School Information
COLNEY HEATH General Information Booklet
Organisation
Foundation Stage Ages 3 -5 Nursery and Reception Early Years Foundation Stage
Key Stage 1 Ages 5 -7 Years 1 and 2
Key Stage 2 Ages 7 -11 Years 3, 4, 5 and 6
The Foundation Stage has six areas of learning:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication, language and literacy
- Problem solving, reasoning and literacy
- Knowledge and understanding of the world
- Physical development
- Creative development
Key Stages 1 and 2: teach the National Curriculum:
- English
- Maths
- Science
- Design and technology
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- History
- Geography
- Art and design
- Music
- Physical education
Colney Heath also teaches religious education, though parents have the right to withdraw children for all or part of the religious education curriculum. In addition, schools are advised to teach personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship.
The school teaches French from Year 3 as its chosen modern foreign language.
The Curriculum
Colney Heath School has a systemic process for planning and organising the curriculum. It is a process which manages the curriculum through subjects but allows flexibility in its delivery. The broad, balanced topic approach continues to be used with discreet subject teaching in certain subjects, e.g. Mathematics, English and Science. Our emphasis is on skills based progression in all areas of the curriculum.
Our curriculum design is structured to provide continuity of learning within and across both key stages. Careful planning ensures that each topic or unit of work recognises and builds on the learning that has gone before.
Early Years Education (Nursery and Reception)
The Early Years Foundation stage statutory framework sets out standards for development, learning and care of children from birth to five. It requires early year’s practitioners to assess each child in the academic year that he/she reaches the age of five.
It is a distinct stage based on ongoing observation and assessment in six areas of learning and development as follows:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication, language and literacy
- Problem solving, reasoning & numeracy
- Knowledge and understanding of the world
- Physical development
- Creative development
The areas of learning set out what most children are expected to know, understand and be able to do by the end of the foundation stage.
National Curriculum (Year 1 to Year 6)
This is sub-divided into:
| Core subjects | Foundation subjects | Cross Curricular Issues |
| English, mathematics, science, information technology, religious education (Parents may request children’s withdrawal from RE in which case alternative curriculum-based activities will be provided.) | History, geography, design and technology, music, art, physical education, french | e.g. Sex education, health education, citizenship |
We use a variety of teaching styles which include whole class, group and individual teaching as appropriate. Children are grouped within classes according to their ability in certain areas of the curriculum.
Phonics
Phonics is taught throughout the school. We use the Letters and Sounds approach which is introduced when the children join us in Nursery. Parents have the opportunity to attend information sessions to help them support their children at home. The school also has a Phonic Games Lending Library.
Sex Education
Where sex education arises naturally in our curriculum activities, the subject is handled in a factual and yet sympathetic manner. Puberty and personal relationship education starts from Year 5. We would seek your permission for the children prior to these sessions and ask that you put in writing if you wish to withdraw your child from these sessions.
Music
Music is taught within each class setting. In Year 3 every child has weekly violin lessons which introduces them to the skills needed to learn a musical instrument. Paid lessons are then offered from Year 4 for those children who want to learn the violin further.