Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2

Thorntree Primary School is one-form entry with one class for each age group covering Nursery, Infant and Junior classes. Our classes are chronologically arranged as follows:

Classes	Number of Pupils	Ages
Nursery am (Acorns)	25	3-4
Nursery pm (Acorns)	25	3-4
Reception (Rowan)	30	4-5
Year 1 (Oak)	30	5-6
Year 2 (Silver Birch)	30	6-7
Year 3 (Willow)	30	7-8
Year 4 (Beech)	30	8-9
Year 5 (Ash)	30	9-10
Year 6 (Elm)	30	10-11

Early Years Foundation Stage - Nursery and Reception

Staff in our Nursery and Reception classes plan for our children's needs based on the three Prime and four Specific areas of Learning and Development from the statutory EYFS Curriculum:

(Prime Areas)

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
Communication and Language

(Specific Areas)

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

Children across the phase learn through well-planned and resourced play opportunities and enabling environments both indoors and outside which motivate children to plan and initiate their own independent activities. Children also regularly engage in activities led by adults.

We teach phonics using Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. We begin by teaching children grapheme-phoneme correspondence so that they know what sound each individual letter makes. Alongside this we teach the skill of blending so that children can read words made up of these sounds. Once children can read words by blending we send home phonetically decodable books so that reading can be shared with parents and carers. To encourage reading for pleasure, children in Reception and Year 1 can choose a class library book to take home, and children from Year 2 upwards choose a book from the school library.

Links to pages for the Nursery and Reception can be found in the 'Teaching and Learning' tab in the header above.

Key Stage 1 - Years 1 and 2

Children in Years 1 to 6 follow the National Curriculum, which is statutory. The National Curriculum Subjects are:

Core Subjects	Foundation Subjects
English	Design & Technology	Music
Maths	History	P.E.
Science	Geography	R.E.
Information & Communication Technology	Art	P.S.H.E. & Citizenship

However, in Key Stage 1 the children are not taught these subjects in isolation. They learn through a creative curriculum where subjects are inter-linked through topics such as 'What happened to the dinosaurs?', 'What is it like to live in a fantasy world?', 'What were homes like in the past?' and 'Why are rainforests important?'. They also read key texts linked to their topic which they explore through drama, art and other subject areas.

Working more creatively in this manner means that children are more engaged and their learning is more relevant. For example, in our Dinosaur topic in the autumn term, the children dug up dinosaur bones in our woods and then wrote reports on their excavation and what they found (Literacy). They looked at survival, extinction and classification of the dinosaurs (Science). They designed their own Thorntree-saurus. They experimented with skin textures, patterns and camouflage (Art).

Key Stage 1 is slightly more formal than the Foundation Stage so to ease them in gently there is a transition phase at the beginning of Year 1. This helps them settle in well.

We teach daily phonics lessons following Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised.

National Curriculum tests (Standard Assessment Tests) KEY STAGE 1

Key Stage 1 pupils are assessed in Year 2 when they are 6/7 years old. The teacher assesses their performance in Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Mathematics and Science according to the Expected Standards for their year group. Parents are informed of the results. For more detailed information about assessment in the school please refer to the Assessments Page under the Information tab.

At the end of Year 1 the children take part in a statutory national phonics test.

Links to Years 1 and 2 can found in the 'Teaching and Learning' tab in the header above.

Key Stage 2 - Years 3, 4, 5 and 6

Children in Years 3 to 6 follow the National Curriculum, which is statutory. The National Curriculum Subjects are:

Core Subjects	Foundation Subjects
Literacy	Design & Technology	Modern Foreign Language	Music
Numeracy	History	P.E.
Science	Geography	R.E.
ICT	Art	P.S.H.E. & Citizenship

Throughout Key Stage 2 pupils are encouraged to become a little more independent and responsible for their learning. Each child is increasingly involved in the setting and achievement of their own personal targets.

At Thorntree we are keen to encourage other areas of learning too. The children in Key Stage 2 have instrumental lessons each week and begin to learn French. Music and PE are considered a strength at the school. There is a variety of after-school and lunchtime clubs too to further widen their horizons.

There are 2 residential visits in KS2. In Year 5 the children go to Arethusa in Rochester for 3 days and in Year 6 the children go to Swanage for a week.

National Curriculum tests (Standard Assessment Tests) KEY STAGE 2

Key Stage 2 pupils are assessed in Year 6 when they are 10/11 years old. These tests are always in May. Children do practice tests in class in a relatively relaxed atmosphere to familiarise themselves with the test papers and procedures so that they are well-prepared. The children are assessed according to the Expected Standards for their year group and parents are informed of their results. For more detailed information about assessment in the school please refer to the Assessments Page under the Information tab.

At the end of Key Stage 2 children move on to secondary school and we help with this process through holding ‘transition information’ evenings and by distributing information supplied for you by Greenwich Council.

Links to Years 3,4,5 and 6 can found in the 'Teaching and Learning' tab in the header above.