Frensham Heights Information Booklet - Junior School Years 4 - 6

SCHOOL DAY TEACHING & LEARNING

Our children in Years 4 to 6 have inspiring and creative days. As they move up, they spend less time in their classrooms with more classes in other areas of the school. We tend to stick to a timetable, but we also have the freedom and flexibility to break from the norm if it boosts curiosity, creativity and a passion for learning.

We don’t have a uniform, we just ask our children to dress for purpose. So comfortable, running around, tree-climbing clothes. Children are free to express their individuality through their clothes as long as it doesn’t interfere with their school day.

Our week runs from Monday to Friday with no lessons on Saturdays. Our extracurricular clubs run at lunchtime and after school. Here’s our basic day:

8.20am - 8.30am Registration 8.30am Classes start 10.25am - 10.50am Break 12.00 - 1.15pm Lunch 3.30pm School finishes 3.30pm ECAs start

LUNCH

We have a long lunch break, an hour and a quarter, allowing plenty of time to play or take part in extracurricular clubs. Whether they’re discovering something new in a club or just having time to play or chat outside unhurried, it’s a really beneficial time for all the children.

AFTER SCHOOL

As well as extracurricular clubs, members of the Junior School teaching staff are on duty every evening until 5.30pm in the Years 4 to 6 building. The children can play outside, play games or do their homework during this time.

Although we don’t prep for entrance exams, as the children move up through the Junior School, we are preparing them for their continuing education, just in a different way.

As the children grow, the teachers gradually move from centre stage and become more like facilitators, allowing the children to take more control and responsibility for their learning. Using the skills they’ve learnt, the children gradually start to have more freedom to decide how they want to tackle things – how to solve a problem or how to present a project – with the teachers supporting and encouraging them to go a bit further or try new and different ways.

Independent and group work increases, allowing the children to develop key skills in time management, cooperation, teamwork, self-motivation, responsibility and resilience. These are crucial skills that will take them beyond exams and school and on into their wider lives. They can’t necessarily be ranked or assessed, but they are truly immeasurable.

CLASS SIZES

Our class sizes are small allowing for a lot more discussion, flexibility and personality. The maximum class size for Years 4, 5 and 6 is 18 children and we have two classes in each of these years.

LEARNING SPACE

Years 4 to 6 have their own classrooms, library space and atrium within Flottage which also houses classrooms for Years 7 to 13. All three years share a large playground and quiet courtyard just outside the building. The woods and playing fields are easily accessible beyond. Years 4 to 6 spend a good part of their day out of their classrooms using the Astroturf, Sports and Dance Halls, Theatre and

Drama Studios, Science Labs, IT Suites, Art & Design Centre, Language Classrooms, Music School, Ballroom, Front Lawn, Sports Fields and woodland areas.

CURRICULUM

Children in Years 4 to 6 still have their core classes with their class teachers, but they also have more classes with specialist subject teachers who teach throughout the whole school. This becomes key as they move towards Middle School, giving the children the important opportunities to experience varied teaching styles, discover the wider campus and build relationships that will help them transition smoothly up through the school.

At Frensham, we treat academic and creative subjects equally and within the younger years particularly, our aim is to offer a very broad curriculum allowing each child to find their own strengths and passions.

The core academic curriculum of Maths, English, Science and Topic happens within the year group teams, mainly in the classroom. Due to the small class sizes and our informal relationships, teachers get to know the children really well and really understand what makes each one tick. They can differentiate the work across all subjects to make sure each child receives the support or challenges that they need. We have a team of Teaching and Learning Assistants who support our Junior School; they work with the class teachers during core lessons to make sure all children are making progress. Each cohort is different - we look at the class groups in front of us each year and provide the relevant support to meet their needs, as a group and as individuals.

TOPIC

The world is wide and varied so we try to make our classes the same. Topic gives our children the opportunity to widen their views and knowledge and to see how their different skills and subjects work together. A Topic lesson could combine History, Geography and Citizenship or Art, Maths and PSHE. Topic is a small word for a great deal of discovery, learning and fun. In Years 4 to 6, the children are really encouraged to take ownership of their work and Topic gives them the opportunity

to make the most of this, discovering and presenting information in their own ways - all underpinned by skills which set them up on their learning journey.

SPECIALIST LESSONS

Another real advantage of being in a through school, aside from being part of a cohesive community and the lack of worry about where to go next, is that the Junior School benefit from the same facilities and teachers as the older children.

The younger children benefit not just from the teachers’ deep knowledge and passion for their subjects, but also from starting to build relationships with teachers that they will learn with throughout their time here at Frensham. This is a very important aspect of both our teaching and learning, but also our pastoral care. We get to know one another’s strengths and weaknesses and also develop trust and friendship for when children might have worries or just need a chat. For our Year 6 students, having become well acquainted with the facilities and the teachers already, the transition to Middle School is very smooth.

CURRICULUM BREAKDOWN

For the most part, we stick to our timetable, but teachers do have the flexibility to extend activities if the children are really engrossed and make up missed time in another subject later. Lessons are 30 minutes long.

English: 9 lessons per week

Maths: 9 lessons per week

Topic: 4 lessons (Year 4) / 3 lessons (Years 5 & 6) per week

Science: 4 lessons per week

Personal, Social, Health Education: 1 lesson per week

Philosophy, Religion, Ethics: 1 lesson per week

IT *: 2 lessons per week

French*: 2 lessons per week

PE/Games*: 4 lessons per week

Art*: 2 lessons (Year 4) / 1 lesson (Year 5) per week

Art* : 2 lessons per week (Year 6)

Creative Design Tech*: 1 lesson per week (Year 5)

Music*: 4 lessons per week

= 2 lessons Core Music / 2 lessons Performance Music

Dance/Drama*: 2 lessons per week

Outdoor Education*: 2 lessons per fortnight

* Taught by specialist teacher

MOVING UP TO MIDDLE SCHOOL

As a through school, nearly all Junior School children continue up into our Middle School. Our Year 6 students will go through our Middle School assessment process alongside external candidates. Having worked so closely with them, our teachers will already know our current children well enough to have flagged to parents any students who may struggle with our Middle School curriculum - all will be invited to move up unless there have been discussions with parents. It is really just a chance to benefit from the experience of an assessment process, but in a less stressful manner. As we offer places based not just on test scores, it is also a chance for teachers to see external candidates interact with our current students – to see who might thrive in our unique learning environment.

EXTRACURRICULAR

We believe just as much learning happens outside the classroom as within so we offer an extensive array of extracurricular activities to complement our day to day timetable. The extracurricular clubs run at lunchtime and after school. They vary every term, but as they get older, the children have more options to choose from which always include a good variety of creative, physical, musical and inventive activities.

PREVIOUS EXTRACURRICULAR CLUBS FOR YRS 4 – 6

• Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Yoga, Street Dance

• Drawing, Creative Collage

• Recorder, Ukulele

• Swimming, Tri Golf, Football, Cricket, Athletics, Rugby

• Rounders, Tennis, Parkour, Fencing

• Adventure Fitness, Orienteering, Mountain Biking

• Forest Class, Trail Running, High Ropes

• Gardening, Cooking

• Minecraft, Microbit Programming

• Camera Club, Ceramics

• Drama, Singing

• Spanish

Our Years 4 to 6 children sometimes go off site to extend their learning – visiting a tunnel for an engineering topic, sitting on top of a hill to do some creative writing, combing the seashore and sand dunes for a coastline topic.

Junior School children enjoy a range of workshops and talks with visiting speakers. They also benefit from watching dress rehearsals of our senior school productions plus showings of visiting professional productions. Those who love performing will have the opportunity to take part in the school musical production every other year.

As children move up through the school they are given more freedom and with that more responsibility. We trust our students with choices and decisions that they may not have the opportunity to make in other schools. With this they learn to consider, they learn when to take risks or not, they learn to accept the results – failure or success – and move on from that.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

DISCIPLINE

Ours is an ethos founded on mutual respect and kindness. With our small class sizes and close relationships between children and teachers, bullying and other behavioural issues are rare and tend to be handled before they can become a problem. If problems do arise, they are handled through calm discussion with each child being given the chance to listen, talk and learn. This in turn is clearly communicated to and discussed with parents. We have boundaries, but not rules for rules sake allowing children to question, develop self-awareness, awareness of others and take responsibility for their actions.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

At the start of each school year we have a teacher/ parent introduction to the year and in the Autumn and Spring terms, we have more structured parents’ evenings where parents can meet with class teachers and specialist subject teachers (Spring only). Reports are sent out in the Autumn and Summer terms.

Parents are also always welcome to catch–up with teachers at any time they need to either with a chat at the door or a more scheduled meeting. We know our school thrives on having a strong relationship with each of our families, working together and communicating within the school environment and at home. There are also many events during the year when the school community comes together – class assemblies, Christmas plays, Founders’ Day and bonfire night to name a few.

NUTRITION

Children will be given a snack once a day. Lunch is provided in the school lunch hall where we eat together as a community. All children have different preferences and our catering team provides a wide range of options to cater to all tastes and allergies and to help develop healthy eating habits.

HEALTH CENTRE

We have an onsite Health Centre, staffed by qualified nurses. If a teacher is concerned about a child’s health, they will take them to the Health Centre to be assessed by the nurse who will contact parents if they are concerned or if the child needs to be taken home.

PE KIT

Although we don’t have a school uniform, we still ask that our students are dressed appropriately for all that a school day can offer – which tends to include a lot of running, jumping and climbing trees. For Years 4 to 6, we ask the children to wear a PE kit for PE & Games and sport-related clubs. This can be purchased through Schoolblazer.