What makes Lakeview special?

Every school is unique, just as every child is unique. Children at Lakeview are valued as individuals and have the opportunity to thrive, irrespective of any needs or requirements that they may have. We nurture self-belief and resilience so children feel they can achieve anything with determination, perseverance and hard work.

We work hard to offer an enhanced curriculum; we believe that children learn best through experiences beyond the classroom. We achieve this by providing opportunities for children to:

• Share achievements through: whole school and class assemblies, individual class initiatives such as ‘The Proud Cloud’ in Nursery, and ‘Terrific Toad’ in Toads class, school newsletters and our website.
• Be involved in decision-making that affects the whole school through pupil voice groups (School Council, Eco Council, Sports Leaders, Head Boy/Girl, Whole-school surveys).
• Represent the school through Inter and Intra School sports competitions/tournaments.
• Participate in musical performances; our annual Christmas Carols and ‘Proms in the Playground’ events are enjoyed and valued by the entire school community.
• Attend residential visits in Year 4 and Year 6 to promote resilience and teamwork, and also provide new opportunities for physical activity (rock climbing, kayaking etc.)
• Adopt healthy lifestyles through a choice of after-school sports clubs, learning about healthy food choices and participating in a range of health-related learning opportunities, such as first aid awareness sessions.
• Participate in KS2 Enterprise week leading to our fabulous Christmas Fair involves the development of life skills such as budgeting, time-management, teamwork and marketing.
• Learn from parents within our community through drama workshops, craft activities, careers talks and shared reading.
• Learn a musical instrument through peripatetic lessons (All years) and in the weekly music lesson (Year 3), and participate in borough-wide musical performances, such as ‘Bollywood Brass’.
• Take part in Bikeability training to develop road safety awareness and cycling proficiency skills (Years 4 and 5).
• Participate in theme activities to spark interest in the learning E.g. – Rocket launching (Year 5), World Book Day (All years), Roman Banquet Day (Year 4), Election canvassing (Year 6), and Circus Skills Day (Year 1).
• Attend Educational visits to museums and places of interest, to give meaning to learning.
• Develop good mental health, through regular opportunities to discuss issues, reflect on their emotions and solve conflicts (with adult guidance), access weekly mindful sessions as part of the PSHE curriculum, and participate in ‘Kindness week’ to raise awareness of the positive impact of being kind.
• Work with our full-time learning mentor, to receive interventions to develop self-esteem and confidence, resilience, emotional literacy and social skills.
• Use outdoor learning (including Forest School) to develop respect of their surroundings, teaching them to be risk aware, as well as improving self-esteem, resilience, independence and communication skills.
• Develop a broad understanding of relationships, the our RSE programme (see overview below).

The Lakeview Curriculum - What are we trying to achieve?

At Lakeview School, we endeavour to make learning meaningful for all children.  We are committed to providing a relevant, broad and balanced curriculum so that children develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative and independent thinkers.  We aim to be flexible and our curriculum is adaptable – at times we change direction in response to children’s interests, local and national events.  We have a strong belief in the traditional values of courtesy, kindness, hard work and good behaviour.  We want our children to leave our school with the knowledge, transferable skills, resilience and confidence they need to be successful in the next stage of their lives.  Children are taught about British Values, which promotes, tolerance, understanding and celebration of diversity.

How do we organise learning?

Throughout our curriculum we teach skills, knowledge and creativity.  We follow the National Curriculum for KS1 and KS2, the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Locally Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.  The curriculum is designed to enable children to be competent at reading, writing and calculating, and we recognise that these skills underpin all aspects of the curriculum.

Children are taught as a whole class, sometimes in ability groups, in pairs and individually. We believe children learn best when they are interested and excited about their work. We bring work to life by using practical tasks, artefacts, visits to relevant places of interest or by bringing people into school.

Curriculum resources, including online schemes, enable staff to access consistent guidance and to plan continuous learning.

How do we know we are achieving our aims?

The impact of the curriculum is that children are well-motivated and engaged in their education with a growing knowledge base which prepares them for effective transition for their next stage in learning and equips them for life.

Children are confident learners. High quality visits and visitors to the school enhance the curriculum and provide opportunities for enriching the learning experience.

Teachers continually assess learning and tailor planning and provision to meet the needs of all children. This helps all children to achieve the highest standards academically as well as developing the whole child.

Should you wish to find out more about the curriculum at Lakeview, please feel free to make an appointment to see the appropriate teacher in school or come along to our informative ‘School tours’.