Introduction from the Head of Pre-Prep and EYFS

At Bede’s Pre-Prep, our mission is to craft a joyful education for our children by cultivating a vibrant learning experience and providing a festival of opportunities to enable them to discover new passions and develop new talents.

In Year 1 and 2, the children are still at the very beginning of their school journey and there is no better time to instil in them an innate love of learning and curiosity in the world around them. At Bede’s Pre-Prep, we have developed an engaging curriculum, filled with wonderful opportunities for the children to grow and learn through an active and creative provision. Our outstanding teachers work hard to ensure that their lessons are appropriately challenging for each individual child, yet memorable and enjoyable, so that the children get the absolute best from their education.

We provide our pupils with a variety of cross-curricula and extra-curricula opportunities, and we are extremely fortunate to have access to the wider Bede’s facilities. The children at the Pre-Prep use the fantastic Prep Dining Hall on a daily basis and are provided with a delicious choice of healthy meals. Year 1 and 2 also get to experience the well-equipped Prep IT department in their Computing lessons. Sports are widely enjoyed at Bede’s and our Year 1 and 2 children benefit from lessons with our specialist teachers using the Swimming Pool, Sports Hall and Astro. All pupils also get to attend Chapel on a weekly basis, which provides them with the opportunity to come together with the rest of the school for a period of reflection.

Within the grounds of the Pre-Prep, we are fortunate enough to have plenty of space to enjoy outdoor learning; we take every opportunity to use the outdoor environment When learning outdoors, children are able to learn through what they do, through what they encounter and through what they discover. Learning outside the classroom also supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being.

Bede’s Pre-Prep and Prep occupy a stunning cliff-top location, and we capitalise on the position of the school by visiting the beach on a fortnightly basis, at the very least! Lessons are regularly taught on the beach, about the beach and our learning is frequently inspired by the beach. It is an absolute joy to see the children run, play and learn in such a beautiful and fascinating environment.

Year 1 and 2 also enjoy fortnightly ‘Forest School’ in our marvellous Muddy Garden. ‘Forest School’ is a childcentred inspirational learning process, which offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. Children develop confidence, self-esteem, resilience, independence and creativity through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. Learning outside in the natural environment also supports the development of a lifelong relationship between the learner and the natural world.

You will find that behaviour at Holywell is excellent. The children are far too busy and engaged to be bored or off-task! We aim to build a kind-hearted community which inspires us to enhance the lives of others. Our focus at Bede’s Pre-Prep is to educate ‘the whole child’, by which I mean that our pupils’ well-being and happiness is at the heart of everything we do. To achieve this, our staff aim to build strong and effective relationships with our children and their families. We believe that regular and meaningful communication between our staff, pupils and parents is vital to building and maintaining these relationships. Our staff actively encourage open dialogue with parents and families, and welcome any and all discussions.

Welcome to Year 1 and 2 at Bede’s Pre-Prep. We can’t wait to meet you. It’s a magical little world!

Claire Woodward Head of Pre-Prep and EYFS

English

Our beautiful environment of sea and countryside is both motivating and exciting for our young Bedians to start their academic journey. It inspires topics – such as nature, the sea and exploration – which are investigated through all aspects of English.

At Bede’s Prep, our aim is to develop a lifelong love and enthusiasm for language and literature in all forms, and to enable our pupils to become confident and creative communicators. This philosophy is embedded as soon as children join our Bede’s community. Playing with language, revelling in reading, and learning the foundation tools to expression are core to our English lessons. Furthermore, the nurturing environment of Holywell guides our children to be active learners, encouraging each individual to find their own voice and communicate their opinions with confidence.

At these early and rapid stages of development, we develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. All children follow a staged reading scheme, read with their teacher daily and use the well-stocked Holywell Library. Reading at home is encouraged through a school-home liaison programme, where parents and teachers are in regular communication on specific aspects of their child’s reading progress.

Celebrating our writing and communication is crucial to the development of each individual and the growth of technology has opened exciting possibilities to realise the full potential of our pupils. In Holywell, we take opportunities to develop and publish children’s response to reading and writing using both traditional writing methods and the latest digital technology.

But the basics are not forgotten; much focus is put on the structured building blocks of spelling, grammar and sentence structure which are central to the development of effective and expressive communicators.

What skills will my child develop?

• A life-long love and enthusiasm for language and literature in all forms.

• Confident and creative communicaton skills.

• Creativity and a love of reading at an early age.

• Active learning skills.

• Confidence to express opinions.

Hints & Tips for Home

• https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

• https://www.booktrust.org.uk/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories

Sherry Wilson Head of English

Year 1 marks the first year of the National Curriculum and, as you might expect, the teaching of phonics plays a big part. Children will learn how to apply their phonic knowledge and skills in order to decode words, learning how to blend the different sounds in unfamiliar words.

We aim to inspire creativity and a love of reading at an early age. The Autumn Term also brings Book Week – a festival of fun, packed with visiting authors, competitions and costumes – which rejoices in reading for pleasure. Furthermore, children from an early age are encouraged to take part in national writing competitions such as the Wicked Young Writers Awards. Many of our fantastic writers, as young as 6 years old, have been hugely successful in reaching the finals and even winning their age categories. Seeing their work in published form is an empowering moment and at Bede’s, we take every opportunity to enjoy sharing and celebrating our work in a supportive and stimulating classroom environment.

In each term, creative writing in Year 1 is inspired by traditional stories, fairy tales and classic fiction such as Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. Children recognise familiar phrases and use these to sequence stories. These skills are developed into forming short narratives and retelling of events. Further opportunities for non-fiction writing flourish such as writing a set of instructions, compiling a class reference book on a chosen animal and writing a series of sentences to explain a simple process. Likewise, poetry is celebrated throughout the year through reading and performance and children collaborate on a shared poem as well as writing poetry using pattern and rhyme.

During the year, children in Year 2 explore an array of books which demonstrate a range of genres and writing styles; for example, Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Dinosaur’s Diary’ highlights the features of a diary, and after reading pupils plan and write their own diary entry. Children explore character in stories, write a narrative from a character’s viewpoint and focus on the sequence of events in a story. As pupils move through to the Spring and Summer Terms, they will put this learning into practice themselves, encapsulating ideas and using new vocabulary. They write their own narrative based on literature such as Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’ and focus on the use of dialogue in stories such as Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Happy Prince’. During the year, children will also learn about other types of writing including poetry, instructional, travel writing and news reporting tying in with topics studied throughout the year. There is also a strong focus on developing pupils’ grammatical and technical skills in English, learning how words work and how to form clear sentences and use punctuation effectively.

English at Bede’s is all about developing independence and confidence, through clear speaking, careful listening, and effective reading and writing. The opportunities for rich reading and creative expression abound. Above all, children are given lots of opportunities to have fun with words, to experiment with structure and language, to create imaginative descriptions of characters and setting, and to enjoy reading, exploring and crafting poems.

Maths

Bede’s Prep pupils are active learners, who develop their problem-solving and reasoning skills by applying mathematics to everyday situations and understanding the part it plays in the world around them. We recognise the importance of using a multisensory teaching approach to allow the pupils to experiment and engage with ideas. Our philosophy at Bede’s Prep is that pupils learn most effectively by doing, and our Maths lessons are constructed with this in mind.

Through curiosity, working collaboratively and with determination, our pupils become resilient learners who are willing to take on the challenges they are given. They have the confidence and strength to be adaptable and flexible in their approach to learning mathematics and communicate their ideas clearly and logically.

Learning mathematics is intriguing, satisfying and exciting when pupils are allowed to develop their thinking and communication skills - even for learners who may find Maths difficult. We have a range of established programmes that meet the needs of those pupils who require extra support as well as those who need to be challenged further.

As in all departments at Bede’s, we focus on the individual child. We provide tailored support to every learner: from those who require extra help, to those who wish to further their interest in the subject, and everyone in between.

Our teachers are passionate about teaching Maths and provide an environment that allows every child to excel.

Our principal focus of Maths teaching in Years 1 and 2 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value.

What skills will my child develop?

• Create a positive and safe learning environment where all pupils are challenged and engaged.

• Develop resilience and encourage pupils to seek challenges, reminding pupils that we learn best from our mistakes.

• Encourage pupils to be reflective about their performance and strive to improve further.

• Provide opportunities for exploration, develop curiosity and find alternative methods to answer a question.

• Help pupils to become adaptable and apply methods taught to various concepts.

Hints & Tips for Home

• Doodlemaths https://www.doodlemaths.com/

Tiffany Henry Head of Maths

In Year 1, we start the ‘teaching for mastery’ approach, which continues throughout the school. Using this whole-school approach, the whole class moves through topics at broadly the same pace. Each topic is studied in depth and the teacher does not move to the next stage until all children demonstrate that they have a secure understanding of mathematical concepts.

Pupils are given time to think deeply about the maths and understand concepts at a relational level, rather than as a set of rules or procedures. This slower pace leads to greater progress in the long term, as it ensures that pupils are secure in their understanding and reduces the need for teachers to revisit topics at a later date.

Although the whole class goes through the same content at the same pace, there is still plenty of opportunity for differentiation. Those pupils who grasp concepts quickly are challenged with rich and sophisticated problems within the topic. Those children who are not sufficiently fluent yet are provided with additional support to consolidate their understanding before moving on.

Through our teaching we use the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach, which builds on children’s existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and tangible way. It involves moving from concrete materials, to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols and problems.

Children in Year 1 will start the year exploring numbers to 20 and place value, as well as investigating shapes and space. During the Spring Term they build on this knowledge and move onto adding and subtracting numbers within 20 and place value to 50. They also explore measurement, including length, height, weight and volume. They complete Year 1 in the Summer Term with multiplication and division, and place value up to 100. They are also introduced to fractions, money and time, and explore geometry through position and movement.

Year 2 sees a continuous progression of the skills taught in Year 1. Children in Year 2 will start the year building on their knowledge of the four operations, as well as solving problems linked to money. During the Spring Term they continue their work on multiplication and division, as well as investigate statistics, shapes and fractions. They finish Year 2 in the Summer Term with applying their understanding of the four operations to problems linked to geometry and measurement, including length, height, time, capacity, mass and temperature.

Although we teach separate topics, we recognise that Maths is an interconnected subject and no topic is taught in isolation. The pupils are supported and encouraged to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas in order to develop fluency, reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated mathematical problems.