St John' s Church School VA

What we teach your Child

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At St John’s Church School we believe in offering a broad and balanced curriculum. We always seek to provide an education that is appropriate to the needs of each child. We are aware that all children are individuals with different needs and we provide for these both within the normal class situation and through our Special Needs Policy.  This sometimes means that children will receive additional help from a teacher or from a Teaching Assistant, either in the classroom or in another area of the school e.g. library.

A flexible teaching approach will be used throughout the various stages of your child’s education.  Whenever possible children will be taught in year groups of mixed ability.  However, it may be necessary to organise some classes in mixed-age groups. The school is co-educational and reflects the rich cultures of Orton and Peterborough.

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Your child will be taught using a variety of different methods. These will include whole class teaching, group work and individual teaching.  By using these methods,  we will make every effort to encourage your child to become an independent and effective learner. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) states that the National Curriculum does not represent everything that a school should teach.  A good school offers a broad learning experience, recognising that it is important to consider the children’s experience and understanding as well as their skills and knowledge. Our school strives to encourage personal qualities and good behaviour as well as seeking to satisfy the intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional and cultural needs of the children.  We always try to match the work to the children’s needs and to apply the curriculum to the wider world.  We will make every effort to see that our expectations of your child are high but achievable.

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Every school has to provide the basic National Curriculum and Religious Education. The National Curriculum has three core subjects: English, Mathematics and Science.  There are also foundation subjects: Geography, History, Technology, Music, Art and PE.  Each of these subjects has a programme of study and every teacher in the school uses these to plan her/his work and to assess and monitor your child’s progress.

If you would like to see a detailed summary of the planning and contents of the Curriculum, please ask.  The school also has copies of the National Curriculum requirements which you may see.