At Colleton we work in teams across the school. This means the children and staff have the opportunity to foster and build relationships within and across the teams. The children also have the opportunity to work with and get to know lots of children and staff.
Foundation Stage is where the children first enter the school and their learning mainly takes place although we ensure that during the spring term, they work in mixed groups joining younger team for cross-curricular learning and PSHE activities.
Younger Team – Key Stage 1 children are in mixed registration groups of Years 1 & 2. Within these groups they are taught a range of curriculum subjects but may also be taught in year groups for phonics, writing and maths.
Middle Team – Lower Key Stage 2 children are in mixed registration groups of Years 3 and 4 in which they are taught a range of curriculum subjects. They may also be taught in different groups for some activities and in year groups for maths and aspects of their English learning. This mixed approach and flexible approach provides many benefits.
Older Team – Upper Key Stage 2 children are in mixed-age registration groups of Years 5 and 6, in which they are taught a range of curriculum subjects. The children may also be taught in different groupings, such as: year groups, when being taught spellings or maths for example, or across registration groups, meaning larger groups are often taught together by several teachers.
These dynamic and flexible groupings, and teaching, provides many benefits for the children’s learning. The children are provided with a range of perspectives to learn from, teachers are able to cater more directly to the needs of each child, and with our team-teaching and open-plan environment, we are able to create a more stimulating and exciting place in which to learn.
The use of a Planner system, allows children to have the freedom to learn at their own pace and at a level appropriate to them. The children are encouraged to make decisions about their learning, enabling them to become independent and confident learners. Our receiving secondary schools often praise our children on such abilities when they transition to Year 7.