Foundation Curriculum
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Aristotle
Our Foundation Classes:
The Foundation group comprises two, mixed age, Year 5 and 6 classes.
At Totnes Progressive School, we place great emphasis on supporting the children’s emotional wellbeing through L.A.R.S. which stands for our core values of Love, Acceptance, Respect and Safety.
Our class sizes are small (no more than 12 students) which means that each child receives a great deal of personalised teacher support and guidance. This ensures that teachers have more time to get to know each student and enable them to make a great deal of progress academically.
Subjects:
Our students receive five English lessons (this includes Reading) a week.
They receive four Maths lessons a week.
They benefit from daily physical Activities sessions and also spend one morning a week with Dynamic Adventures. Dynamic Adventures link here
Students receive weekly lessons in the following subjects: Science, I.T., History, Geography and R.E., Art, Music, Drama and Spanish.
Students are taught P.S.H.E. (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) and Personal Development through extended lessons which take place three times each term. (Based on 6 terms a year)
Teachers:
Our teachers are passionate about communicating their subject to their students in inspiring and engaging ways. The teaching of Maths, English, History, Geography and R.E. and P.S.H.E. (Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education) is shared between two experienced primary school specialists. In addition, our Foundation students benefit from being taught the Arts, Sciences, Spanish, P.E. and and I.T. by experienced teachers who are specialists in their field. It is unusual for primary aged students to receive tuition from subject specialists and it is something we are particularly proud of at T.P.S.
A broad and balanced Curriculum:
Our Foundation Curriculum ensures that students meet the skills and expectations outlined in the Primary National Curriculum so that they are well prepared for the start of the secondary phase of their education in Year 7.
We favour a cross curricular approach. Cross curricular links are made between several subjects: English, History, Geography, Religious Education, Art and Science. These links help students to make connections between ideas and to deepen their understanding of concepts when they encounter them in the context of other subjects. Our students study 12 topics over two years; these topics usually follow a chronological history narrative.
Year 1 Topics
Term 1: The Big Bang - ‘From the Big Bang to the birth of Earth’
Term 2: The Evolution of Life - ‘From Microbes to Mammals’
Term 3: Humans on Earth ‘From Hominins to Homo Sapiens to the First Cities’
(A trip to Kents Cavern)
Term 4: The Planet Earth- ‘Biomes’ (Geography topic)
Term 5: Ancient Egypt
Term 6: Ancient Egypt continued and ‘A Study of the River Dart’. (Geography Field Trip)
Year 2 Topics
Term 1: Ancient Greece
Term 2: Ancient Greece continued and Ancient Rome
Term 3: Iron Age Britain (A trip to the Roman Baths in Bath)
Term 4: Romans in Britain and Ancient Britons
Term 5: Anglo Saxons and A Geography Study of the U.K.
Term 6: The Vikings - a brief outline.
A Comparative Geographical Study of the Local Area: The Moor and the Coast
(Geography Field Trip)
Further details about what is taught in each subject can be found under the Curriculum tab on our website or by clicking this link - Foundation Curriculum Overviews. PLease note that the PSHE and RSE curriculum can be found under the Happiness and Wellbeing tab on the website.
Progress and Assessment and Reports
We use Responsive Marking techniques when marking the students’ work. Our students are given regular and detailed written feedback so that they are aware of how they can improve their learning and this helps them to make excellent progress.
We do not sit SATs tests at the end of Year 6. This means that we do not need to revise for the SATs and our students can continue to enjoy learning about all of the subjects in our broad and balanced curriculum. That said, we recognise the value and importance of assessment. We regularly informally assess our students and use the results to ensure that we are giving the correct support to each student, to help us to plan for our future lessons and to measure progress and attainment. Parents receive three reports each year: at Christmas, Easter and at the end of the Summer term.
Working closely with parents
We enjoy close relationships with the parents of our students. We welcome and encourage parents to meet with the Foundation group’s main tutor and we find that this regular communication is very helpful, both for the adults and the students, as it helps us to gain a better understanding of the child’s development and background. We use these valuable insights to better support the child’s individual needs.
Please click on the links below for more information
English, History, Geography and Religious Education Curriculum Overview
Foundation PSHE - Personal, Social, Health and Enterprise education
