0768-172-104
Curriculum
Tradewinds Academy follows the National Curriculum for England and Wales for reading, writing and maths. There is a clear progression in skills throughout the school and the comprehensive, balanced curriculum provides children with the tools they will require in the next phase of their learning journey. Children at TradeWinds enjoy an hour of maths and an hour of English each day, as well as regular spelling and reading opportunities.
Looking for Early Years Foundation Stage? Click Here
Milepost 1 (Years 1 and 2)
Children in Year 1 enjoy a balanced curriculum of exploration, play and formal learning. Phonics occurs daily and children begin the year by revisiting the sounds that they have previously been taught. This learning is supported through the provision of carefully selected reading materials. A range of reading schemes are used at TradeWinds to expose children to a variety of genres from a young age. Year 1 children have an hour of maths and an hour of English each day. In maths, emphasis is placed on practical maths which helps the children to visualise and understand. English lessons will often link to the IPC topic so that children begin to make links in their learning and can apply skills in different areas. Children orally rehearse writing and begin to form sentences independently. Handwriting lessons begin in Year 1, with children being taught pre-cursive handwriting.
Children in Year 1 have daily story time, during which their teacher or another member of the school community will read to them. Class reading is something that continues throughout children's time at TradeWinds. As children move into Year 2, the stories that are read to them increase in length and complexity. Children are encouraged to discuss the story and explore character feelings. Handwriting in Year 2 becomes fully cursive and children have regular opportunities to practise. Children in Year 2 continue to use the range of reading schemes available and books are assigned to individual children to facilitate progression in reading and spelling. Although there are fewer opportunities for free play in Year 2, learning activities remain practical and engaging. Children are given regular 'brain breaks' and physical challenges to develop sustained focus and free up working memory. Music and Kiswahili lessons begin in Year 1 and continue until Year 6.
Milepost 2 (Years 3 and 4)
In addition to an hour each for maths and English, children in Milepost 2 have regular opportunities for cross-curricular writing which enables them to apply writing skills in a range of contexts. Spelling instruction occurs daily and children have small-group guided reading sessions each day. These allow for quality discussion of texts in order to develop comprehension, inference and an understanding of text structure. The aim is for all children in Milepost 2 to be 'free-readers', responsible for choosing their own reading books from the library, rather than the reading scheme.
Multiplication practice occurs regularly in Milepost 2 and additional practice at home is encouraged. The expectation is that children are confident with multiplication and associated division facts up to 12 x 12 by the time they finish Year 4.
Children in Milepost 2 have a greater amount of time assigned to physical activity. This will typically be between 2.5 and 3.5 hours per week, depending on the time of year. As well as Kiswahili, children in Milepost 2 will also be taught an additional language (currently Spanish).
Milepost 3 (Years 5 and 6)
Milepost 3 follows a similar structure to Milepost 2, however, there is additional time allocated to mental maths challenges. A greater level of independence is expected in Milepost 3 and more formal home learning may be sent assigned. Spelling instruction occurs three days a week and children also have regular opportunities to use dictionaries and thesauruses to support their writing.
Milepost 3 children have the additional responsibilities of forming the school council and the Year 6 children are House Captains. This, combined with the BigFriend LittleFriend scheme, encourages the children of Milepost 3 to take responsibility, lead by example and feel a sense of pride and ownership.
As children prepare to leave TradeWinds after Year 6, we aim to liaise with their intended setting in order to make the transition as easy and effective as possible.
