Pre-Prep & Prep

We aim to provide pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which is relevant to their experience. It builds on their previous knowledge in order to ensure continuity and progression, so that all pupils are given the opportunity to learn and make progress. Reception to Year 2 are primarily taught by their form teacher, with specialists in P.E., Art, Design & Technology (D&T), Music and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). As the children move into Year 3, more specialists begin to be introduced, so that by the time they reach Years 5 & 6, children are used to being taught by a variety of teachers and the form tutor takes more of a pastoral role.

​

Parents' Evenings​

​

Parents’ Evenings are an opportunity for you to have a brief (5 or 10 minutes) meeting with some of your child’s subject teachers to discuss progress and targets. If issues need to be discussed at greater length, it is normal for the relevant teacher and parents to arrange to meet at a mutually convenient time; something which may occur at any point in the school year.

​

Parents’ Evenings are held either in person or online. Parents are invited to meet the form teacher/tutor and the other teachers involved with the class by appointment to discuss academic and social progress. Early Years Foundation Stage workshops are held in the Lent and Summer terms. This is a hands-on opportunity to share with your child some of the learning experiences enjoyed during their first year of education.

​

Michaelmas Term

Reception to Year 4 Meeting with Form teachers

Years 5 & 6 English, Maths and Form teachers

​

Lent Term

Reception to Year 3 Meeting with Form teachers

Years 4 to 6 All subject specialists and Form teachers

​

Summer Term

Nursery transition meetings for those moving to Reception

​

Pre-Prep drop-in sessions are held termly and an additional 'book look' session in the Michaelmas Term. This is an opportunity to spend time in school visiting all the classrooms, thus gaining an insight in to the work of the school. Parents are encouraged to stay no longer than 5 minutes in each classroom, thus ensuring lessons are not overly disrupted. ​

​

Progress, Exams and Assessments

 

​Children’s academic ability and progress is closely monitored by teaching staff in order to ensure that each child is being appropriately challenged and fulfilling their potential. This is done in a range of ways, including the marking of children’s work, topic tests and standardised tests.

​

Standardised testing happens at various points in the year. Children in Years 2 to 6 are tested on their reading ability in September, using the NGRTIII test. Spelling is also tested in September, using the Single Word Spelling Test with Years 1 to 6. During the Summer term, Years 3 and 5 sit Cognitive Ability Tests (CAT4) and the Progress Test in English and Progress Test in Mathematics assessments are carried out with Years 1 to 5.

​

Toward the end of Year 5 and throughout the first two terms of Year 6, pupils are prepared thoroughly for their entrance exam to their senior school.

​

​Prep

 

In Reception and Year 1, prep usually focuses on reading each evening. The children also have a weekly spelling list to practise. From Year 2, there will be a small amount of homework each week relating to the concepts being taught in class or supporting your child’s abilities in core areas such as reading, writing and mathematics. All children from Year 1 upwards have spellings to learn each week. As children progress through the school, the amount of prep increases, so that by the time they reach Year 6, prep is set on a daily basis. A daily after-school prep session is available for children.

​

Reports

 

Michaelmas & Lent Term

Form teacher comment and end of term grade card for all subjects.

​

Summer Term

Full end of year written progress report.​

​

Learning Support

 

At Prince’s Mead we recognise that some students may need different, or additional, support at specific times during their school career in order to meet a range of learning needs or challenges. Whatever these may be, all staff are committed to providing appropriately planned support in order that all students have an equal opportunity to thrive and achieve.

​

​The Learning Support Department liaises closely with teachers and parents to identify individual needs and subsequently ensure those needs are met through additional support such as targeted differentiation in the classroom and/or 1:1 lessons with a specialist teacher. This support may be short-term for some pupils whilst for others it could be for a longer period of time, or ongoing. We can also facilitate visits from outside agencies such as Occupational or Speech and Language Therapists.

​

​Raising self-esteem is seen as key to removing barriers to learning for many of our pupils. As such, we feel it is important that every child is provided with the opportunity to experience academic success and to enjoy the experience of learning with us.

​

​Supporting More Able Children

 

​More able children are supported through differentiation of work and extra clubs. Further details can be obtained from Deputy Head Academic.

​

​Potential Scholars

 

From Year 5, the school identifies children who have the potential to sit a scholarship to their preferred senior school in Year 6. Selection of potential scholars is based on academic progress, examination results, opinions of those staff who have taught the children, the senior school they are aiming for and consultation with parents.

​

​Tutoring

 

​As a general rule, we do not endorse the use of tutors as the curriculum for each subject is effectively delivered through everyday lessons.

​

However, we recognise that some children may benefit from additional support or booster sessions outside of normal lesson time. In some circumstances, this may well be to increase the pupil’s self-confidence in a subject as much as their actual ability in it.

​

If a parent has a concern that their child should receive additional support, they should first raise this with the child’s form teacher/tutor or the relevant subject teacher. The school may already be able to provide appropriate support such as differentiated teaching in the classroom. It may be that additional support can be provided by the form teacher/tutor or the relevant subject teacher, in consultation with the relevant Head of Department.

​

Educational Visits

 

Throughout the year a diverse set of trips and excursions are organised for all year groups. We feel they offer a valuable extension of the classroom and benefit children both academically and socially. In keeping with our curriculum, we believe that school trips, which are organised within a safe and fun environment, afford children an opportunity to face real-life experiences and, in doing so, can contribute significantly to their own personal development.

​

​Teaching Groups and Sets

 

In Years 1 to 6 each child is placed in their class based on detailed consultation between staff. Academic ability, gender, friendship groups and the personality of the tutor in relation to your child are just some of the considerations. Classes are taught as mixed-ability groups in all lessons, with the exception of Spelling (Years 2 to 6), Mathematics (Years 5 and 6) and English (Years 5 & 6), where they are grouped according to ability. This system allows for individual strengths and weaknesses to be recognised. These sets are determined by departmental staff and finalised by the Deputy Head Academic.

​

Children’s progress is reviewed regularly within departments and movement between sets may occur frequently. End of topic tests, written and oral work, and school examinations are all considered when assessing children’s progress.

​

Rewards

 

Crown points are awarded to pupils who actively demonstrate one or more of our Crown Values - kindness, curiosity, respect, courage, and ambition. A certain number of points have to be collected in order to receive a Crown badge which are awarded weekly in Friday Prayers and the points added to House group totals. Every child awarded a Crown badge will be given one to wear for the week by their form teacher. They will then return the badge on Friday for other children to be awarded them.

​

Year 4 to Year 6 have Crown cards which keep a tally of their points and which they keep in their possession.

Reception: 3 Crown points = 1 Crown badge

Year 1 to 2: 5 Crown points = 1 Crown badge

Year 3 to Year 6: 6 Crown points = 1 Crown badge

​​

Children aim to gain as many points as possible, to enable their House to win the end of term trophy.

​

Headmaster’s Commendations are awarded to pupils who have shown outstanding effort or achievement in or out of class. Recommendations are made by the teachers/tutors for the Headmaster's consideration. It is worth 5 Crown points.

​​

​​End of term certificates

At the end of each term certificates are given to two children in every form for effort and achievement. Colours are also awarded to pupils at the end of each term in sport, music and drama.

​

Reading

 

​We aim to instill a lifelong love of reading in our pupils. Pre-Prep children follow a book-banded reading scheme. Each book-band contains a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts sourced from a range of published reading schemes as well as ‘real’ books. Within the band, children from Year 2 select their own material to read. Movement to the next band will vary from pupil to pupil but most children will be expected to move to the next band within a term. If necessary, children in Year 3 can still access the banded reading scheme. There is also an Early Library section aimed at younger free readers to ensure content is age appropriate. Staff in Reception to Year 3 aim to listen to children read once a week; the expectation is that pupils read to an adult at home for about ten minutes each day. Children’s reading is constantly monitored throughout the English curriculum and progress is recorded in the pupil planner. You are encouraged to share other texts at home too. During the holidays, Pre-Prep pupils are given access to an online library of reading scheme books personalised to your child’s reading levels. You are also encouraged to make use of public libraries and books already at home for reading during the holidays.