Class Structure and Assessment
School Performance Overview
Pupil Performance Overview 2023 - 2024:
Every child at the Flitch Green Academy learns through 'experiences'. An experience takes children on a journey of learning towards a purposeful outcome or end product, which may range from a Pokemon Hunt to a Shadow Animation. Our teachers have the freedom to create a curriculum that is tailored to their class so that learning is exciting and relevant, resulting in high pupil engagement. Class experiences are based around children's interests and are carefully crafted so that subject skills are creatively linked together in order to cover the requirements of the National Curriculum or Early Years Framework.
For further information you can contact the Curriulum Co-ordinator via admin@flitchgreen.net
Your child's time at The Flitch Green Academy will be split into three different stages:
The Early Years Foundation Stage
Key Stage One
Key Stage Two
For more information on how the Academy structures these classes, please read the document below:
Children across the UK are assessed in schools in a standardised way; giving those schools, local authorities and the Department for Education data to help raise standards.
For more information on how each stage of primary education is assessed and are broken down, please read the document below:
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children are provided with a broad range of knowledge and skills.
There are seven areas of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and or building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the prime areas, are:
- Communication and language
- Physical Development
- Personal, social and emotional development.
The Academy must also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthen and applied. The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding of the world
- Expressive arts and design.
Our Reception teachers plan activities through learning experiences, which are based around children’s interest.
To assess the progress of children within EYFS, the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is completed for each child. This provides parents and carers with a well-rounded picture of their child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, their progress against expected levels and their readiness for Year 1.
Phonics and Reading
Reading at Flitch Green:
At The Flitch Green Academy, it is our intent that all our children become confident, fluent and enthusiastic readers. Fostering positive attitudes towards reading at the earliest age is a priority for us here at the Academy as we believe these early perceptions play a vital role in developing motivated readers who read widely and regularly for both pleasure and purpose. We believe that through the teaching of early reading and a robust phonics programme, our children are provided with the strongest start for their reading journey.
EYFS & Year 1:
In Reception, children begin our systematic and synthetics phonics programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. We build from 10-minute lessons, with additional daily oral blending games, to the full-length 30 minute lessons in line with Year 1. These sessions are taught whole-class, enabling children of all abilities to be exposed to the same content. By closely following this scheme, children are provided with a clear and structured route to meet or exceed all national curriculum expectations for word reading through decoding by the end of key stage 1, including achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.
Children then have regular opportunities to apply the phonics they have learned to reading through participating in our reading practice sessions three times a week. Each reading practice session has a clear focus, so that the demands of the session do not overload the children’s working memory. The reading practice sessions have been designed to focus on three key reading skills: decoding, prosody and comprehension.
Years 2 - 6:
Building on this foundation in EYFS and year 1, whole-class reading takes place in years 2-6 three times a week, each session lasting approximately 40 minutes. Each class is allocated a core text every half term and these are read daily by the class teacher for 10-15 minutes in preparation for the delivery of these reading sessions. The first lesson of the week will focus on either non-fiction or poetry, linked to themes in the text. The second lesson will include close reading of an extract and focuses specifically on vocabulary. In the last session of the week, the children will learn how to use and apply comprehension skills to the same extract.
Independent reading in KS2 is supported through the use of Accelerated Reader. Accelerated Reader helps teachers to motivate, monitor, and manage students’ independent reading practice. Children in year 2 will begin to transition onto the programme when they are ready and have secured the necessary decoding and comprehension skills. The programme supports teachers in recognising pupil achievements through regular book quizzing and works to create a culture of reading through choice. We celebrate these reading achievements in whole-school assemblies every week and display them prominently opposite our library.
Parents Guide to Renaissance
National Curriculum
The national curriculum was introduced to schools in September 2014 and the framework sets the programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2 for all the national curriculum subjects that are taught at these key stages.
Pupils of compulsory school age in state schools, must follow the national curriculum. The Academy follows the national curriculum and subjects are taught through ‘experiences’ to offer children real life opportunities to consolidate their learning.
The aims of each curriculum area, as set out in the National Curriculum framework is as follows:
Science:
- Develops scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.
- Develops understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them.
- Ensures pupils are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
Art and Design:
- Pupils produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences.
- Pupils will become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.
- Pupils will evaluate and analyst creative works using the language of art, craft and design.
- Pupils will know about great artists, craft makers, designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
Computing:
- Pupils can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
- Pupils can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
- Pupils can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems.
- Pupils are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
Design and Technology:
- Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
- Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
- To critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and work of others.
- To understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
Geography:
- To develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places - both terrestrial and marine - including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes.
- To understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.
- Are competent in the geographical skills needed to collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes.
- Competent in interpreting a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems.
- Be able to communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
History:
- To know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influences and been influenced by the wider world.
- To know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind.
- To gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’.
- To understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
- To understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
- To gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious, and social history; and between short-and long-term timescales.
Languages:
- To understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic sources.
- To speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
- To write a varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they have learnt.
- To discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
Music:
- To perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the worlds of the great composers and musicians.
- Learn to sing and use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
- To understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, temp, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
Physical Education:
- To develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities.
- Pupils are physically active for sustained periods of time.
- Pupils engage in competitive sports and activities.
- Pupils lead healthy, active lives.
Curriculum Maps
Our curriculum maps show how we have organised the national curriculum within each year group. These will give you some information about what your child is learning in each term and progression across the year. Class 'experiences' are built around this content.
Year 1/2 Cycle A Curriculum Map
Year 3/4 Cycle A Curriculum Map
Year 5/6 Cycle A Curriculum Map
Year 1/2 Cycle B Curriculum Map
Year 3/4 Cycle B Curriculum Map
Year 5/6 Cycle B Curriculum Map
Subject Overviews
Art and Design
Computing
Design and Technology
English Cycle A
English Cycle B
Geography
History
MFL (Spanish)
Music
PE
RE
Science
Subject Statements
Please click on the relevant link to access further information about individual subjects and how they are taught at the Flitch Green Academy.
Maths
Phonics and Reading
Writing
Science
History
Geography
RE
Computing
Art
Music
Modern Foreign Languages
PE
PSHE
Design and Technology
Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)
As part of your child's educational experience at The Flitch Green Academy, we aim to promote personal wellbeing and development through a comprehensive taught programme of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education that gives children and young people the knowledge and understanding, attitude and values to live healthy, safe and fulfilled lives, both now and in the future.
The Department of Education has made changes to relationships and sex education following nationwide consultation, which came into effect from September 2020 and all schools are required to comply with the updated requirements by the Summer term 2021.
The guidance focuses on healthy relationships and keeping children safe in the modern world. It also covers a wide range of topics relating to physical and mental health, wellbeing, safeguarding and healthy relationships. Learning about the emotional, social and physical aspects of growing up will give children and young people the information, skills and positive values to have safe, fulfilling relationships and help them take responsibility for their own wellbeing. This is what we believe is 'Learning for Life'.
We have a duty to consult with parents to help inform our decisions on when and how certain content is covered.
To help you understand the curriculum requirements, please look at the information below, which provides more detail.
RSHE Consultation Letter to Parents
Relationships, Sex and Health Education Policy
PSHE and RSHE Curriculum Map Overview
PSHE and RSHE Learning Objectives
RSHE Parent Consultation Survey Link
Example Lesson Resources:
Year 2: Names of parts of the body
Year 4: Basic puberty resource cards
Year 5: Puberty (physical changes)
Year 6: Positive and Healthy Relationships
Year 6: Puberty Resource Examples
Parent feedback letter
Parent questions and responses
It is our aim for ‘Forest’ to become an integral part of a child’s learning here at The Flitch Green Academy. We are lucky to have such a beautiful resource in and around our own grounds and making use of it has now become part of our curriculum.
The woodlands offer a unique teaching and hands-on learning experience in an ever changing environment. The setting captures children’s curiosity, stimulates their senses, builds their self confidence and nurtures their well-being. Key life skills are naturally promoted within sessions and children are encouraged to develop these as they learn through exploration and discover their own outcomes.
Our Forest Schools Leader is Tania Knightbridge.
Extended Schools
Our extended schools service delivers a broad range of activities for academy pupils in both breakfast and after school club.
We currently have spaces available in a number of our session.
Places can booked via the Parent Mail App.
Breakfast Club: 07:30 – 08:40 (£5.00 per session including breakfast)
After School Club: 15:15 – 18:00 (£12.00 per session including tea)
Activities include:
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Arts and crafts
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Drawing and colouring
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Puzzles and games
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Bingo
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Quizzes
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Homework help
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Films
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Sports
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Outside play when the weather allows
Terms & Conditions:
School Parliament
What is our School Parliament for?
The School Parliament is about:
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Working and learning together
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Learning about democracy
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Learning how to play a positive role model in our community
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Improving our school for everyone
Everybody needs to help by:
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Finding things that they would like to change
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Finding ways to make things better
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Putting their ideas into actions
Being a school parliamentarian is a really responsible job and as The Flitch Green Academy’s Parliament is evolving, we rely on our parliamentarians to share the pupil’s voice to our wider community.
How does our School Parliament Work?
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A President and Vice President are elected from Year 6
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Each class will elect a school Parliament member
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The school Parliament meets, once every half-term, to discuss and sort out any issues
These may include:
School lunches (suggestions for the school menu/ different ways food can be served or packaged)
Behaviour (ideas for rewards)
Ideas for fundraising events (discussing which charities or good causes to support and raise funds for)
Planning new playground activities
Staff role in School Parliament
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Ensure that there is time given for meetings
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Chairing meetings
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Support discussions
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Help with communication to staff and parents
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Work with Friends of Flitch Green and share the pupil’s voice