Personal development is at the heart of all that we do. We develop outward looking pupils who have the tools to communicate effectively and have a strong understanding of themselves, the wider community and the wider world. A range of additional opportunities enrich learning taught from Early Years and through to year 6. We help pupils develop their own character, to know that individual differences should be valued, to be resilient, reflective, to have empathy and respect for one another.
It is our intent to develop children that are confident communicators, that show tolerance and respect and to prepare them for the next step in their life journey. Our school vision and curriculum ensures that children are inquisitive, aspire to be the best version of themselves and face new challenges. Overall, we teach them to have the courage to shine!
Every year to allow the development of cultural capital, all Year 6 children have the opportunity to visit London. Here, they are immersed in the culture and history of our capital city. They visit places such as Wembley Stadium, The Natural History Museum, The Tower of London, have a cruise down the River Thames, experience a West End show, visit Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and they also enjoy a visit to the Warner Brothers’ Studios. This provides an opportunity to experience the hustle and bustle of London which is a huge contrast to rural villages in which our children live.
Our Year 5 children enjoy a residential visit to Peat Rigg where they are able to face new challenges through a range of outdoor, adventurous activities including abseiling from a bridge, beck scrambling and attempting to reach the top of Jacob’s Ladder.
In Year 4, children enjoy a night of camping at The Year 4 Campout. For many of our children, this is their first stay away from family. Here, they experience a range of different teamwork challenges such as an obstacle course, orienteering, a climbing wall, erecting their own tent and cooking on the campfire. This event is run by two of our Synergy School TA’s who are highly trained Forest School leaders. The event happens locally, in familiar surroundings with staff the children know. It’s a great first residential experience!
Educational Visits and Experiences:
To enable children to fully understand a topic, we know that first hand experiences are the best way to learn. We try to provide children with carefully planned school trips and experiences through visitors in to school wherever possible. For example, when Year 3 were learning about creation within their RE lessons the learning was enhanced through a visit to Ripon Cathedral to see the 'Learning through Creation' exhibition. Opportunities for educational visits and experiences have been thoughtfully planned to enhance learning and cultural capital.
As part of our RE curriculum, we ensure that experiences, trips and visitors to school are planned in to enable children to understand a range of cultures and religions.
We also support our wider community through visits to our local church for events such as Remembrance and a recent Christmas tree festival which the choir performed at. At harvest we organise food and essential item donations to go to our local food bank, The Open Pantry. Some of our children in upper Key stage 2 have also been to visit a local residential care home at Christmas time- to sing carols and bring festive gifts to the residents. Through these activities we aim to be the best version of ourselves.
School Sport
For many children, sport is a chance for them to have the 'courage to shine' and really excel. It’s also an opportunity for children to work as a team, build a healthy lifestyle and have some fun! In addition to the PE curriculum, children take part in a variety of intra and inter-school competitions.
In the summer term, we take part in The Synergy Schools Sports Day which is held at Catterick Athletics Stadium. The children compete against other children from Synergy Schools in a range of track and field events – this gives all children an opportunity to take part but also provides others the opportunity to excel!
We are also a key part of the Richmond PE Cluster where children get the opportunity to compete in a range of sports against other schools in our area. Recently some of our children have made it through to The North Yorkshire Finals for cricket and cross country to name but two!
Children in EYFS take part in formal physical education lessons from the start of the spring term as we think that this is a really important part of the curriculum as we want to give the children the best start with their physical development.
PSHE
Our children develop their social, emotional, mental and physical health through our PSHE programme, Jigsaw. Please see our PSHE curriculum page for more information.
