Spring Grove Prep Curriculum

Curriculum

The Prep curriculum covers Years 3 to 6 (Key Stage 2), when the children consolidate their KS1 learning and continue to develop their independence as they prepare for Year 6 and life beyond Spring Grove at their senior schools.

At Spring Grove we believe in offering a rich, broad and balanced curriculum for all our pupils. We try hard to make links in learning across lessons and across subjects where appropriate. At times we create focus weeks, where we come off-timetable to explore ideas, activities and knowledge linked to particular themes.

We believe that young learners thrive on the chance to perform, communicating their learning and their developing confidence through assemblies and other productions, meaning that time is dedicated to these activities throughout the year.

Everything in our curriculum is seen through the lens of our school values, and we aim to bring them alive in all we do: curiosity, confidence, creativity, craftsmanship, consideration and care.

Ms Earl (Deputy Head, Academic)

Curious and collaborative

Our values are embedded in all that we do at SG. Throughout our Prep curriculum children are encouraged to be curious, to work collaboratively to solve problems together and to ask the big questions. Having a Growth Mindset is key and we encourage all our children to be ‘can-do’ people. Craftsmanship is also important: we teach our children to show pride in what they do, learning from mistakes. Making mistakes is an essential part of learning and an indicator that our children are always pushing themselves to try more challenging and adventurous tasks.

We use topics to inspire the children and make their learning fun. Responsive Teaching is key for us; teachers use formative assessment every day to inform their teaching and planning. Teachers provide immediate, corrective, verbal feedback to support each child’s progress. All Prep children at Spring Grove have their own school Chromebook for use in the classroom.

Children in the Prep enjoy regular Forest School sessions, swimming lessons in the Summer and Autumn terms, and a range of trips linked to the curriculum. Each child also has their own Chromebook for use in the classroom. We offer specialist Sport, Music, Dance, Art and French teaching, as well as an increased use of specialist teachers for other subjects as children move towards Prep 6, taking advantage of the in-depth and expert knowledge of our staff and preparing the pupils for their transition to secondary education.

Prep Curriculum: Maths

Following mastery pedagogy, teachers review previous learning, know what each pupil can do and have an understanding about each pupil’s way of thinking.

Teachers explain and introduce new content in small chunks.
Teaching is carefully sequenced, progressing learning.
Teachers model skills and thinking – they think out loud so children hear how they might go about solving a problem.
Teachers provide the opportunity to practise (known as deliberate practice) to embed knowledge, resulting in children being able to recall and demonstrate their knowledge in different contexts (including reading and problem solving) over time.

Through the Prep curriculum we concentrate on building an understanding of the basic processes of Maths; we value the repetition in our learning of tables. We learn to develop confidence and understanding in Maths through games, practical activities and challenges. We allow the children the opportunity to research and explore mathematical problems and we teach them how to set down their work on paper, or on their Chromebooks, with clarity and accuracy.

We ensure that all of our children are prepared for the Maths challenges they will face in their next schools when they leave Prep 6.

Prep Curriculum: English

“The value of English in the curriculum? What can I say? Without English, nothing, and without good English, nothing very well.”
Anne Fine

English is fundamental to every aspect of the curriculum, and at Spring Grove children are given the skills needed to develop their confidence in communicating effectively. English is taught with rigour and enthusiasm throughout the school, and we aim to develop each individual pupil’s full potential in reading, writing, and speaking and listening.

Our English curriculum is aligned to the National Curriculum but goes far beyond these national expectations. Our planning puts texts at the heart of what we do, helping the children to become expert readers and writers as well as confident speakers and careful listeners. English lessons enable children to share a wide variety of books and on-screen texts from all genres. Children are assessed regularly to ensure a smooth progression in skills and concepts, including application of spellings, punctuation and grammar. Spring Grove pupils thrive on being able to demonstrate their dramatic skills and knowledge of stories, both fictional and true, in their many performances to a range of audiences.

Pupils study an engaging and lively range of topics throughout their study of English, including poetry, Shakespeare, writing for different purposes, non-fiction texts and classic as well as picture books, contemporary novels and short stories. Drama is taught alongside English, with pupils assisted in their applications for Drama Scholarships should they wish to pursue this further.

There is a well-stocked school library as well as regular events to help inspire the children further, such as author visits, book fairs, World Book Day events, reading challenges, and more!