Welcome to the Infants department at The English Academy which comprises Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
In the Infants department, we strive to give each child the best possible start to their educational journey. We provide nurturing environments where students feel safe, cared for and are surrounded by staff who know each child individually. Our students are taught to be self-sufficient, creative thinkers who grow up to become independent long life learners. We believe that a good balance between adult-lead and child-initiated activities paves the way to successful learning. Our lessons are catered to our students’ needs and abilities whilst following the National UK Curriculum. Our team of highly qualified and experienced staff members work incredibly hard to secure good outcomes for the children.
The Early Years department (KG and Rec) focuses on 7 areas of learning and development which shapes our curriculum. Lessons are based around topics and students get to explore language skills and develop their fine motor skills in a setting that excites them. In Key Stage 1 (Yr1 and Yr2) the students have themed based lessons which are designed to keep students interested and engaged in their learning. At TEA our learning is made fun, creative and meaningful. There is a clear progression of skills in each subject to enable children to grow in all areas and be successful in daily life.
We are extremely proud of our students and of their achievements. We look forward to working with you to support your child’s learning.
Here at TEA, we follow the English 2014 National Curriculum, adapted to meet the needs of our students. Our team strives to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, providing fun, interactive and learning environments for each and every child.
Themes: In Key Stage One, we teach thematically, whereby Literacy, Science, History, Art and Design and Geography are taught together. Writing lessons are the vehicle for imparting cross-curricular learning of the other subjects. This is to allow for a more meaningful and engaging curriculum for our students. We strive to create stimulating lessons for the children, including practical lessons throughout each topic. We follow the Talk for Writing scheme which enables children to grasp the features of text genres through an engaging cycle, allowing them to construct their own innovative and exciting pieces of writing.
Maths: At TEA, our Maths lessons are designed so that every pupil reaches their full potential and develops an interest in the subject. Teachers have high expectations of all pupils and believe that every pupil can do Maths - our curriculum aims to instil this belief within our pupils too. We follow the White Rose Scheme and use Power Maths books which work in alignment with The National Curriculum for England.
During lessons, we follow a concrete, pictorial and abstract (CPA) approach which allows pupils the capabilities to achieve Mastery in Mathematics. We strive for children to enjoy Maths and try to make lessons as practical and fun as possible.The school ensures children gain a deep understanding of each topic by encouraging children to be independent, critical thinkers. Pupils have access to quality modelling and structuring of mathematical concepts; concepts that are introduced in small steps. Furthermore, lessons provide opportunities for children to answer problem solving and reasoning questions with gradual independence whilst applying their knowledge in real life contexts.
ICT: In Key Stage 1, students take part in one ICT lesson per week. In this session, we incorporate our themes topics to develop our ICT skills using various platforms. Some platforms we use are; Google Docs, Google Slides and online thesauruses to enhance research skills.
Phonics: In Key Stage One, students take part in 5 Phonics lessons each week. We recap Phase 2 and 3, and teach Phase 4 and 5. We follow ‘Letters and Sounds’ and ensure our lessons are fun, engaging and practical. Each lesson consists of reviewing previous sounds learnt, teaching a new sound, practising and applying.