Well-being (learning with hearts)
We strongly believe that for our pupils to thrive and achieve the best they can academically, equal weighting must be given to their social, emotional and physical well-being.
For pupils to be successful learners our school community believes children must be ‘ready to learn’.
This includes:
- Feeling safe and secure
- Being resilient
- Able to work independently
- Being prepared to take risks
- Learning from mistakes
- Having confidence and self-belief
- Having a positive attitude
- Being able to work cooperatively
- Being ambitious
- Having fun learning
- Asking questions
- Feeling valued
- Feeling physically well and energetic
Teaching at Sandhurst is underpinned by our desire to create this readiness for learning. All subject teaching actively promotes these essential skills and attitudes. Well-being is also supported by taught, and embedded PSHE values as well as enrichment opportunities across the school. Additional support, within and outside the classroom, is given to pupils who are deemed to be at risk of underachieving due to social, emotional and physical well-being factors.
Learning with Heads (knowledge) and Hands (Skills)
Children learn best when learning is;
Exciting and relevant
Appropriate to their stage of development
Encourages them to ask questions and take risks
We believe a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning is the most effective way to make the learning journey meaningful and exciting. Carefully chosen topics and themes, which engage pupils, linking to their experiences and interests, will support pupils to make connections within subjects, between subjects and over time. This does not mean that learning is always cross-curricular, some subjects may be taught discretely, depending on the knowledge and skills pupils need to master.
Foundation subjects are primarily taught in a cross-curricular way but have subject specific skills and knowledge clearly identified within the topic planning.
Subject leaders and staff have worked to build subject specific progression maps from years 1-6, ensuring coverage of key knowledge and skills in a progressive, developmentally appropriate way. These maps are complemented by subject specific year group subject plans which have a greater specification of detail ensuring that staff have a full understanding of the subject skills and knowledge that needs to be covered within their year group and what exactly has preceded it. We share the key learning of knowledge and skills with the parents each half-term.