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Contents

Introduction

  1. The National Curriculum
  2. Assessment of Learning
  3. Assessment for Learning
  4. Target Setting for Pupils
  5. Differentiation
  6. Teaching Policy
  7. Learning Support Unit
  8. Assessments for Effort
  9. Mid Term Assessments
  10. Reports
  11. Parent-Teacher Meetings
  12. Exams
  13. Scholarship and Common Entrance
  14. Senior School Pre-Testing
  15. Planning the Curriculum
  16. INSET
  17. SKULL
  18. Reasoning and Thinking Skills (RATS)
  19. Study Skills
  20. Sex and Relationships Education
  21. Personal, Social Health and Citizenship Education
  22. Marking
  23. Handwriting
  24. Spelling and Tables
  25. Digital Learning
  26. Modern Foreign Languages
  27. Religious Studies
  28. General Knowledge
  29. Academic Council
  30. Departments
  31. Heads of Department
  32. Academic Management Team

The Curriculum Outlines booklet has been produced for a number of years to give all parents and other interested parties information regarding the general academic policies followed at Sandroyd and the outline of the programme of study that their children will follow in each subject during the year. The information is now available only on-line since this is far less cumbersome than the booklet form, although hard copies are available should you wish to have one.. If you feel that the information is incomplete in any way or have questions on any other aspects of our curriculum, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Mark Potter Deputy Head (Studies) September 2015

  1. . The National Curriculum

Although not formally bound by the National Curriculum, it is used as a foundation for teaching at Sandroyd. The school offers a good deal that is beyond the scope of the National Curriculum (NC). In English and maths the National Curriculum has been followed reasonably closely in Years 3 to 6 and standardised tests produced by the government are used to help set targets and to monitor the progress made by each pupil. However, the recent changes that have been introduced have not been incorporated since the school feels that some aspects of the changes to the NCF will be revised in the short term.

The foundation subjects have a little more scope for variation but it would be expected that the requirements of the National Curriculum would form the minimum level of provision in Years 3 to 6. Some subjects, such as Latin are not included in the National Curriculum at Key Stage 2 but form an important part of the Sandroyd curriculum.

In Years 7 and 8 the demands of Common Entrance and Scholarship exams play a large but not overwhelming role in determining the curriculum. In all examined subjects, the Common Entrance syllabus has been brought broadly into line with the National Curriculum.

There have been a number of important recent initiatives in this area, many of which seek to strengthen areas which have long been central to Sandroyd’s educational philosophy. These changes will be monitored closely and adopted where appropriate.

  1. Assessment of Learning

Whilst Sandroyd is well aware that there is a great deal more to teaching and learning than can ever be encapsulated in a single number, the school continues to set and achieve demanding targets with regard to improving pupil performance.National Curriculum based tests for Years 3, 4, 5 and 7give both levels and standardised scores in English and maths. By using these tests at the end of relevant academic years, along with a system of baseline assessment for new pupils in Years 3 and 4, progress can be monitored and any areas of weakness addressed. Changes to the NC have meant that these assessments have been superseded and Sandroyd’s policy is currently under review.

At the start of each academic year all pupils inYears 3 to 7 will sitstandardised computer based ‘Progress in English and Maths’ tests to provide further information regarding pupil achievement in Years 3 to 7. The Assessment Co-ordinator and the Academic Deputy Head prepare detailed reports on these tests to help teachers to improve the performance of individual pupils and to consider any topics within the curriculum that might be weak in comparison with other skills. Improvement in teaching in these areas is then made a key target for the coming academic year. Pupilsalso sit verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests at the end of each spring term in the junior forms and comparisons are made between these results and achievement in the classroom to highlight any apparent underperformance.

  1. Assessment for Learning

In order to ensure that each child makes as much progress as possible, Sandroyd endeavours to provide each pupil with a curriculum and feedback which best meets their needs. Experienced teachers have always been very sensitive to the needs of their pupils and have set pupils challenges appropriate to their ability. Current research evidence with regard to target setting, marking of work, differentiation and the school teaching policy have been reviewed to make this a more formal process. For most pieces of work pupils are provided with clear indicators of what has been done well and advice as to how to make the work even better in the future.

  1. Differentiation

It is central to the ethos of Sandroyd that the school exists to serve the needs of a wide range of individual pupils. Each Departmental Handbook contains a section outlining policy for stretching the more able pupils and supporting pupils with particular difficulties. The Learning Support Unit prepares Individual Education Plans for each of its pupils and this helps to ensure that all members of staff are fully aware of the needs of all of their pupils. The Able and Talented Co-ordinator ensures that exceptionally able pupils are identified and a variety of strategies are in place to meet their needs both within and beyond the curriculum.

  1. Teaching Policy

The school teaching policy ensures good practice across all departments. The learning objectives for each lesson should be set out clearly and shared with pupils. A plenary session at the end of each lesson is taken as an opportunity for pupils to evaluate the progress that they have made during the session. Lesson visits are undertaken by the Headmaster, Deputy Head (Studies), Heads of Department and formal visits by colleagues ensure that managers are fully informed regarding the educational experience being provided for pupils and good practice is shared between individual members of staff.

  1. Learning Support Unit

The LSU helps around 20% of pupils at Sandroyd to cope with a variety of learning difficulties. The most common of these is dyslexia but others might include dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder or simple difficulties with a particular subject. The school follows the government Code of Practice on Special Educational Needs and is fully aware of its responsibilities resulting from the Disability Discrimination Act. Liz Davidson is Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator. She and Alice Richardson work closely with classroom teachers.Specialist tuition is given in English as an Additional Language to any overseas students who would benefit.

  1. Assessments

Parents will receive, via the parents’ portal on the school website, grades indicating theeffort that their child has made in each of the major academic subjects. The following scale is used:

5 – Excellent

4 – Good

3 – Satisfactory – this represents the grade expected of a pupil working appropriately.

2 – Adequate – this indicates mild dissatisfaction with the effort made by a pupil and will alert parents and tutors to investigate.

1 – Poor – this represents an unsatisfactory level of effort.

An average score in excess of 3.5 will earn an alpha. An average of 4 or more gains 2 alphas.

These effort grades will be published fortnightly and will be accompanied by brief comments by the subject teachers and tutors.

From September 2014 a similar set of effort grades will be published each half term for other subjects including Art, Music, DT and Digital Learning.

  1. Mid Term Assessments

These combine an effort grade given according to the same criteria used in fortnightly assessments with an attainment grade. The following grades are used for attainment:

A – Outstanding – very few (if any) pupils in a year group will be working at this level. Extra provision through the Able and Talented programme would be required.

B – Very good – this grade is given to pupils who display considerable aptitude for the subject

C – Sound – this is awarded to a pupil performing at an average level for Sandroyd, but is likely to be above the national average. Good progress is being made but some difficulties have been experienced with the aspects of the standard curriculum.

D – Awarded to pupils who, despite their best efforts, find a particular subject difficult and are below attaining a level below that of most of their peers.

E – This grade is awarded to a pupil who is finding the subject very difficult and is likely to be working on a modified programme of study.

For midterm assessments members of staff will award a General Attainment grade which will give parents a clear indication of their child’s overall attainment. In addition there is the opportunity to award a Current Attainment grade with additional comments to allow teachers to indicate recent attainment levels. Where the Current Attainment and General Attainment grades do not match for 2 or 3 assessments in succession then teachers will re-evaluate their grading. If there is no Current Attainment grade then it will be the same as the General Attainment grade.

It should be emphasised that a pupil achieving the same attainment grade for a number of terms in succession is making progress exactly in line with expectations rather than no progress at all.

A letter explaining the system in more detail is sent to all parents in September and a copy is available on-line. Further information is available from the Deputy Head (Studies).

  1. Reports

Full written reports are produced at the end of the Autumn and Summer Terms for all pupils in Years 3 to 7. These include details of topics covered as well as indicating attitude to the subject, standards achieved and, on occasions, targets for next term.Year 8 pupils receive full reports in the Autumn and Spring Terms. In terms where a full report is not published a shorter format report is produced.Tutor reports and the Headmaster’s Report detail achievements in non-academic areas and comment upon pastoral matters.

  1. Parent-Teacher Meetings

Each year group has a formal parent-teacher meeting once in the academic year. The dates of these meetings are announced well in advance in the school calendar. Teachers are also available to discuss progress informally at a wide variety of other times and a formal meeting can easily be arranged through the office. With the exception of Years 4 and 8 meetings will normally take place in the Spring Term to complement the shorter reports.

The school also holds regular meetings for parents to discuss general academic matters. Recent meetings have covered RATS, Assessment and there have been two sessions devoted to recent trends in maths teaching.

  1. Exams

Pupils in Years 7 and 8 take exams at the end of each term, whilst those in junior forms take standardised verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests at the end of the Spring Term and a range of exam papers in the other terms. Year 3 are normally only tested in the core subjects. Years 3 to 7 sit tests in English and maths in the Summer Term designed to confirm the National Curriculum level at which they are working, although this is currently under review as a result of changes to the National Curriculum.

  1. Scholarship and Common Entrance

In Years 7 and 8 preparation for Scholarship and Common Entrance exams takes on a high profile, but not to the exclusion of other desirable educational outcomes. Over the past years the school has achieved an enviable record of Common Entrance and Scholarship success to some of the most demanding senior schools.A number of the more academic senior schools pre-test potential entrants at 11. Although senior schools stress that no special preparations are required for these tests, the school does ensure that pupils are familiar with the type of questions that they may be asked and have had interview experience when necessary.The Headmaster takes a lesson with each form in Year 6 to help develop Reasoning and Thinking Skills (RATS). These preparations are intended to give pupils the confidence to perform to their full potential both in lessons and in any pre-tests that they may be required to sit as part of the transfer process.

  1. Senior School Pre-Testing

For a number of years, some of the most heavily over-subscribed senior schools have operated a pre-testing system for pupils in Years 6 and 7. These tests have usually involved interviews and reasoning tests along with occasional tests of literacy and numeracy. The central premise of this type of testing is that they are a measure of ability and as such detailed preparation is not an advantage. Sandroyd ensures that all pupils are familiar with the types of tests they are likely to face and have had the opportunity to experience some formal interview practice. Since September 2012 the ISEB (who set the Common Entrance exams) offer a standard pre-assessment test package which may be used by a wider range of senior schools although experience of using this is currently limited. Sandroyd has adapted the Reasoning and Thinking Skills programme and the SKULL session to ensure that pupils are confident if faced with these tests and a member of staff has specific responsibility for helping to prepare pupils for these tests. {Practice interviews with senior members of staff are also undertaken and advice given.

  1. Planning the Curriculum

Long term planning is contained within the departmental Schemes of Work whilst subject teachers have their own weekly planning sheets which place particular emphasis on assessment as well as content and differentiation. Individual lesson plans and learning goals are shared with pupils in lessons.

  1. INSET

A whole school staff training day takes place at the start of each term and the school encourages staff to attend a very wide range of in-service training courses to ensure that teachers are fully aware of the latest professional developments. An Inset Co-ordinator oversees the professional development programme. In addition a system of Internal Continuing Professional Development has been set up to help staff to share their expertise.

17. SKULL

Skills, Knowledge and Understanding for Lifelong Learning (SKULL) gives all students the opportunity to broaden their educational and cultural experience. For the youngest groups this includes some sessions on news items, world cultures and natural history. For the seniors sessions include art appreciation, politics and financial literacy. Further detailsare available on line or from the Deputy Head (Studies).

18. Reasoning and Thinking Skills (RATS)

This subject was introduced for Year 6 in 2008. It has been successful and in September 2012 was expanded to all pupils in Years 5 to 7 and in September 2013 will be taught to all pupils except Year 3. In the Junior Forms there will be opportunities to think laterally and to develop verbal and non-verbal thinking skills. In Years 7 and 8 pupils will follow the OCR Critical Thinking Skills syllabus which will give them the opportunity to take a formal exam which is currently equivalent to a short course GCSE. More details of the course and philosophy behind this subject are available from the Deputy Head (Studies). The topics covered are also very useful preparation for senior school pre-tests.

  1. Study Skills

Many techniques to help children learn efficiently are covered by subject teachers. In addition all year groups have a Study Skills sessions covered in the SKULL programme which is co-ordinated to ensure appropriate continuity and progression. Year 8 receive specific advice on Revision Technique and an essay writing workshop led by teachers of the humanities early in the Spring Term each year and are given further Study Skills sessions in RATS following the OCR exams which are sat in January each year.

  1. Sex and Relationships Education (SRE)

SRE is taught as part of the SKULL sessions and teachers are vigilant to ensure that all materials and discussions are age appropriate. Parents are reminded that they have the right to withdraw their children from the SRE programme but not the elements of the science curriculum dealing with human reproduction.Further details of the course and the school’s policy are available from the SRE co-ordinator or via the Deputy Head (Studies).

21. Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE)

A formal curriculum has been drawn up by the PSHCE Co-ordinator which covers key topics such as citizenship, living as part of a community, bullying and self-esteem, rights and responsibilities, living in other cultures and healthy eating. PSHCE is taught as a formal timetabled lesson each week.