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DITCHAM PARK SCHOOL |
| Where every child is known and valued |
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Open Morning Saturday 2nd October 10am-1pm
Pre-Prep (Year 1) @ Ditcham Park
In year 1 our children are encouraged to become independent learners who can access the curriculum at their level. This is achieved through the correct provision of resources, accessibility of resources (i.e. children are encouraged to help themselves to the piece of equipment that they find most useful to work with in a given task) appropriate questioning, worksheets that are often tailored to the child's ability, a high level of expectation, clear learning objectives and a lot of praise…
Academic overview:
All subjects are taught under the umbrella of topic work wherever possible. This is important for infant children as it helps them to make more sense of their work when it is placed within a familiar context. Topic led work also contributes towards a more exciting way of learning as the relevance of their subject matter is increased and, generally speaking, tasks lend themselves more easily to a practical and 'hands on' way of attaining knowledge. The six topics that are covered throughout the year are as follows:
| Ourselves (Autumn 1) | Light and dark (Autumn 2) |
| Toys and forces (Spring 1) | Sound and hearing (Spring 2) |
| Growth and mini beasts (Summer 1) | Materials (Summer 2) |
Numeracy:
Pure number work is taught which includes number recognition, value (Ts and Us) and techniques the children can use in order to apply the operations of addition and subtraction to numbers, as well as simple multiplication and division. Introducing 2D and 3D Shape, data handling and representation, time, measures (CMs, Ms and CLs) and money at appropriate times throughout the year builds on these foundations. The element of role-play and the use of puppets and an array of visual resources help to give Numeracy in Year 1 its breadth and purpose. Our children are able to use their knowledge of numbers in a meaningful and enjoyable way.
Literacy:
Phonics teaching children to recognise and say sounds. Jolly phonics is used as it combines fun actions with sounds and pictures. Handwriting the cursive script is taught using traditional blue and red handwriting lines. The children begin to use 'proper' handwriting books.
Spellings all children are initially given 5 or 10 spellings per week. All will end up doing at least 10 or even 15 spellings which back up their phonic work (10) and in some cases extend the children so learn to spell their Year 1 and 2 key words (extra 5 spellings)
Reading all children are heard on a daily basis either by the class teacher or the classroom assistant. A child's reading book should contain between 2 and 3 new words per page in order to extend their vocabulary. We do expect that children are heard at home as well for between 10-15 minutes each evening. Main schemes used: Oxford reading tree (ORT) Story World and Tree tops
Writing a combination of fiction and non-fiction writing is taught. Children are encouraged to write by themselves (Emergent writing) with the aid of a word bank and also enjoy sessions of guided writing when the proper way to punctuate work, employ correct grammar and spell words is modelled by the teacher. At the weekend the children take 'Frog & Pig' (the class pets) home in order to help them enjoy writing more freely and practise their skills!
ICT : This is taught on a weekly basis. Once a new concept has been introduced the children are encouraged to practise their new skills during activity time in the afternoon choosing sessions. Typical skills attained by end of year 1 include good mouse control, logging on and off independently, accessing a program with some help, or entirely unaided, and printing work without assistance.Specialist senior schoolteachers take the children for P.E. music and drama on a weekly basis. P.E. lessons = 4/week, Music = 2/week, Drama = 1/week. PSHE and circle time.The children are given a topic for discussion such as 'being a good friend' and take turns to give their opinion on how to achieve this. They pass around a green dog called 'Dudley' who signifies whose turn it is to talk and helps to ensure that all the children who want a turn to speak have been offered one. A daily pictorial timetable is put up on the main whiteboard each day so that the children are aware of how their day will be structured. They are able to access this point of information even if their reading skills are still at the early stages of development. There is a 'duty list' including such things as fetching the register and looking after the class 'pets' at the weekend. The children enjoy having specific jobs to do on certain days and can't wait until it is their turn! This also helps to instil a sense of ownership and pride in their classroom.
Afternoons
These are structured around topic work and activities. The children choose their activities using the activity board. They place their name on their chosen activity and are free to change activities as many times as they wish during the activity session. However, the number of children per activity is limited so they are required to learn to employ and practise their social skills in order to share fairly/take turns.
The children bake every week. As well as being a fun activity it also helps them to use and explore the mathematical skills involved in weighing and measuring and develop their knowledge of food and how it is grown and made.
Parent helpers are actively encouraged to be a part of their child's development and education at Ditcham. We welcome any CRB checked parent volunteers who are usually assigned a topic based piece of work to undertake with the children in groups of 2 or 3 at a time
Two main trips are run each year; one to Birdworld in September when the children are learning about 'themselves', and how they compare to other mammals and birds, and the second trip in May to Staunton Country Park. Here the children have the opportunity to learn about life as a mini-beast and even get to touch a giant millipede and a giant hissing cockroach! They have a lot of fun using pooters and hunting for a variety of insects and mini-beasts.
However, our grounds and the surrounding areas are beautiful and so of an afternoon we will often find ourselves on a Spring bluebell walk, an Autumn colour walk or a frosty Winter walk!
Contact Information:
Telephone 01730-825659 Postal Address Ditcham Park School, Ditcham Park, Nr Petersfield, Hants, GU31 5RN, England