Curriculum

Sunflowers Nursery

In Sunflowers, your child will enjoy a wide range of activities designed to motivate and inspire. The bright, airy environment including an outdoor learning environment is full of exciting resources and purposeful furniture, creating an ideal space for our youngest pupils to explore.

During a typical day your child will participate in:

• Phonics
• Maths games
• Play dough
• Cooking

Music sessions are led by our specialist music teacher, and PE sessions are held with our sports teachers. Your child will have access to resources across the school, such as iPads and PCs, the sports facilities, and the school Library (where we encourage parents to join us for a story). We visit our environmental area across the week and participate in Forest School activities. The children also take part in a couple of trips during the year.

Children are encouraged to engage in physical activity every day. This ranges from climbing and football, to riding the bikes and scooters, or chasing feathers on a windy day. They grow in independence, learning to carry out activities such as putting their coats and wellies on, toileting, and helping their friends. Peer collaboration is reinforced through activities such as obstacle course building, where pupils work collaboratively, and problem solve together.

Learning isn’t confined to the school day, and therefore parental involvement is key. We share your child’s learning through Seesaw – an online journal where both staff and parents can document every step of a pupil’s development.

Our Sunflowers staff work closely with Reception teachers to aid your child in their transition from Nursery to school. Reception teachers spend time with children in the Nursery and build links through shared activities. Using facilities in the main school throughout the year aids in a smooth transition as it will help your child to feel familiar with the buildings and adults.

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The Reception year is your child’s first step into formal schooling. Through play indoors and outdoors, children develop emotional understanding, and language, creativity, social and intellectual skills. For most children their play is natural and spontaneous, although we recognise that some children may need additional support from adults.

Alongside play, children follow a timetable of adult-led activities taught by class teachers and a class learning support assistant. These sessions include:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Phonics
• Handwriting
• Physical Education
• Music
• Forest School
• PSHEE

Specialist Subject Teachers lead Physical Education, Music, Computing and Forest School.

Throughout the year we cover a variety of topics to excite pupils through their learning journey. We particularly love our topic ‘Living Things’, where your child has the opportunity to observe the life cycle of a butterfly. We monitor the class caterpillars as they transform into butterflies and use this knowledge to write our own life cycle in our literacy sessions. To end this topic, pupils take a trip to Wellington Country Park where we visit the much-loved furry friends at the farm. We then immerse ourselves in the enchanted forest and seek out the dinosaurs in the lost world.

We use Seesaw to record your child’s unique journey through their Reception year, which you can access at any time, this is just one of the many ways we support parent partnerships. We also welcome the opportunity to invite parents into school to support the different topics during the year.

During the summer term, the Reception team begins the process of preparing pupils for Year 1. A smooth transition is facilitated with extensive handovers between teachers and opportunities for pupils to spend time with their new teacher.

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Year 1 & 2

In Year 1 & 2, we extend the skills and knowledge your child acquired in Reception through the teaching of exciting lessons that follow the main principles of the National Curriculum. Teachers deliver an enriched framework that provides opportunities for outdoor, practical, and hands-on learning as well as giving your child the opportunity to think critically and problem solve to deepen their understanding of new concepts. Topic work is enhanced further with termly curriculum trips or on-site workshops.

Our curriculum is carefully constructed to be relevant to the modern era, incorporating the use of iPads and our state-of-the-art ICT suite. Including the use of IT equipment within weekly lessons allows your child to consolidate skills which are vital in our technologically evolving world.

Your child will be taught by class teachers for most subjects, except for lessons in Music, French, Physical Education (including Swimming and Games in Year 2) and Forest School which are taught by our specialist subject teachers in our dedicated specialist teaching environment.

These facilities include:

• Our all-weather sports pitch
• Environmental area
• A modern and vibrant library
• A science laboratory
• A food technology room
• An art, design and technology classroom (complete with workstations)
• A multi-purpose sports and performing arts hall

We believe at Staines Prep that it is vital that the pupils are adequately prepared for the transition at the end of Year 2 into Upper Prep. During the summer term, we work closely with staff in Upper Prep and give your child the opportunity to visit the Year 3 classrooms and experience some of the routines. This allows for a smooth transition and ensures your child feels positive, excited, and well-prepared as they leave the Lower School.

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Year 3

Year 3 is the first step in your child’s Upper Prep journey. The curriculum is lively and engaging and helps your child develop into a creative, confident, and inquisitive learner. Throughout the academic year we will support your child to develop their independence and a growth mindset, following the Staines Prep Way at every stage.

Your child will have their own form tutor teaching the core subjects and some of the foundation subjects, but will be taught by specialist teachers for:

• Computing
• French
• Music
• PE
• Games

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning is taught during stand-alone lessons from Year 3 to prepare your child for future assessments. Activities are planned and delivered to maximise first-hand experiences and respond to your child’s learning strengths.

Your child will learn about Ancient Egypt, World War Two and the rainforest through a cross- curricular approach, and end each topic with a vibrant themed day.

Trips and Projects

They will be encouraged to continue their learning at home and present projects they have made each term. Visitors to school and external visits to different places of interest enrich the curriculum. Past trips and visitors have included the British Museum, Kew Gardens and Jonathan’s Jungle Roadshow.

In the summer term, Year 3 embark on an exciting adventure and have their first residential stay where they enjoy a range of outdoor activities and games with their friends.

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Year 4

In Year 4, the curriculum is broad, well-balanced and delivered by specialist subject teachers using a variety of teaching styles.

Subjects taught in Year 4 include:

• Music & Singing
• PE
• Games and Swimming
• Mathematics
• English
• Geography
• Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning
• Art, Design and Technology
• History
• RE
• Science
• Outdoor Science/Forest School

We will encourage your child to become more independent and self-reliant, having them move around the school to different classrooms for various subjects. Your child’s form tutor plays an important role here, helping to nurture them through this process and support their wellbeing.

Enrichment Activities

We offer many opportunities and enrichment activities that underpin learning in the classroom. Forest School, a visit to The Sculpture Park, challenge days, a geography field trip, and a 2-night residential to Runway’s End are just some of the activities your child will enjoy.

Your child will also be given the opportunity to play competitive fixtures against other schools. They can lead their sport journey and are not bound by gender stereotypes, allowing any pupil to choose from Rugby, Netball, Football, Hockey, and Cricket.

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Year 5 & 6

Throughout Year 5 and 6 your child will be taught by specialist subject teachers across the curriculum, developing their independence and organisational skills by moving from classroom to classroom. They are supported to ensure they are well-equipped for the challenges that lie ahead for them at senior school and beyond. They will also be prepared for their 11+ and entrance exams through an enriching curriculum, revision club opportunities, and interview practice. 

Trips and Productions

In Year 5, a residential trip enables pupils to participate in many adventurous outdoor activities with their classmates, developing teamwork skills and resilience. In Year 6 the children embark on a week-long curriculum-based field trip where they visit historical sites of Stonehenge, the Roman Baths, Cheddar Gorge and the SS Great Britain, exploring the locations and the history to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. 

To support their studies on Charles Dickens in English, during the autumn term in Year 5, your child will take part in their Christmas musical performance of ‘Bah Humbug’. In the summer term in Year 6 they will take on the challenge of preparing for their leavers’ show. Whilst preparing an entertaining performance, they manage the organisation of their Enterprise Project to raise money for a chosen charity. 

The Transition

Before your child takes their next step on to senior school, they are involved in transition activities to ensure they are fully prepared for their new adventures. Their new school will organise a visit, and during PSHEE sessions with their tutors, pupils discuss their hopes and goals for the future and are given the opportunity to ask questions and share their concerns. 

Click here for our School Day Timings.