Foundation Stage Curriculum Guide 2015/16

Curriculum Guide 2016/2017

Matthew G Mills [email protected]

Clare Sharp [email protected]

Carol Battram [email protected]

Jason Cooper [email protected]

Julie Kelly [email protected]

Rachel Jones [email protected]

PLEASE NOTE: The content of this curriculum guide was accurate at the time of publication (March 2016). The curriculum is forever evolving, and during the course of the coming year, aspects may be developed or amended. Any changes will be communicated to parents through the regular year group Newsletters.

Our mission is to ensure students of different nationalities grow to their full potential as independent learners

in a caring British international community

Foundation Stage Curriculum Guide 2016/2017

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PLEASE NOTE: The content of this booklet was accurate at the time of publication (March 2016) The curriculum is forever evolving, and during the course of the coming year, aspects may be developed or amended. Any amendments will be communicated to parents through the regular Year group newsletters.


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A t Bangkok Patana, we seek to nurture young people to become motivated, highly-skilled, independent learners. Young people who recognise the

need to be life-long learners and responsible global citizens. The curriculum, combined with programmes designed to develop students’ personal skills and attrib-utes, helps us to achieve this mission.

The Curriculum

In the Primary School at Bangkok Patana, we use the English National Curriculum as our base curriculum but adapt it to meet our international learners’ needs. The purpose of this Curriculum Guide is to introduce you to this curriculum and how we put it into practice. The English National Curriculum begins in Year 1 and is used all the through the Primary School. In the Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery, Foun-dation Stage 1, Foundation Stage 2), we use the Early Years Foundation Stage Statuto-ry Framework and the non-statutory Guidance Document ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage’, produced by the Department for Education (DFE), UK. This framework prepares the children for the start of the National Curriculum in Year 1.

Learning

Our aim is to help children become skilled learners to enable them to access the curriculum, process information, resolve problems, initiate new ideas and evaluate their work. To achieve this, we endeavour to develop our students’ thinking skills, their personal attributes and their sense of citizenship.

We understand that children learn in many different ways and we strive to vary our learning and teaching approaches to provide for all our children’s learning needs. In the Early Years, we value the role that play has in helping young children to under-stand the complex world around them and in developing appropriate skills.

Life-long Learning Skills

Interwoven through the curriculum we seek to develop the children’s thinking, particularly in the following five areas:

processing information reasoning enquiry creativity and evaluation a creative approach to learning

As children are developing the essential learning skills, we are also looking to pre-pare them for the ever-changing world in which they live. To do this, we need to de-velop learning and innovation skills which include critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity, alongside digital literacy skills.

“We seek to develop the children’s thinking , particularly in the following five areas; processing information, reasoning , enquiry, creativity and evaluation, and a creative approach to learning. As children are developing the essential learning skills, we are also looking to pre-pare them for the ever changing world in which they are living.”


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The learners also need to develop initiative, leadership and probably most importantly. adaptability. Foundation Stage is a place where all these skills begin to develop. These are built upon in Key Stage 1, 2 and beyond. Personal Attributes

We also aim to equip our young people with well-rounded personal attributes. In Year 12 and Year 13 the students study for the IB Diploma, which includes developing the attributes outlined in the IB Learner Profile. To complement this programme and to enhance our learning, we begin to develop these attributes as they are central to our practice and curriculum.

The IB (International Baccalaureate) Learner Profile Attributes

We wish our students to develop the following attributes and to become: enquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, informed risk-takers, balanced and

reflective. We develop these through the encouragement of the following attitudes: appreciation, commitment, confidence, cooperation, creativity, curiosity, empathy, enthusiasm, independence, integri-

ty, respect and tolerance. Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE)

The aim of this aspect of the curriculum is to develop learners who integrate into society as confident, responsible, global citizens; young people who have empathy and respect for others and a desire to safeguard our natural world. To achieve this, the children have timetabled periods of PSHE. This programme includes elements of Jenny Mosely’s Positive Behaviour Management programme.

In summary, through the curriculum and programmes of study we seek to develop technical thinking skills, personal attrib-utes and social responsibility; we aim to provide the very best education for your children within a happy, caring environment. We aim to begin the journey of developing life-long learners. Our role is to nurture your child to discover and change their holistic po-tential - academically, physically, emotionally and socially. We seek to do this by providing a high quality stimulating learning envi-ronment where your children are happy and safe!

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum or your children’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact me. I hope you find our series of Curriculum Books useful.

Jason Cooper Assistant Principal, Primary School


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Bangkok Patana School Mission Our mission is to ensure that students of different nationalities grow to their full potential as independent learners in a

caring British international community.

Principles Expectations We have high expectations of all students and value continuity in their learning. At their individual level, students achieve the

highest academic standards. Our British-based educational ethos: provides a well-rounded education of the highest quality for English-speaking children; develops the essential knowledge and skills necessary for academic success; instils a love of learning in preparation for a productive and fulfilling future; values each student’s intellectual, physical, social and emotional development whilst encouraging them to be resourceful and

creative; develops an understanding of self worth and the worth of others. Staff at Bangkok Patana therefore: inspire students to fulfil their potential at an individually challenging level; develop responsibility and self-discipline; respect children as individual learners and plan accordingly; know your child well; are aware that your child is unique and respect that. Outcomes As members of our community, and as a result of their time with us, young people learn how to: value the richness of Thai culture; value their own culture, while showing respect for that of others; work as individuals and as part of a team; make, and act upon, informed choices concerning moral, ethical and aesthetic issues; develop lively, positive and inquiring minds; strive for excellence at all times; take pride in their own achievements and in the success of others; lead a balanced and thoughtful life.


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The Primary School is committed to creating a happy, caring and confident community of independent learners. We have high expectations and we aim to develop self-disciplined, skilled, resourceful and principled young people. We value our staff and seek to provide them with opportunities to develop professionally.

We nurture learning through child-centred approaches, technology and a variety of learning styles. We also endeavour to develop within our children thinking skills and strong personal characteristics. Through the English National Curriculum we strive to deliver creative and interactive programmes of study that are further enhanced and enriched by a comprehensive programme of extra-curricular activities that add breadth and depth to our children’s learning.

The Primary School values the cultural, religious and linguistic diversity of the students and seeks to establish respect for all nations. We also value the individual child and seek to meet their needs within our resources. In particular, we aim to effectively and sensitively induct all new students and their families into our community and to prepare them well for the next stage of their education and life.

Learning Through Play We consider play a very important teaching and learning tool in both the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1. We believe

through play children develop intellectually, linguistically, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. Therefore, opportunities for indoor and outdoor play are central to practice in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage1.

Developing Thinking Skills It is important to develop children’s thinking skills and this we seek to do through all subject areas. The following are the think-

ing skills we aim to develop as outlined in the National Curriculum. Creative thinking skills These enable students to generate and extend ideas, to suggest hypotheses, to apply imagination, and to look for alternative innovative outcomes. Inquiry skills These enable students to ask relevant questions, to pose and define problems, to plan what to do and how to research, to pre-dict outcomes and anticipate consequences, and to test conclusions and improve ideas. Reasoning skills These enable students to give reasons for opinions and actions, to draw inferences and make deductions, to use precise lan-guage to explain what they think, and to make judgements and decisions informed by reasons or evidence. Evaluation skills These enable students to evaluate information, to judge the value of what they read, hear and do, to develop criteria for judging the value of their own and others’ work or ideas, and to have confidence in their judgements. Information-processing skills These enable students to locate and collect relevant information, to sort, classify, sequence, compare and contrast, and to ana-lyse part/whole relationships.


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The Primary School and the Secondary School together form Bangkok Patana School and share many of the facilities on our spacious and purpose-built campus. The Primary and Secondary Schools both have their own Principal. The Primary Principal is supported by the Assistant Principal. The Assistant Principal acts as deputy to the Principal and is responsible for the implementa-tion of the curriculum and fostering learning across the school.

The Primary School takes children from 2+ in the Nursery through to 11+ in Year 6. In English National Curriculum terms it

spans the Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Foundation Stage (Nursery, Foundation Stage 1 and Foundation Stage 2) Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2). Key Stage 2 (Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6)

On a day-to-day basis the Foundation Stage is coordinated by a Senior Teacher. In addition to this, each Year group has a Leader of Learning and Welfare who leads the pastoral activities of the year and a Leader of Learning and Curriculum who leads learning in the year group. The Leaders of Learning are supported by an Assistant Leader of Learning and a team of classroom teachers. Outlined below are the ages of our children in each Year group. Foundation Stage

Nursery (ages 2+ to 3+) Foundation Stage 1 (ages 3+ to 4+) Foundation Stage 2 (ages 4+ to 5+)

In line with UK practice, students are placed in Year groups by age, the cut-off date being 31st August. All children in Year 1,

for example, will have reached their 5th birthday by September 1st. Each Year group contains students of all abilities. It is our poli-cy to cater for exceptionally able children within their correct Year group where their academic and social needs will be met through well planned, effective differentiation.

Students progress to the next Year group at the beginning of Term 1 of each academic year. Great care is taken to ensure there is a balance of students within each class in a Year group, so maintaining a mix of gender, ability (academic, sporting and cre-ative), nationality and personality.

To ensure this balance is maintained, the classes are mixed at the end of Nursery, Foundation Stage 1 and Foundation Stage 2. This mixing of classes is overseen by the Principal and the Assistant Principal, who take advice from the academic staff. We are unable to take into account requests from parents for specific teachers.


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The School Day in the Foundation Stage Nursery and Foundation Stage 1 Start of school: 7.40am Soft Start: 7.30-8am Morning Snack: Flexible School ends: 11.50pm Foundation Stage 2 Start of school: 7:40am Soft Start: 7.30-8am Morning Snack: Flexible Lunch break: 11:30am – 12:30pm (Flexible) School ends: 1:50pm


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Every child deserves the best possible start to life to enable them to reach their full potential. The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. Effective practice in the Early Years is built on four guiding principles:

A Unique Child recognises that every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships describes how children learn to be strong and independent from a base of secure relationships with parents and a key worker.

Enabling Environments explains how the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children ’s development and learning. Children learn and develop well in an enabling environment, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, and parents and carers.

Learning and development recognises that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. All areas of learning and development are equally important and interconnected.

The Foundation Stage curriculum is designed to be flexible in order to meet the varying needs of our children. It values and

recognises parents as children's first, and most enduring, educators and it encourages partnership between home and school.

Curriculum – The Areas of Learning and Development In the Foundation Stage, there are seven areas of learning that shape the curriculum. All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the prime areas are:

Communication and language Physical development Personal, social and emotional development

These three areas are essential foundations for children’s life, learning and success. Sitting alongside the Prime areas are the four specific areas through which the three Prime areas are strengthened and applied. The Specific areas are: Literacy Mathematics Understanding the world Expressive arts and design Our educational programmes at Bangkok Patana involve activities and experiences for children as follows:

Communication and Language Development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations.


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Physical Development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive and to develop their coordination, control and movement. Children are also helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups and have confidence in their own abilities.

Literacy Development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and begin to read and write. Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems and describing shapes, spaces and measures.

Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

Expressive Arts and Design involves enabling children to explore and play with wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage consideration is taken to meet the individual needs, interests and stage of development

of each child and this is used to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all the areas of learning and development. Our youngest children are expected to focus strongly on the three prime areas, which are the basis for successful learning in the other four specific areas. The three prime areas reflect the key skills and capacities all children need to develop and learn effectively. It is expected that the balance will shift towards a more equal focus on all areas of learning as children grow in confidence and ability within the three prime areas.

Learning Through Play

Play underpins the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. It is through play that children develop intellectually, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. Play is essential for children’s development, fostering optimal growth, learning and development across all domains - physical, cognitive, social and emotional – throughout childhood. Play provides a vehicle for children to both develop and demonstrate knowledge, skills, concepts and dispositions.

Play provides a non-threatening context for children to learn about their world and gain skills necessary for adult life. Through their interactions with the environment during play, children gain control and ultimately mastery over their bodies with the development of a range of manipulative and motor skills. They learn new skills and concepts, discover the world, and learn about themselves and others through their interactions in a variety of social situations. Play also facilitates language development, creative thinking and problem-solving, and helps children deal with complex and competing emotions. Open-ended, child-directed play opportunities in a rich environment are the most important and integral part of our early years education at Bangkok Patana.


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Staff throughout the Foundation Stage adopt a ‘free-flow’ approach to play, enabling the children to move freely around our learning environment (indoors and outdoors) following their own interests. Assessment and Reporting

In each area of learning, there are expectations for achievement known as the ‘Early Learning Goals’. These form the skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes that children should have acquired by the end of Foundation Stage. It is recognised at Patana School that a holistic approach that focuses on a child’s well-being and social and emotional development underlies all learning. By this we mean do they feel comfortable and secure, are they confident to tackle new tasks or situations independently, are they building up positive relationships with adults and peers, are they risk-takers, inquirers, communicators, enthusiastic and want to know more and are they confident speakers?

Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs, and to plan activities and support. On-going assessment is an integral part of the learning and development process. In the Foundation Stage, we observe and analyse the children’s learning in order to plan for the next steps. We observe children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations. We value the observations that parents and carers also share with us. Learning Journeys

Each student in the Foundation Stage has a Learning Journey that showcases their learning. The Learning Journey documents significant steps in a child’s learning over the course of their time in the Foundation Stage. It contains photographs, work samples where appropriate, accompanied by handwritten and typed comments from the teachers. The Learning Journey is unique to each child and entries will be dependent on the individual child. All the adults involved in the student’s education make contributions to the Learning Journey. The students are also involved in choosing pieces that they would like to include and they are encouraged to share their Learning Journey entries and to reflect on their learning. Parents are also encouraged to contribute to their child’s Learning Journey to help complete the whole picture of each child as a learner. The Learning Journeys are used as a basis for discussion at parent/teacher learning meetings and may be taken home and shared throughout the year. Communicating and Reporting

Within the first few weeks of a child entering the Foundation Stage, the teacher will call a meeting with parents to discuss how their child is settling in and to gather information from the parents in support of the student’s development. Parent/teacher learning meetings will take place at least once every term. A final report is issued at the end of Term 3.

At Bangkok Patana, we encourage open communication between parents and teachers. Parents are invited to bring their children into school in the morning for a ‘soft start’, which gives parents the opportunity to spend some time with their child at the beginning of the day in the Foundation Stage learning environment.

Parents are free to make an appointment to speak to a teacher through the Primary School Office or by emailing the classroom teacher directly in advance.


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As an IB World School, Bangkok Patana offers the IB Diploma in Years 12 and 13. We have adopted the IB Learner Profile as a powerful framework to support all our learners at Bangkok Patana.

The IB Learner Profile describes a list of attributes that promote academic rigour and the establishing of a personal value sys-tem leading to international-mindedness.

We strive for our learners to be: Inquirers Their natural curiosity has been nurtured and they actively enjoy learning. Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to solving complex problems. Communicators They receive and express ideas and information confidently in more than one lan-guage. Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations without anxiety and have the confidence to explore new ideas. Knowledgeable They have explored themes that have global significance and have acquired a criti-cal mass of knowledge. Principled They have a sound grasp of the principles of moral reasoning and have acquired integrity, honesty and a sense of justice. Caring They show sensitivity towards the needs and feelings of others, and have a sense of per-sonal commitment to helping others. Open-minded They respect the values of other individuals and cultures and seek to consider a range of points of view. Balanced They understand the importance of physical and mental balance and personal well-being. Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning by constructively analysing their personal strengths and weaknesses.

The IB Learner Profile attributes are developed through all learning experiences on offer at Patana; the creative curriculum units of study, field trips, ECAs, assemblies, in the playground etc. and are an essential part of our assessment criteria for tracking the growth of our students as independent learners.


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A storytelling approach is used throughout the Primary School to develop a range of narrative writing skills. Each term, chil-

dren learn to tell age appropriate stories and fairy tales with actions. Drama, art and other forms of exploration are used to make the stories memorable. Once they have internalised a fluent version of the basic story then children are taught how to use their imaginations to craft the story and make it their own.

The 3 ‘Eyes’ Imitation – early story composition is based on well-loved tales Innovation – our young writers are encouraged to base their stories on known tales, making changes to characters, settings

or events Invention – as our young writers acquire a good store of stories, they are able to mix the ingredients and invent their own

Storytelling provides the children with a bank of possibilities to draw upon when creating their own stories and encourages the flow of story language and patterns. When children learn to tell stories orally, it improves the quality of their writing.


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The Learning Support Team utilises a collaborative approach which supports all learners across the Primary School. Learning Support

staff work closely with Year teams, individual classroom teachers and specialist teachers.

Our Mission: Our Primary Learning Support Team at Bangkok Patana works in partnership with students, parents and colleagues. We recognise individual strengths and differences in educating the whole child. We

promote opportunities for optimal independent learning for children with a range of abilities through a variety of teaching styles, thinking skills and strategies.

If any child experiences barriers to their learning, a collaborative approach to assessment is used to identify strengths, needs and, if

necessary, implement a programme of support. Support may be provided in a variety of ways including differentiation strategies for the teacher; (which is the adjustment of the teaching process according to the assessed needs of the learners) small group instruction, monitoring, target setting, Individual Learning Plans and early intervention programmes.

Early intervention programmes are an important aspect of support in the Early Years in particular and are collaboratively planned and delivered across the school. Pre-referral intervention programmes are based on the assessed needs of students in language, communication, literacy, numeracy and motor skill development. These are usually delivered as small group instruction where student outcomes are monitored closely for progress. Transition to each Key Stage is carefully monitored by our Learning Support team in partnership with Year level teams.

Bangkok Patana follows many of the procedures of the UK Code of Practice. Before a teacher considers referring a student to the Learning Support team, parents will be informed by the class teacher. If it is required, targets are set with parents, class teachers and other key people (e.g. EAL, Speech & Language Therapist) and are reviewed termly. All stakeholders work towards the achievement of the agreed targets (parents, class teacher, Learning Support teacher/EAL/Speech & Language Therapist).

Children requiring speech and language therapy may be referred to our school speech therapist who, with parental permission, will assess a child’s needs and then provide a programme of therapy if appropriate. Parents requiring this service are asked to first have a discussion with their child’s class teacher or Learning Support teacher.

Fees are charged for the services of the speech therapist and for any in-school support which is in addition to that provided by our learning support teachers (for example, a one-to-one support person).

If specialist intervention or advice is recommended, for example, from an Educational Psychologist, Occupational Therapist or other, the Learning Support staff can provide information on contacts and options available to parents.

In most cases, we are able to implement the recommendations from a report generated by a specialist. In very rare cases where a child requires specialist input which we are not able to provide, or if a child’s progress causes significant concern, an alternative more appropriate school placement may be recommended. Regular and open discussions are encouraged to ensure the educational needs for the child are met.


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EAL staff support children to become proficient English language users, both in social and academic areas. All children for whom English is not their primary language are required to take a language assessment before admission to

the school. A decision is then made as to whether EAL support is required. EAL support starts in K1. Our approach is based on content-integrated language teaching. We believe that children make the fastest progress when

language is learned in context and when they are immersed in a language-rich environment alongside their English-speaking peers. Direct support is provided mostly through in-class support as well as in small groups and one to one instruction, where appropriate. Additionally, indirect support is provided by EAL staff who plan closely with the class teachers by recommending strategies and selecting resources to suit the learning needs of the individual children.

EAL children come to us with a variety of different experiences in terms of primary language skills. Research into the acquisition of a second language indicates that children can take up to three years to develop social language and up to seven years to develop their academic English in order to cope with the literacy demands of the curriculum. A strong primary language that continues to develop alongside the acquisition of English has been proven to be the best way for success in learning English. Furthermore, a strong primary language is fundamental to the children’s overall emotional and academic development. Our EAL team believes that a close relationship with parents can help the children succeed in learning English as an Additional Language.

The progress of the children is continually monitored and assessed. Once the children reach a level of English proficiency whereby they no longer need extra EAL support, they then exit the programme.

There is a fee for the first 15 terms of the EAL programme.

As an International school, we believe it is important to provide support to develop Home Languages for all children. We are

developing our Home Languages programme and the following vision statement is guiding the work: Language is central to all learning and teaching at Bangkok Patana School and is valued both as a tool for further learning and

as an outcome in itself. English is our main language of communication and enables students to realise their academic potential. However, we equally value all languages as fundamental to our understanding of internationalism.

We appreciate the role of language in personal development as well as in developing, maintaining and celebrating a diverse

cultural identity.

The Home Languages programme strives to provide multilingual students with the opportunity to maintain and develop existing fluency in their home language by:

creating a school environment which values linguistic diversity; encouraging the use of the language within the home environment; furthering the Bangkok Patana community's understanding on multilingualism; providing, where possible, curriculum time in which to extend their learning of their Home Languages; providing information on opportunities beyond the scope of the classroom.

Currently in the Primary School, our Extra-Curricular Activities programme offers a range of Home Language opportunities including Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese Mandarin, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Singaporean


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Mandarin, Spanish, Swedish and, of course, Thai. We may be able to accommodate other languages upon request. Additionally, the school has dedicated Dutch and Singaporean Mandarin teachers located on campus.

We are fortunate in the Primary School to have our own counsellors. They work throughout the whole school from Nursery to

Year 6. The counsellors are available to offer support and guidance to students and their parents. This will be when a child is experiencing difficulties of an emotional, personal or social nature.

Referrals to the counsellor must be made through the teacher, counsellor or the Principal. It is recommended that, where appropriate, a preliminary informal discussion is held with the class teacher.

The counsellor runs parenting workshops throughout the year.

PLEASE NOTE: The content of this booklet was accurate at the time of publication (March 2016) The curriculum is forever evolving, and during the course of the coming year, aspects may be developed or amended. Any amendments will be communicated to parents through the regular Year group newsletters.

Foundation Stage Curriculum Guide 2015/16

Documents

Transcript of Foundation Stage Curriculum Guide 2015/16