Our Intent
At The Thinking Schools Federation we strive to empower our children to be independent critical thinkers and make their learning as much fun and as meaningful and relevant as possible. We offer children an excellent education in a safe, calm, creative, inclusive and stimulating environment. Every child is valued as an individual; we aim to nurture well rounded, respectful and confident children who will develop skills for life-long learning. We nurture our children on their journey and encourage them to be creative, unique, open-minded and independent individuals, respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world. We take our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain very seriously and ensure that the fundamental Human Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of our school.
At The Thinking Schools Federation we believe that English remains at the core of all children’s learning. With that in mind, we cultivate not only our children’s knowledge but their key skills too. Our development of English is fostered from our EYFS to upper KS2. The spiral curriculum of Writing and Reading enables our children to build on their previous skillset and work towards greater depth; this method allows the children to partake in an active learning journey. The journey combined with the pitching of all teaching and learning to greater depth allows our children to become curious, brave, articulate learners. We prioritise our children’s creativity, freedom and risk-taking. We believe in the importance of reading, writing, handwriting, spelling, SPaG and oracy to empower and nurture children with all the skills and knowledge they require to be confidently literate in life.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, we believe that Mathematics is an integral part of everyday life. With this in mind, we want children to develop their fluency in the fundamentals of mathematics with increased complexity so as to recall and apply knowledge accurately and with increased pace. Arithmetic and basic math skills are practised daily to ensure key mathematical concepts are embedded and children can recall this information to see the links between topics.
Mathematics should allow children to develop their reasoning and problem solving by following a logical line of enquiry, systematically with justification and proof. At our schools, we also feel Mathematics should promote challenge and push children to excel. New mathematical concepts are introduced using a ‘Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract’ approach; enabling all children to experience hands-on learning when discovering new mathematical topics, and allowing them to have clear models and images to aid their understanding. It is important that children understand the nature of persevering when things do not go right the first time round so they can then re-evaluate and reflect to get it right the next time round.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, we are adopting a mastery approach in order to achieve a deeper understanding of Mathematics through fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Our approach aims to make our learners independent mathematicians who are equipped to apply their learning to the wider world.
At The Thinking Schools Federation we acknowledge the prominence of Science as a fundamental part of our daily lives. Science is all around us and as one of the core subjects, we give the teaching and learning of Science great importance. We believe it is imperative for our children to be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science in today’s world and the future.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, Science is a time for children to safely explore their curiosity, ask questions, wonder and most importantly have fun in their learning. Through the teaching and learning of science we increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding of our world, as well as enabling them to develop essential skills associated with science. Children are encouraged to become independent and inquisitive learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific questions. Specialist vocabulary is taught and developed and effective questioning is encouraged. Children explore inspiring practical experiments to investigate questions they pose. They are provided with engaging stimuli to immerse themselves with each topic taught. Children predict and then explore questions on a number of topics, ensuring they see the relevant links to the real world. We promote children’s confidence in Science by encouraging a passion for risk taking and modifying ideas. We encourage children to work collaboratively and co-operatively with their peers, this is essential as they take the responsibility to choose how to record and then present their findings. Children are given ample opportunities to explore the different types of scientific enquiry and apply this to their investigations. Science resources and external agencies are well utilised to enhance Science teaching and learning and support effective differentiation.
Science allows children to develop their natural curiosity as well as encouraging respect for our environment and living creatures. Children at The Thinking Schools Federation value Science and many of them aspire to work in scientific professions in the future. We strive to ensure that our teaching and learning of Science will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences.
It is the intention of The Thinking Schools federation to teach age appropriate, pupil sensitive, evidence based RHE, that respects the law and all communities that call Redbridge home.
At The Thinking Schools Federation it is our expectation that RHE provides a learning space to understand Personal, Social and Health skills, knowledge and understanding, to enable children to navigate the world in which they live throughout childhood but also into adulthood; therefore, RHE is such an important element of the curriculum.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, we strive to enable our children to celebrate their uniqueness in a safe space where their feelings and emotions are heard and valued. Through our curriculum, we will equip our children with valuable life skills to keep themselves safe, to keep physically and mentally healthy as well as creating and maintaining meaningful relationships in society around them and beyond.
As a school, our values, combined with the accessibility of our curriculum, will enable our children to become independent and responsible members of society who will have the tools to tackle a range of moral, social and cultural issues. We will encourage children to explore their rights and responsibilities as well as an appreciation of others as part of a diverse rich global community.
At The Thinking Schools Federation our History curriculum is designed to ignite children’s curiosity about the past. We are determined that alongside historical knowledge there will be a high focus on the development of specific historical skills. We intend to equip pupils to ask questions about the past, analyse evidence, think critically, appreciate different perspectives and develop informed judgements through knowledge.
Children are given a wide variety of experiences both in the classroom and out. We encourage school visits and visitors into school to enable the children to gain first hand experiences to support their learning. Pupils are encouraged to think like historians and develop their skills including historical enquiry. There is a strong emphasis on developing children’s other skills such as understanding of chronology, interpretations of evidence, changes within a time and across time periods and cause and consequence. At The Thinking Schools Federation we encourage all children to see themselves as excellent Historians.
At The Thinking Schools Federation we believe that Geography helps to provoke and provide answers to questions about the world we live in. Children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. At The Thinking Schools Federation we enable our children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which can and are used to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We seek to inspire and build curiosity and promote understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. The curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, as well as transferable, throughout their lives.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, we want to ensure our children have an awareness of the beliefs and cultures within and beyond their school community. We would like for children to develop fundamental skills that will support their analysis and response to various questions posed by religion. RE is a central subject for us as it encourages our children to develop their very own sense of identity and belonging. Therefore, it is of high importance as it is essential to children beyond their school lives. London Borough of Redbridge is a multi-cultured area and it is important that our children develop respect and appreciation for diversity all around us. Our mission is to encourage curiosity amongst all children and broaden their horizons and to make sure that children understand the relevance of RE in today’s modern world and how it affects our lives.
RE is provided for all pupils, and is inclusive and broad minded. Parents do have the right to withdraw pupils from RE: if you wish to do this, please make an appointment with the head teacher or RE subject leader. The school does not support selective withdrawal from RE’
At The Thinking Schools Federation we want to provide pupils with a high-quality Art Curriculum, which develops creativity, sets challenges, engages and inspires children. We want to equip children with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create their own works of art, craft and design. We aim to give all children the confidence to express themselves through a range of chosen mediums. We provide our children with an opportunity to experience all art forms and pupils are encouraged to experiment with a range of different materials and techniques to bring their ideas to life. Opportunities to practise art and design techniques are embedded across the Art Curriculum through the use of individual sketchbooks and final pieces. We want our children to know how art & design has contributed to our culture and understanding of our history and the world. Our children also focus on key artists and create their own artworks in their particular styles. Children are given the opportunity within lessons to work on their own and collaborate with others on a wide range of projects. We expect our children to display progression in their skills, thinking and use of materials throughout their education at The Thinking Schools Federation. The children at The Thinking Schools Federation will understand they are all artists and enjoy expressing themselves through Art.
At The Thinking Schools Federation, we want our children to progressively develop their Design Technology knowledge and skills. These skills will enable the children to make products that not only solve real and relevant problems in a variety of different contexts but are innovative designs that consider their own and other’s needs, wants and values in the design process. We want children to take risks in developing and designing their own products as well as being able to critically evaluate existing products. We strongly value a cross curricular approach when it comes to the teaching of Design Technology, ensuring that links are strong and relevant. We will provide opportunities for children to evaluate key events and individuals who have helped shape the world. We strive to inspire the next generation of innovators.
Technology is world-wide and will play a pivotal part in students’ lives. At The Thinking Schools Federation, we aim to support our learners for their future by giving them the best opportunities to gain knowledge and develop skills, that will equip them for an evolving digital world. Knowledge and understanding of Computing is vital for children’s future. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. Our Computing curriculum focuses on a progression of skills in digital literacy, computer science, information technology and online safety. This is to ensure that children become experienced in safely using, as well as understanding, technology. These units of work are revisited frequently through a range of themes during children’s time at The Thinking Schools Federation to ensure the learning is embedded and skills are effectively developed. Our intention is that Computing also supports children’s creativity and cross curricular learning to engage children and enrich their experiences in school.
Further Subjects
Across The Thinking Schools Federation, we follow the same curriculum over most subjects with a few exceptions. These exceptions are listed below. Please see the links to the schools individual websites for more information.
Other Information
