We have had a successful first term of our new curriculum in KS1 where we have been looking for ways to develop links across the curriculum weaving themes together for a greater understanding and enable the children to make links. Our Design Technology project to make a working lighthouse using an electrical circuit has led most of these ideas. Not only have the children found out about electric circuits and read about lighthouses, they have also built a lighthouse from cardboard to put a working bulb in. They have visited a working lighthouse at Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast, met a real-life lighthouse keeper and read the series of books about Mr Grinling and his lighthouse. 

When introducing a new curriculum there can be a worry that it might not fall into place as successfully as what you had previously but we need not have worried as the children have engaged fully and enjoyed every minute.

Willow class have shown their creativity during a recent share assembly. Everyone showed bravery and risk taking in taking a part and playing it to the best of their ability. We had great fun performing, dressing up and showing our learning to an audience.

We had some become a firefighter and King Charles II. We had a pair of children choreograph a dance and perform it to the school. We had a group of children create a human working model of Sizewell power plant. The children really did show their creative development in their amazing performance.

This term across the school we celebrated Children’s Mental Health week. 

Amy Softley, PSHE lead, organised purposeful activities and curious discussion points for staff to lead in their classes focusing on what makes us proud of ourselves and what we have achieved in our personal life and academically.

Some pupils were risk takers, sharing with everyone their achievements in our school assembly. 

We also sketched portraits of ourselves showing what we look like on the outside on one half and the things which make us unique on the other. Pupils also adorned their favourite clothes that showed others what makes them unique.

Claire Bettinson, reading lead, organised book week across Glebeland based on the book by Jon Klassen, I want my hat back. Teachers used the text in English lessons across the week, enabling pupils to adapt the story to create their own imaginative and creative versions of the story in KS2 and KS1. Peers sat with each other across the school, reading their favourite books and sharing their thoughts of the stories. Pupils also had opportunities to sit with different members of staff throughout the week and listen to them read a story of their choice.

Pupils and staff dressed as bears in hats for World Book Day, enjoying a teddy bear's picnic lunch with their favourite bear that had accompanied them to school.

Parents and carers came to join us to read with their child, watch a costume parade and celebrate the winners.

Creativity is shown in so many different ways on a daily basis at Greenfields. As staff we have certainly been creative and adaptive in cover staff absences. Classrooms are constantly adapted to meet the needs of the children- perhaps most evidently in EYFS where staff creatively approach learning through continuous provision and the selected activities for personalized learning. It doesn’t surprise me to see a tuff tray full of frozen peas (exploring a world book day text) or children with hands in bowls of porridge as they explore the world around them. 

The children in EYFS at Greenfields have been looking at opposites as part of their topic work. The children at Helmingham have also been creating pieces of Art work for the East Anglian Art Competition. The children were given a simple wave outline and they used hot and cold colours to create these stunning pictures. We displayed them on gallery boards for the parents to cee what they were able to achieve.  

Other competition pieces included leaf printing and representing feelings.  

The Hedgehogs class have also been looking at the work of Andrew Goldsworthy. They used their resources in the school grounds to create their own masterpieces based on his pattern work.  

At Henley, the year 5 and 6 children were very creative when they were looking at ways to minimize the impact of global warming. They have been using the book “What did the tree see?“ as part of their Science week explorations on the theme ‘Time’. The whole hub have used this book as a stimulas for their Science week work so there have been plenty of creative responses throughout the week which will be culminating in a showcase assembly for the parents next week.  

This half term we have celebrated world book day at Kirkley Nursery, the staff and children have been very creative in their outfits, coming in dressed as their favourite characters from familiar stories.  We also had a visit from Catherine Coe the author of the Kid Cowboy book series, she read one of her stories to the children. The children showed great levels of fascination and joined in with actions and repeated refrains.  The staff also dressed in their finest cowboy attire.  Fun was had by everyone.

Recent staff training in Attention Autism has supported the children to develop their sustained attention and early communication skills.  The staff have confidently built links between the training and supporting children to be engaged throughout the interventions, they have adapted their approach to the way they are delivered and provided tailored sessions to small groups of preschool children.  The training took place with the children and the staff observed each stage of the interventions that was being delivered, tt was great to see the staff asking several questions.  Further to the training, we updated our resource base for the activities in our Attention Autism bucket and it has been wonderful to see children’s curiosity and amazement by the items that are being used.

More details on Attention Autism can be found in the link below

https://www.justonenorfolk.nhs.uk/speech-language/extra-help-for-early-communication/attention-autism/

This week at Rendlesham Primary has all been about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).  World Book Day provided the stimulus with a delve into the non-fiction genre.  Pupils came to school on WBD dressed as either an animal, nature, horrible histories or space armed with their non-fiction inspiration, either a non-fiction text, encyclopaedia or Wikipedia page for example.  Some of the costumes were incredibly creative! After a reading session with the parents/carers and new knowledge acquired, this was then shared in a special assembly along with a song based on each theme.  Parent engagement was high and feedback was positive.

The STEM focus for this year is time.  Assemblies have explored the concept of time in terms of days, seasons, lifecycles, travelling, time zones of the world as well as how measuring time has evolved.  In all classes pupils have completed a range of challenges.  In Key Stage 1 pupils found out about animals that build nests including gorillas, snakes and ants, they then made their own nests from natural materials for a chosen animal.  Later on they completed the challenge from Colchester Zoo to design an enclosure for an African animal combining all of their STEM skills practised over the week.  In LKS2 pupils have been curious and adaptive practising their engineering skills looking at shapes and structures to build a spaghetti towers using marshmallows.  The tower had to hold a lego figure, the tallest tower was 60 centimetres and still standing.  While in UKS2 pupils have had a direct focus on each STEM area including making switches in science, maths and ICT challenges as well as the engineering focus in LKS2.  Challenges allowed pupils to be independent thinkers, imaginative and creative as well as building links with their previous knowledge. 

In Lower School, Butterflies have had a creative time whilst we have been learning about Farm animals and growing plants.

The children had a fabulous time exploring a tractor, too; even the rain did not deter them. We have been practising the alphabet in phonics.

In Art we have enjoyed painting and printing. Have a lovely weekend!

At College we have been working on our creativity skills making cards, gifts and easter crafts.

Students have explored a range of textures and materials while making choices for colours to add to their work.

We have also been putting our creative touch on cooking. While making cupcakes everyone had a go at decorating and choosing their toppings.

Some students have been working hard on their paper mache models within their AQA lesson.

In Nurture over the past few weeks Koalas students have been exploring stories related to ocean and safari animals and used different textures and colours to create their favourite animals in art, as well as some fun Mother's day crafts. In maths, the students have been comparing heavier and lighter using balencing scales and counting in sets. The students also enjoyed having assembly over the past couple weeks on a Thursday afternoon and well done to Jude who got star learner last week!

We are excited to continue learning about different animals and their habitats in the lead up to the Easter break!

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Riverwalk recognises the importance of securing a place for all of our students in the community once they finish compulsory education at 18

To do this, we use the Moving Into Adulthood plans and have the support of a Career Development Practitioner - Christine Walton for professional careers information advice and guidance.

Christine has a wealth of knowledge in supporting young people and families and is very much looking forward to supporting young people and their families (Yes - the support is extended to parents and carers and their career pathway too) in the coming months.

Christine offers virtual support throughout the week and can be contacted at how2careers@gmail.com 

At Warren, our Spring 2, Half-termly topic of ‘How Things are Made’ has actively encouraged the students to get hands on in turning ideas into creative development. This is demonstrated beautifully in Class 10’s pasta pictures in the style of the Shell Grotto in Margate.

In addition to our topic, there are a number of important days in our school calendar that get our creative fingers busy.

Class 13 have created some Mother's Day circles of love, to celebrate our amazing mums, or adults who take care of us. The pupils cut the templates out and decorated them, before writing a special message to their mums. 

March 21^st is World Down Syndrome Day and as well as dressing in our own individual way (with lots of socks to represent the importance of uniqueness), the students design their own socks and display them. The theme for this year’s World Down Syndrome Day is ‘End the Stereotypes’, a sentiment we strive to address everyday through celebrating the creativity, engagement and learning of all our children and young people.

At Warren, as at all of our schools, we think of creativity in so many different ways. In our PMLD classroom, the teacher immediately thought of Sensory stories, which enable the students to access and engage with stories in so many different ways. You will see from the pictures that the staff are creative in their approaches to teaching and the young people are often glorious in the way they interact.

There would not be enough space to share all of the creativity we have the pleasure to witness and join in with at Warren, from turning ideas into reality to the enthusiasm of signing songs together. What is important is that creative development never stands alone as a timetabled Art lesson, it is the evidence that all creativity is encouraged, captured and developed everyday.

The Waveney Valley Partnership teachers have been extremely purposeful in their approach to assessing the knowledge and understanding of pupils in subjects other than English and Maths. 

A rota has been created by SLT that covers a range of subjects each half term.

Six methods of assessment have been identified, and these are as follows: 

Corridor Display and Double Page Spread

A subject forms the display for each class in the whole school corridor. Each week a selection of work is added and this builds up over the unit of work. At the end of this, pupils create a Double Page Spread in the first week of the next half term. This encourages pupils to recall knowledge over time. 

Showcase

Pupils invite their families to attend an afternoon session in the final week of the half term/term. They review their learning completed and then participate in an activity with their adults. 

True or False 

Pupils have a true or false quiz which assesses their understanding of the key aspects of their learning in that specific unit. 

What do you remember? 

Pupils complete a fact sheet recalling key vocabulary and learning concepts from the unit of work studied - these act as a summary of their learning. 

Diamond 9 

Pupils are presented with the task of sorting a Diamond 9 which is closely linked to concepts they have studied in a specific subject. 

Hexagons 

In this method of assessment, pupils are given a selection of hexagons with key items of learning which they then have to link and connect in some way.

In order to facilitate this, teachers have worked collaboratively across the partnership. This has also been a key feature of planning as they continue to develop their ability to be curious in adapting their plans to meet the needs of their classes. 

  

At Winterton School, we believe that every child should see themselves as a reader, and to achieve this, we offer a diverse range of reading genres that cater to every taste and interest. From factual to fantasy, adventure to comedy, our library is brimming with texts that spark the imagination and ignite a passion for storytelling. Among these genres, graphic novels have recently emerged as a favorite among our young readers. 

In the past, graphic novels may have been dismissed as "not proper reading," but we've come to recognise their value in captivating children who may feel intimidated by thicker chapter books. With their attractive illustrations and straightforward plotlines, graphic novels provide an accessible entry point into the world of literature, allowing readers to engage with the story on multiple levels. We've observed that children often enjoy reading graphic novels both independently and with a partner, adding their own flair to the dialogue and narrative. 

This World Book Day, we embarked on an extraordinary journey into the realms of imagination by inviting our pupils to create their very own imaginary superheroes. Embracing their inner creativity, pupils were encouraged to embody characters with unique superpowers, setting the stage for them to craft their own graphic novels where the forces of good triumph over evil. 

The response was inspiring, with many purposeful superheroes gracing our halls. From Fly Boy, capable of time-traveling with his incredible speed, to Jam Master, whose music brings joy to all who hear it, each character brought forth a story waiting to be told. Other imaginative creations included Hawaiian Hero, Planet Protector, Paper Princess, Cotton Boy, Tool Man, Fairy Queen, Ocean Girl, Detective D, and Magma Knowledge, each contributing their own unique twist to the narrative tapestry. 

We were thrilled to share our crafted graphic novels with our families on a special open afternoon. Our visitors were so impressed with the fantastic graphic novels the children shared.  

On this World Book Day, we celebrated not only the written word but also the limitless potential residing within each of us to become the heroes of our own narratives.  

Scouting at Yox Valley

Every week many young people across our country enjoy Scouts - having fun, playing games, working in a team and taking on new challenges. A Scouting programme helps children deal with tricky challenges, big dreams and the skills needed for life. The Scouting Association believe that the earlier a child accesses non-formal education, the more positive the impact on their future development, and research shows that many of our key skills and attitudes are formed in the early years of life. The Department for Education recognises that Scouting has a valuable impact on a child’s development and has funded a project to deliver Scouting provision in some educational settings. At Yoxford and Middleton Primary Schools we have been lucky to benefit from one of these pilot projects.

At Yox Valley we firmly believe that adding the scouting provision dimension to our curriculum we provide opportunities that enhance pupil’s wider personal development, especially their creative development.  Each half term the scouting provision is planned carefully to complement our school curriculum and children spend time during the term working towards their scout badges.   To give you a flavour of the scope the provision offers this half term Cubs have been working towards their Global Issues badge and have covered:

 

1. Identifying where our clothing or other belongings have been made.
2. Investigating a recent natural disaster by looking at photos, news articles or videos online.
3. Finding out about an international sporting event and discussing with our Troop how sporting events can contribute to international peace and understanding.
4. In small groups, learning about an international health issue, using a creative way to share what they have learnt with our Troop.
5. Thinking about the rights that we have in the UK (like the right to vote, the right to go to school and equal gender rights).

Whilst our Beaver Section have recently worked towards gaining their Space Badge.  Children loved learning about the solar system and particularly enjoyed making the constellations with marshmallows and pasta!  They showed great determination and resilience in creating their own star sign.

This term their focus has moved towards gaining their Air Activity Badge.  Part of this was creating a whirly bird  -  they were so curious as to how they were going to fly!  The Beavers were also lucky enough to be joined via video call by Second officer Ben Rourke who shared photos of the planes he flies and answered many questions.  Ben used to attend Middleton School.

Alongside this wider curriculum diet, all activities the children participate in help them develop and grow key life skills such imaginative and creative thinking, being adaptive, purposeful, curious and independent. These skills align with our curriculum drivers and help our children reach their full potentials. Our next development points are to forge links with the scouting community that already exists in the Southwold Community and our very own Group Scout Camp!