Education in Bettws
Lifehouse Lower Schools provides children with the opportunity to reimagine
their school experience. I am passionate about ensuring that our younger pupils
enjoy school and gain that firm foundation for future happiness and lifelong
learning; that they are able to unburden themselves of previous anxieties
around school and learn to love learning and love life.
In lower school we are
aspirational for all of our pupils. We aim to equip them with the academic,
creative, practical, personal, emotional regulation and social skills to
succeed in their Upper School years and to be ready for a happy and successful
journey into adulthood.
I am excited to
be able to bring my knowledge, skills, experience and passion for Lifehouse
Education to the position of Acting Faculty Manager of Lower School at
Kingsland Grange, working in partnership with the incredible Lower School staff
team and with Nici Jones, Head Teacher to bring the very best school experience
to our children.
Meg Jones Lower School Acting Faculty Manager
Curriculum At Lower School
Reading & Phonics
Pupils arrive in school at The
Lifehouse with variable English and Language experience and knowledge and with
variable levels of engagement in learning and mental wellbeing: their personal
experiences and successes in both written and spoken language can vary
significantly. We consider these prior experiences, as well as current
attainment, engagement levels and readiness to learn, with an aim to develop
our pupils’ language and literacy skills appropriately. We draw on a range of
strategies and materials including published schemes.
For reading and phonic learning, The DfE Letters and Sounds phonics programme is used in lower school,
alongside personalised programmes and plans drawing on age-appropriate reading
schemes and accessible material to promote learning through reading for
pleasure and purpose.
We use the Information and digital literacy
programme (IDL) to enable engaged learning for many of our pupils. It blends information literacies with digital capabilities
transcending technological skills and tools to identify with learning, living
and working in a fluid digital world.
Other programmes, schemes and strategies used
to develop language and reading skills including: Word Aware Star
Approach , ELKLAN word investigation, Nessy UK, Reading Eggs,
Oxford Reading tree and Barrington Stoke reading books.
Crucially for our
pupils, the Lifehouse language and literacy curriculum is fluid, flexible and
dynamic, to provide the best chance of motivating and engaging pupils to learn
and progress their written and oral expressive and receptive language skills
and to reach their potential.
SPaG & Writing
The
English National Curriculum, along with the individual child’s Education Health
Care Plan, previous experiences and attainment, inform the personalised
curriculum for SPAG and writing for each pupil. A range of strategies appropriate to each pupil are identified
to support maximum engagement in writing and progression of skills in spelling,
punctuation and grammar. Most pupils will have 3 to 5 English lessons per week,
with opportunity for shared lessons as well as targeted intervention and
practice for reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar as appropriate. Writing
skills are also developed through cross-curricular opportunities.
Where writing is proving to be a barrier to learning for a
pupil, innovative strategies and a balanced approach is applied to maximise progression
in writing and SPAG while also maximising engagement in learning and ensuring
all pupils achieve, succeed in and enjoy their learning experiences. Interventions
to support specific learning differences and to overcome barriers to writing are
used appropriately alongside identifying and developing independence in alternative
ways to evidence and communicate ideas which may be more appropriate for
everyday use for some pupils. These will often include use of technology, such
as voice-to-text software, audio and video recording.
Spelling is taught in conjunction with the letters and sounds
phonics programme, with tricky words, spelling patterns and technical
vocabulary being taught through additional spelling pattern schemes and through
interventions such as precision teaching, word investigation and scaffolding.
Digital Literacy
Digital Technology is embraced and used widely
throughout Lower school: as an engagement tool, a learning and communication
tool and importantly as a central curriculum area. The growing importance of ICT skills is well documented, with
skills that were once seen as high level increasingly seen as basic skills. In
an increasingly ICT-mediated society, digital life skills underpin both
employability and social inclusion.
Pupils arrive at The Lifehouse with variable ICT experiences,
knowledge and enthusiasm. We view these prior achievements and interests as an
advantage, personalising the digital literacy and ICT curriculum with
flexibility to match each pupil’s starting point, needs, abilities and
motivations as they progress into digitally literate young people.
Most
pupils receive discrete ICT lessons so that their learning experience allows
for progression through skills across a broad ICT curriculum. In addition, ICT
capability is delivered within subjects in every year group to every pupil. ICT
skills and knowledge are developed most effectively, and in a more relevant and
purposeful way when used during integrated learning activities.
Pupils in lower
school develop skills in word, data,
audio and visual processing; in digital communication and presentation. They acquire
and use a range of digital literacy skills to record ideas and evidence
learning, learning to store and retrieve files and information efficiently. Digital
learning opportunities include a wide range of activities, such as everyday
word processing, making and sharing a presentation on a theme or project, using
creative programmes to manipulate images for artistic effect, website building.
Maths & Numeracy
The Maths National Curriculum, along with the individual child’s
Education Health Care Plan, previous experiences and attainment, inform the
personalised curriculum for maths & numeracy for each pupil.
Personal outcomes and the National Curriculum Programme of study
are used to inform bespoke curriculum planning.
A range of strategies appropriate to each pupil are identified
to support maximum engagement in mathematical learning and explorations and
progression of skills in numeracy including Maths Watch, Corbet Maths and Framework Maths. Most pupils will have 3 to 5 Maths lessons
per week, with opportunity for shared lessons as well as targeted intervention
and practice.
Mathematics, numeracy,
and statistics are tools for everyday life. They incorporate a whole network of
concepts and relationships which provide a way of viewing and making sense of
the world. Where maths (or the thought of maths!) is proving to be a
barrier to learning for a pupil, innovative strategies and a balanced approach
is applied to maximise progression in mathematical skills, knowledge
understanding while also maximising engagement in learning and ensuring all
pupils achieve, succeed in and enjoy their learning experiences.
Learning and using mathematical reasoning to problem solve
through practical activities: how will we measure out the flour? How will we
work out how much wood we will need? Do we need a smaller or a larger piece of
paper for this activity? Contribute enormously to generating a child’s
motivation for and understanding of mathematical principles. Once a child is
hooked, then we will use that as a starting point for exploring the move into
more formal maths learning and intervention.
Science & Technology
The National Curriculum, along with the individual child’s
Education Health Care Plan, previous experiences and attainment, inform the
personalised curriculum for science and DT for each pupil.
Personal outcomes and the National Curriculum Programme of study
are used to inform bespoke curriculum planning.
Many of our pupils have a special interest or personality type which
lends itself to one particular Science subject or aspect of DT and we always
use previous learning and existing interests as the starting point to hook
children into scientific learning, engineering and technology.
Popular starting
schemes of work include: Fire and Explosions, Science and Nature; an
introduction to motor vehicles, home baking or woodwork.
Once a child is hooked, then we will use that as a starting
point for exploring the move into more formal scientific and technological learning
and in broadening out their Science and DT curriculum to cover a wide range of
programmes of study.
Progress and attainment is measured and tracked and used to
inform the next stage of planning.
Creative Arts
In Bettws Lifehouse lower school, creative
activities are part of every child’s personalised Curriculum. Art, music,
performing arts and creative design provide important regulating and calming
activity for many of our pupils and opportunity for all pupils to develop fine
motor skills, thinking and executive functioning skills as well as personal and
social skills.
Personal outcomes and the National Curriculum
Programme of study are used to inform bespoke curriculum planning.
As with all areas of the curriculum, our pupils
interest, motivation, talent and experiences vary enormously, and an important
part of The Lifehouse Lower School curriculum is to expand our pupils’
experiences and provide opportunities to develop skills across a broad range of
Arts and creative subjects and activities. The lower school Art and creative
curriculum is wide-ranging with new activities, skills and aspects being added
to the curriculum all the time to capture individual pupils imagination and
nurture personal interest and talent. It includes Art
and design, Creative
i-media, Craft
activities, Creative
design and technology activities ranging from junk modelling to wood and
metal work. Textiles, Performance
arts and Music.
The creative and art curriculum contributes
importantly to the social and emotional curriculum some pupils find some creative activities soothing and they are often
adopted as part of a child’s regulatory tool box ; for others an art or craft
activity can provide a safe space to work alongside another pupil and begin to
build friendships; dressing up and role play provide important opportunities to
develop speech and language and social communication skills, and the
opportunity to create and to perform can build confidence and self-esteem.
Physical Education
Nearly all pupils have days filled with practical and physical
activity: PE provides important regulating and proprioceptive activity for many
of our pupils and opportunity for all pupils to develop coordination skills.
Personal outcomes and the National Curriculum Programme of study
are used to inform bespoke curriculum planning.
Some of our pupils enjoy standard team and individual sports:
badminton, cricket and football are popular among many pupils. A personalised
game called Four-square is another Lifehouse favourite! Alongside standard and
team sports are endless alternative opportunities for physical activity and
exercise: Horse-riding, gardening, yoga, dance, hiking, parkour and running to
name but a few. Playground games, scooter boards and cycling also contribute to
the Lifehouse PE curriculum.
For some Lifehouse pupils, Sport, formal PE and outdoor games
are the highlight of their timetable, and a significant factor in their enjoyment
of school. Others are less experienced when they arrive in the benefits of
physical activity and are taught through experience to understand the benefits
of daily activity that raises their heart-rate and to experience the benefits
of regular physical activity. All lower school pupils take part in and enjoy regular
physical activity as part of their education for a Healthy, Active Lifestyle.
Progress and attainment is measured and tracked and used to
inform the next stage of planning for a child’s physical education.
Engagement For Learning
Becoming ready to learn and enjoying school Developing trust and a sense of safety in school staff, the activities offered
and the learning environment Addressing barriers to learning Developing positive Attitudes to Learning and learning behaviours
Social, Personal and Emotional Development
Learning to ‘be’ – pupils learn how to relax and to feel comfortable in
their own skin. Developing self-awareness and positive strategies to manage and express
strong emotions and sensory challenges – pupils learn to regulate. Learning to accept adult guidance and support, to take part in and
enjoy a range of activities. Learning to communicate and interact with others
Subject Learning
Learning new skills Gaining new knowledge and understanding Make progress in literacy, numeracy, digital
technology and in identified subjects that interest and motivate them.
Student Support
Relationships, a sense of
safety and a nurturing environment where children thrive are central to our
Lower School ethos & foundation curriculum.
Pupils are organised into
nurture groups according to their age, stage and individuality. Pupils know their named
group, form a group identity and understand their stage in the journey through
school.
A Lead Teacher manages
the curriculum for that group of pupils and forms an understanding relationship
with all the pupils in the group to inform planning, support and guidance
through their own unique learning pathway. The Lower School
Wellbeing Lead ensures that all pupils emotional and wellbeing needs are met
and that pupils are safeguarded at all times.
In addition to their Lead
Teacher and Wellbeing Lead, pupils are carefully matched with a key member of
staff who becomes their ‘champion’. Relationships with key staff and peers are
key and pupils’ education is enhanced but not limited in any way by the nurture
group in which they are based.
Bettws Lifehouse Lower
School is unique in the fluidity and flexibility of provision and timetabling that
allows for children from any nurture group to benefit from experiences, teaching
and appropriate peer interactions that are relevant, motivating and beneficial
to them as individuals.
