The Curriculum

Phase 1

This phase marks the transition from home to a school setting. It is a period of rapid physical, emotional and intellectual growth. It is a time when the need for a high level of care and high quality learning experiences are inextricably linked. It is the time when most children are learning in a group setting for the first time.

It is especially important to identify and respond to any area of particular difficulty experienced by individual children in order to ensure that all children leave the phase as independent learners. We believe children learn most effectively through respectful relationships and interactions in happy, stimulating environments.

Children are curious, inquisitive, adventurous and resilient with their own opinions, thoughts and ideas about the world and we try to encourage and support each individual learner to develop to meet national expected levels.

We provide a curriculum which builds on children's interests. We believe that real learning needs active experience and so you will see children building dens, pretending to be pirates, as well as looking after pets and caring for plants. Whatever the activity the child is engaged in we want to encourage talk and questioning - this is key to becoming a successful reader or learner.

A good close relationship between home and school is key to your child becoming an independent and successful learner. We cannot deliver without your support and understanding. We want children to become such confident talkers, able readers, inquisitive questioners that they won't switch off when they are at home! We need you to share our ambitions for your child.

Throughout the three years of Phase 1 there is a culture of enrichment, an atmosphere of fun and excitement, opportunities for creativity and exploration. We want:
• to inspire learning
• to enrich and extend every child's language
• to develop a love of stories, rhyme and song
• to establish a true partnership with parents
• to nurture good relationship between child and child and the ability for every child share and  co-operate
• to build a language of successful learning.

During Phase 1 we will be covering the 6 themes of the Early Years and Foundation
Stage (EYFS):
1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
2. Communication, Language and Literacy (CLL)
3. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN)
4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World (KUW)
5. Physical Development (PD)
6. Creative Development (CD)

At the Bridge Learning Campus we have a particular commitment to developing the ‘core skills' in numeracy and literacy alongside a developing positive attitude towards themselves as a learner.

Organisation of time

Nursery

This will change as the year progresses and the child's attention span develops. Once the child has completed an induction period the routine will reflect:

• Some child-initiated and adult-led experiences
• A balance between large group, small group and independent learning opportunities
• Inside and outside learning opportunities
• Time to be active and time to be quiet
• Order and routine

Reception

During this year the organisation will change slightly from Nursery and there will be focused group activity especially for Maths and literacy. Children will be expected to read or share a book, every day to an adult (we need so many parent helpers).
Through careful assessment we will start to group learners for Maths and literacy activities so your child may be working alongside children from other classes.

Year 1

The expectation on children will again be increased and we expect more formal breaks between learning and play activities with the introduction of play times. There will again be much focus on individual and small group learning but more whole class situations. Again all children will be constantly assessed to create learning groups.

Every child a reader (ECAR)

From day 1 in the Nursery children will be read to as often as possible. There will be opportunities to talk about the books, to learn poems and stories by heart, to act out stories. We will encourage every child to read widely and often at school and at home. We must excite every child so they beg to take a book home.

Synthetic phonics

Letters and sounds will be taught daily. First class reading materials will be used in school and available for children to read and share at home. It is vital that every child is supported at home daily with their reading.

Phase 2

During Phase 2 we will build on the independent learners developed in Phase 1 - the child will now be taught more in ability groups perhaps by more than one teacher. There will be more movement of classrooms and staff with the expansion of the use of specialist teachers and specialist resources. But the need for a home base and a key teacher will be maintained - every day the learner will start and end the day in their home base with their home teacher.

Each class will be made up of a mixture of two years so there will be opportunities for children to support others. It is a key ingredient of our campus plans that everyone supports each other and especially older students setting clear examples to younger students. So each September there will be "new teachers and classes" for only half the children - we see this as a big positive of the new Phase 2 provision. This will make every child feel secure and avoid all that "new class" experience which means lost time every September in many schools.

The focus for Phase 2 would be on the essentials for learning and life skills. These would be developed through the core skills of:
• reading
• writing
• numeracy

These will be delivered every day for one session and taught mainly in ability bands.

Organisation of the day

The day would be organised into three sessions with a start and end in Home class. There would be a core curriculum of English and Maths delivered in ability groups. Some of the work will be delivered as separate subjects but most will appear in themes. These themes would last for anything from four to eight weeks and cover headings like Victorian Bristol or Mother Nature. Every theme would include a mixture of research, home learning and many visitors.