For our children, this is a natural and smooth progression into the next stage of their education and, with the experiences that have come before, they are absolutely ready to embrace a wider variety of challenges and opportunities in Years 3 and 4.
Most lessons are taught by Form Teachers, who also provide ongoing care and support to the children in their class. There is a more specialist approach, in Years 3 and 4, to teaching and learning in Science, Computing, Modern Foreign Languages, Swimming, Games and PE, Outdoor Learning, Music, RE and Art. This involves our children learning in purpose-built spaces, such as our Art Room or Science Lab, and working alongside specialist staff who are able to drive their enthusiasm and understanding of these subjects in a range of exciting directions.
As teachers, we continue to have high expectations and we have confidence in the children at every level, which in turn helps them develop confidence about their own ability. We challenge and support every child through responsive teaching; we know that every child masters things at different stages and in different ways and we celebrate and nurture those differences rather than expecting every child to achieve equally. Our aim is for every child to have mastery of the skills they learn and through our approach, we find that our pupils excel in ways they may never have dreamed possible.
Alongside a wide variety of trips and visits, Year 3 sees the children head off on an overnight residential for the first time. This away-from-home experience involves a local, one night stay at The Frontier Centre in Northamptonshire; it is the perfect place for a fun-filled outdoor adventure break that is not too far from Oundle.
In Year 4, children go further afield for a residential experience in York; during the trip enrich their Vikings topic with a visit to the Jorvik Centre and Dig! Our residential experiences give children the opportunity to develop skills of independence and collaboration, and resilience and confidence. Year 3 and 4 also enjoy a range of outdoor adventure activities, which include canoeing, rock climbing and outdoor learning in our Woodland Garden.
We have a Mastery approach to teaching and learning at LJS, which means we believe that every single child is capable of success and that nothing should inhibit their ability to achieve it. Our environment is supportive and encouraging, and we pride ourselves on maintaining a flexible curriculum to ensure that at any given time, every single child is being challenged appropriately, inspiringly and above all, successfully.
