Education is more than just mastering English, Reading and Maths - it's also about activities that extend children's learning through new experiences and opportunities. These are just some of the things that we offer at school:

Brainboost

Brain Boost provides children with an opportunity to do something different and extend their learning in a new and exciting way! Every year we review what projects to plan taking into account any national or international events that are happening, the children’s interests and areas we as staff think the children could develop further. 

On Friday afternoons, our children engage in creative ways of learning whilst practising and developing the key skills of the National Curriculum; Communication; Application of number; Information Technology; Working with others; Improving own performance and Problem Solving. These enable us to provide inspiring, engaging and memorable experiences for the children, that may include visiting other teachers or working with older / younger children. There is also heavy creative focus on these lessons, reducing the cognitive load for some children.

Topics that children have explored have included: ‘Children who have changed the world', 'Learning through Drama' and a staff focused 'Talents and Interests' units, where staff get to teach the children about their own special talents! For this year's overview, please see below.

Muddy Thursdays!

Our Early Years children get to learn outside, on one day each week, whatever the weather. This continues the ‘learning through play’ approach favoured by nurseries pre-schools. This wonderful opportunity boosts physical and mental health through outdoor activity, fostering confidence and independence by allowing safe risk-taking, and improving social skills like teamwork and communication. Led by staff who are passionate about the outdoors, it also encourages a deeper connection with nature and supports and enhances academic learning by encouraging problem-solving in real-world situations. 

Yearly School Trips or Educational Visitors:

School trips and visitors are often memorable, because people have emotional connections to these events and therefore, they are not only memorable, but fantastic learning opportunities also. Closely linked to our curriculum, our trips are planned with a specific educational purpose in mind and often bridge a cultural capital gap, that ensures that we can offer children enriching experiences that they may not otherwise have had here in Northamptonshire, such as exploring a coastal setting to handling a reptile, to exploring geographically and / or physically challenging locations such as caving in the Cheddar Gorge.

Every phase has a trip opportunity each year, and we also invite external visitors into school, where relevant. Most recently, our visitors have included an Amazonian explorer, a travelling theatre company, a healthy cooking roadshow and the infamous poet: Word Guerrilla!

Residentials:

We offer our children a one night / two day residential visit in Phase 3, and a three night / four day residential visit in Phase 4. Our caring staff support children to encounter new challenges and experiences that develop personal characteristics such as confidence, organisation and resilience. Additionally, our children gain knowledge of the world and strengthen their relationships between peers and staff, as well as building unique memories that will last a lifetime.