Curriculum Enrichment
Wider Curriculum Opportunities & Cultural Capital
Our curriculum extends beyond the National Curriculum and includes a wide range of enriching experiences and opportunities both within and beyond the school day. This includes after-school clubs, that support the core curriculum offer, as well as those which develop specialist skills, such as music lessons, whilst also extending the range of children’s experiences (Cultural Capital). Residential visits in Key Stage 2 build children’s independence and provide enrichment opportunities for learning within different contexts and settings. The residential includes opportunities for children to take part in outdoor activities, such as fencing, canoeing and archery. Educational visits take place throughout the school year and link explicitly to the term’s learning. Visitors also deliver talks, workshops and full day activities across a wide range of subjects, giving pupils access to outside experiences and expertise. We are continually looking to increase the number of experiences as well where our parents are involved in our learning.
Throughout the year, themed days are woven into the curriculum to extend the breadth and balance of opportunities we offer our pupils. These include, Anti-bullying Week, Internet Safety Day, World Book Day, and World Kindness Day.
Forest School & Outdoor Learning
Forest Schools is designed to provide opportunities for outdoor learning in a woodland environment. As a school, we are very fortunate in having extensive grounds and a teacher trained to deliver the Forest Schools programme, who is based at The Warriner School Farm.
Children in our Foundation Stage have weekly forest school sessions. Sessions are designed around the needs of the group to ensure that they are learner-led. Teamwork skills are developed through games and activities. Individual skills and self-esteem are fostered through activities such as hide and seek, shelter building, tool skills or environmental art.
PE and Sport
At Finmere, we are using our PE & Sport Premium to promote increased pupil participation in PE and Sport through North Oxfordshire School Sports Partnership's offer of interschool festivals and competitions. All children in key stage 2 benefit from swimming coaches and have lessons every other term.
Music and the Arts
Finmere School provides opportunities for children to take part in a wide range of musical activities and performances where they are encouraged to sing, compose and perform. A range of opportunities are provided within and beyond the curriculum for children to showcase their musical skills and talents, for example our children are able to take part in the village carol concert. Visits to the theatre further enriches pupils’ cultural development. Our Around the World in 80 assemblies programme, provide links between geographical places studied, people studied from history and music from around the world.
Opportunities to Lead
We offer pupils to take on new responsibilities and be involved in successfully supporting the life and work of the school. Our School Council is made up of children from across the school, leading to change. Please see our Courageous Advocacy page for more information.
Pupils tell us that they enjoy the opportunity to volunteer to help make their school an even better place to be and that they enjoy the additional responsibility.
Opportunities to Develop Spirituality
Opportunities for spiritual development are either presented or naturally arise and are promoted in all aspects of the curriculum and school life, as children become actively engaged in our curriculum and collective worship. This provides a wide range of experiential learning opportunities that enables the children to question, consider, reflect and respond, whilst also considering their own values, beliefs and feelings and those of others, with whom they are working alongside or with.
Collective Worship
A programme of Collective Worship helps to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and provide clear guidance on what is right and what is wrong. Our Worship Lead plans collective worship that provide opportunities to worship as a whole school and within classes. At the end of the school day on a Friday, a worship celebration is held by the head of school.
Homework
All children receive homework. The amount and type of homework varies with the ages of the children. Some homework is expected to be done regularly, for example reading and learning times tables, and other homework might be undertaken termly, for example projects related to history themes.
We sometimes set whole school challenges, which are linked to world celebrations or events, for example World Book Day or competitions related to the arts.