CURRICULUM SUCCESS CRITERIA

• To have created a stimulating and effective learning environment.
• To aim for outstanding teaching and learning at every level and in every phase.
• To develop fully within each child their academic and social potential.
• Within a Christian ethos to deliver effectively a broad and balanced curriculum which extends beyond the statutory requirements of the primary curriculum.

BROAD GUIDELINES

1. Teaching and learning is a process of co-operative teamwork and the involvement of parents and governors is welcomed and encouraged.
2. We aim to promote a high degree of individual pupil responsibility and involvement in learning. Within classrooms, resources are organised to enable independent access. Children are provided with challenging tasks, which support differentiation, and a variety of groupings are utilised. Teacher assessment is ongoing throughout the year (Please refer to the Assessment Policy).
3. All members of the school community work towards the school's aims by:

• Treating children as individuals and respecting their rights, values and beliefs.
• Fostering and promoting good relationships and a sense of belonging to the school community.
• Providing a well-ordered environment in which all are fully aware of behavioural expectations.
• Offer equal opportunities in all aspects of schools life and recognising the importance of different cultures.
• Encouraging children to take risks by providing exciting activities that stimulate, challenge and inspire.
• Encouraging, praising and positively reinforcing good relationships, behaviour and attitudes.
• Working as a team, supporting and encouraging each other.

TEACHING

Teachers at Christ Church School have high expectations of all children regardless of their starting points. They will offer a broad & balanced curriculum through quality first teaching through the following measures:

• Provide a challenging and enriching curriculum designed to enable all children to reach the highest standards of personal achievement.
• Recognise and be constantly aware of the needs of each individual child according to ability and aptitude.
• Ensure that all teaching is progressive and has continuity. Maintain an up to date knowledge of the school curriculum (including the current National Curriculum where appropriate) and the school's Schemes of Work.
• Work collaboratively with a shared philosophy and high standards of classroom practice.
• Keep the working environment tidy, stimulating, organised and attractive.
• Plan lessons with clear learning objectives.
• Write lesson plans that contain information about the tasks to be set, key questions to be asked, appropriate support, resources needed, and the way the children's work will be assessed. They will also be evaluated, so that they can be modified and improved for future teaching.
• Deploy teaching assistants and other adult helpers as effectively as possible.
• Reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses and plan their professional development needs accordingly.

CURRICULUM OUTLINE

The curriculum is organised into a subject-based approach. English and maths are taught in the mornings, along with school worship; the other subjects are taught in the afternoons.

A variety of modes of working are utilised:

• Group work, paired or individual tasks.
• Whole class teaching.
• Groups may be ability based or mixed ability depending on purpose.
• Relevant discussion and interactive, collaborative learning is encouraged.

In addition to class music lessons, children in Year 2 learn recorder. All children have the opportunity to take lessons in a wide range of musical instruments. Each year children can play in a number of extra concerts and performances.

PLANNING

Planning is a process in which all teachers are involved. Policy Documents and Schemes of Work are developed and revised by subject leaders in collaboration with the whole staff. Short, medium and long term plans, clearly identifying the learning taking place, are written by the teachers. Regular weekly staff training and general business meetings are used to discuss various aspects of teaching and learning to ensure consistency in approach and standards.

The Importance of Reading - read, read, read!

Recent research shows that only 32% of British children are read to daily by an adult.

Most parents stop reading to their children by the age of eight and only 19% of 8-10 year olds have a book read to them daily by an adult.  This is a tragedy!

Naturally, we want to encourage your child to develop their love of reading independently but we hope that you will also enjoy reading to & with your child.  It is a magical and valuable time to share with your child – a time that they will soon not allow you to share! 

Please relax, be silly and use different voices for various characters, model how to read expressively and, most importantly of all, enjoy yourself.  Books that look appealing to children of this age, often have more mature themes than the cover may suggest so it is important to ensure you are comfortable with exposing your child to the topics raised. 

This shared experience will often open the door to many meaningful conversations.  Below is a range of different books of different levels and different topics across the ages & stages within school. We hope you enjoy them! 

Do let us know how you get on and if you have any books you feel we need to read and add to our lists!