Our Approach To Learning

At Elson we believe that children learn best when they feel good about themselves and acknowledge that children learn in different ways and at different rates. Our children tell us they make most progress when the lessons are challenging, exciting and fun. Our curriculum is designed with these principles in mind.

Themes

In addition to daily Literary and Numeracy lessons in which we teach the core skills, we are developing a Theme based approach to the whole curriculum. Each half term the children will study a Theme which emphasises several subjects and where the children can use their Literacy and Numeracy skills. For instance in Year 3/4 the Theme 'Ancient Egypt' covers the following subjects and topics:

Science	Skeleton, teeth and eating – links to Mummification
Design Technology	Egyptian Bread
Art	Sculpture – Papier-Maché Cats. Printmaking – Cartouches
History	Life in Ancient Egypt – Who was Howard Carter?
Geography	Egypt and the Nile River
Music	Egyptian songs and composition
English	Writing reports, creative writing, descriptive writing, drama, using non-fiction texts to research Ancient Egyptians, speaking and listening
Maths	Links made to Egyptian measures and number system

Each week the children have at least one Information and Communication Technology lesson and the computers are used to support their learning wherever possible. They also receive a French lesson from a specialist teacher each week.

Physical Education

This takes place at least twice a week and over the course of the year will cover Gymnastics, Dance, Athletics, Problem Solving, Swimming and a range of Games. Coaches from the Gosport Sports Partnership give children experience of other sports such as basketball, tennis and cricket.

Religious Education

This is taught in accordance with Hampshire County Council's agreed syllabus ‘Living Difference’. Through this the children gain an understanding of other world religions and cultures including Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Parents who wish to withdraw their children from RE or school assemblies should contact the Headteacher.

Personal, Social And Health Education

This is a key aspect of the children's education and it is taught both through the Themes and on its own. Children are encouraged to take a full part in weekly Circle Time Activities and their Class Council. In these sessions they learn to express their thoughts and opinions and to respect those of others.

Visits And Visitors

The children take part in termly visits out of school and enjoy learning from a range of visitors invited to the school. These may include SEARCH, Explosion, Buster Iron Age Farm, Hampton Court, Romsey river, INTECH and Legoland. Year 5 and 6 are offered the opportunity of a residential visit; currently Y5 do an environmental visit to the New Forest and Y6 have an adventurous activities week in Osmington, Dorset. Visitors have included: Music and Theatre Groups, Authors and Poets, Hampshire Wardrobe, Gosport Planning and Environment Departments, Health Professionals.

Performing Arts

We are very proud of the standards our children achieve in the Performing Arts. Our choir has earned a reputation for a very high standard and performs at local festivals and community events as well as at school. Every child takes part in a musical production once a year. The Lower School performance is held in the school hall in November and the Upper School perform at a local theatre in July. Talented performers are given additional coaching and are entered for external Performance Examinations.

Homework

This is an integral part of your child's learning process and all children are expected to do it. The children get more out of the activities when their parents take an active interest. Daily homework consists of reading and learning spellings and tables.

The aims of our Homework Policy are to;

• complement the work the children are doing at school
• enable families to be more involved in their children’s schooling
• enhance and extend the child’s learning experiences

All children are expected to read to an adult every day. On top of this, each half term the children either have an Extended Homework Project or Weekly Homework.

Weekly Homework is set early in the week and a whole week, including a weekend, is given for it to be completed. We do this to make it easier for families to fit it around busy lives. This will link to the children’s class work and may be a language or mathematically based activity.

Extended Homework Projects link to the Theme they are studying e.g. Make a quiz about the Tudors; this is normally completed over the half term and we expect about an hour a week to be given to this work.

Additional Opportunities Offered

Peripatetic Guitar, Keyboard and Percussion lessons are available for those children wanting to learn an instrument in depth. These currently cost £50 per term.

After School Clubs

We run a range of extra curricular opportunities after school and at lunchtimes. These vary from term to term and will include Choir, Latin, Karate, Football, Netball, Swimming, Cookery and Tennis Club and more. Some of these clubs are provided free, whilst others may have a charge as we have to employ extra staff or they are run by outside Clubs.

Meeting Specific Needs

Disability

The school has reasonably good disability access including dedicated parking, adapted toilet and lift to the school hall. If we are told of a need the school will arrange communication support for those who are hearing impaired.

Exceptionally Able Children

We aim to meet the particular needs of these children through enrichment and extension activities within the classroom. We recognise the importance of these children being with their peer group socially. A child with a significant talent, for instance in English, may be offered additional opportunities beyond the classroom, such as ‘Latin Club’, 'Newspaper Club' or 'Able Writers’ Group' in order to develop this strength.

Special Educational Needs

Sometimes children require additional classroom support in order to be able to learn. Our team of Learning Support Staff, led by the Special Needs Co-ordinator, work with the class teacher to plan a suitable programme of work to address the child's specific needs. Where a child's needs cannot be fully met from within our school, advice is sought from other agencies offering specialist help. We work closely with parents to support the needs of these children. A copy of our Special Needs Policy is available from the school office on request.