Our Curriculum at Escrick Primary School
Intent
At Escrick Primary School our EYFS makes a crucial contribution to a child’s early development and learning. Our aim is to inspire learning and foster secure foundations for future learning and development. We recognise all children are unique learners and provide a rich variety of teaching and learning experiences that are appropriate to their needs. There is a large emphasis on developing key learning skills such as reading, listening, number and co-operation. This supports our children in becoming happy, resilient, confident, and independent learners, from the start of their educational journey.
We understand that play is an integral part of learning, and this is at the core of our early years’ curriculum. We believe that the correct balance of adult directed, and child-initiated play ensures the best outcomes for our children.
Implementation
Based around a thematic approach we provide a carefully planned broad and balanced curriculum which responds to each individual child’s needs, allowing them to make progress and develop. Beginning with a book and linking to personal experiences with stories and information texts, children are taught new experiences from a familiar starting point. Themes and texts are chosen to excite and inspire children.
Play is supported through different provision areas as children access free flow; inside and outside the classroom. These provision areas help to support the seven key areas of learning and development and promote curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
We create a safe, caring and inclusive learning environment, in which every child is seen as unique and valued for who they are.
We understand the importance of parental partnerships and believe that our parents have a fundamental role to play in their children’s education. We work hard to create strong partnerships between home and school. Parents receive regular updates on Tapestry that capture the key moments in their child’s development. Parents are encouraged to add to these and share the experiences that children have gained outside of school, ensuring a well-rounded view of each child’s learning journey.
Impact
By ensuring that the content, sequencing and progression in the areas of learning are matched with high expectations of children we aim to develop happy, inquisitive and hard-working pupils. By consolidating and deepening their knowledge, understanding and skills we enable children to learn and successfully move to their next stage in Key Stage One.
Early Years Foundation Stage
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development.
Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s early development and future learning.
As we progress we then focus on 4 specific areas. These are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Outdoor Learning
At Escrick we love to learn both indoors and outdoors. The children enjoy engaging with our recently refurbished outdoor area including an exciting water area, garden kitchen and sand pit. This encourages the children to be imaginative and creative within their play, as well as exploring through problem solving opportunities and working with others.
Forest School
Our weekly Forest School session takes place in our school woodland. These sessions allow the children to learn all about and understand the world around them. Forest School provides opportunities for children to be creative, work within nature, learn about the weather and seasons, observe wildlife, develop their imagination, work with a range of materials and manage risk.
Phonics and Reading
We follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised at Escrick. Phonics is taught through daily whole class teaching lessons and small group activities. The aim is for all children to have a secure understanding of Phases 2 and 3 in the phonics programme and to be able to segment and blend words within these phases. Phonic lessons include letter formation, oral blending, reading and spelling activities
Reading is usually taught in small groups; the practise books are decodable and are carefully matched to the child’s current phonic knowledge. A book is read several times in school and following this, an e-book will be allocated to your child to read at home. Your child will also bring home a ‘sharing story’, which they have picked. This will be brought home each week for them to share with an adult, this is usually changed on a Friday.
Home Learning
We encourage parents to support children with their learning at home and so we share a weekly sheet with parents every Friday. The home learning sheet provides information relating to the phonics learning from that week and it may also include other areas of the curriculum later on in the year. Activities are often practical with an aim to consolidate learning and increase confidence.
Core Subjects at Escrick Primary School
English at Escrick 2022-2023
Writing, spelling, reading and homework across our school
Our approach to English at Escrick Primary School is grounded in a foundation of core skills (phonics, reading, writing and letter formation) and brought to life through creative and engaging learning experiences. We read and plan from a range of rich texts and provide cross curricular links and vocabulary to upskill learners of all abilities. Reading opportunities are regular and children develop a love for reading and writing and understand that texts can be both educational and entertaining in equal measure.
Our approach to reading and comprehension is progressive, as the depth of understanding and level of explanation needed in response to texts and author’s choices becomes more challenging as children progress through school. There are overlapping skills (Summariser and travel tracer are similar roles from reading VIPERS in 3/4 to reading Circles in 5/6) to ensure continuity and consistency. Expectations continue to be raised through challenging questioning and levels of independence and access to high quality stimulating texts.
The foundations for reading and writing:
Handwriting and spelling overview
Handwriting
The expectation is that children learn to join their handwriting following the Penpals Scope and Sequence Programme. This is taught from Year 2 upwards.
In Years 2/3/4 lessons are taught directly on a daily basis and children need to reach a set standard before being offered their pen licence (at least 6 pieces of work need to evidence a consistent approach to the handwriting style and joins). If they wish they may choose to stay using a pencil for their writing.
In Years 5/6 handwriting is taught 3 times a week to consolidate the style and joins. Again pen licences are issued once the expected standard is met.
Spelling
Reception and Year 1 follow the Little Wandle Scheme and homework is used to reinforce this at home. Tricky words and phonics sounds are sent home.
Years 2 – 6 follow the No Nonsense spelling scheme with daily lessons being delivered in Y2/3/4 and twice a week in Years 5/6 and weekly ‘checks’ being undertaken to assess progress and identify needs. These follow the content coverage for each year group and include writing spellings, applying rules, identifying correct and incorrect spellings and other games and activities to help children remember key spelling patterns.
Some children in Year 2 – 6 may need specific spellings to learn and these will either be taken from the previous year group’s NNS lists or from words and spellings identified in their work (e.g. tricky words, or words ending in ck or k).
Reception and Year 1 Writing
Our teaching of writing begins with providing the children with many varied opportunities for mark making, both large and small. Fine motor skills are also developed in all areas of provision in our Reception and Year 1 classes. This is followed by encouraging the correct letter formation using the Little Wandle scheme. Early writing experiences include name writing, copy writing, captions and labels. This then builds up to sentences with punctuation and extended sentences with connectives by the end of Year 2.
Year 2
Reading
In Year 2 the children are revisiting their phonics sounds from Year 1 following the Little Wandle programme. As Little Wandle has only been introduced in Reception and Year 1 since September 2022, Year 2 children will be assessed in Phonics and keep up catch up used to target those needing more support. NNS spellings will also be used to cover specific spelling rules and patterns, sending lists home for homework and weekly spelling quizzes. Reading comprehension skills are taught as a whole class situation through VIPERS – Vocabulary, Inference, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise, with a session focusing on each skill. This approach aids their understanding of words and texts and develops these vital comprehension skills. Children also access guided reading weekly in ability groups with an adult. Children are also exposed to different style SAT questions with modelled answers by the teacher – using sentence stems and scaffolds to support learners.
Year 2 read a class book at the end of each day for 15-20 minutes and regularly read their work aloud to the teacher and their peers in daily lessons. Guided reading is also a weekly task for the children and they enjoy reading aloud across the school day.
Year 2 Writing
As children move into Year 2, they continue to build upon the foundations of basic sentence writing. They are introduced to SPAG features in discrete sessions, for example the use of conjunctions to extend a sentence or adjectives to develop expanded noun phrases. This is modelled, practised and revisited to ensure pupils are confident to apply this to their own work. When writing a longer text, students are supported with all aspects of reading a text, identifying key features, picking apart the SPAG that they need to make sure they are successful and with planning and drafting their work. Towards the end of year 2, they begin to evaluate and edit their own work to make meaningful changes.
Teachers model how to plan and draft ideas and give students time to be creative through talk, drama, art and other activities that generate ideas. Children become more competent and able to write in response to a range of prompts and begin to write at greater length. Opportunities to apply their writing skills are also provided in other subjects such as Science, Geography and RE.
Homework
- 10 spellings a week and put 4 into sentences.
- Maths basic skills task given eg number bonds problems
- Regular reading at home of their school book
Key Stage 2
Year 3
Year 3 Reading
As the children move into Year 3 there is clear progression in the teaching of reading. Texts are more challenging and whole class reading allows longer texts to be shared and discussed. The different features of texts are taught with children having time to consolidate this new knowledge in their own reading and writing tasks. Comprehension skills are revisited and children begin to embed this and develop confidence to read for meaning and understanding. VIPERS is still used within a carousel plan and all children read regularly in a 1:1 scenario. Children are asked and expected to read at various times throughout the day in all lessons from morning work written on the board to reading new Spanish vocabulary.
Year 3 Writing
Writing is often in response to reading and VIPERS work. Discrete SPAG content is taught through spelling or English sessions. As in Year 2, this is modelled, discussed in partners and groups and applied through sentence level work. When writing longer texts, we follow a sequence of inspiration/hook, looking at a model text, exploring key SPAG features and content and then begin planning and drafting. Editing and improving is also a key part of writing in Year 3 as children are taught how to read work to spot mistakes and also identify words to improve or sentences that could be extended or changed. Children may also be encouraged to use ‘success criteria’ checklists with their work to ensure they have included all the key features to make their writing great.
Homework
- 10 spellings weekly and put 6 into sentences
- Vocab challenge e.g. add adjectives
- Maths basic skills incl games to play and tasks on G Classroom
- Regular reading at home of their school book
Year 4
Year 4 Reading
Year 4 shows progression from Year 3 with an increased expectation in written tasks and children showcasing their knowledge. Reading VIPERS continues to be the platform used to teach develop reading, inference and comprehension skills – these are taught explicitly so children know what they are learning. Timetabling allows for more DEAR opportunities and paired reading to further support fluency and expression. Those LAP and SEND children have at least weekly 1:1 reading sessions with an adult and have work scaffolded so they can consolidate and build on their knowledge with some success. The CT also reads to the children on a daily basis, a longer class book, which exposes them to different authors/genres etc.
Year 4 Writing
- 10 spellings weekly and put 6 into sentences
- Find meaning/ definition of 3 words and/or vocab challenge
- Maths basic skills and consolidate frequency Q’s
- Regular reading at home of their school book
Year 5
Year 5 Reading
When the children move into Year 5 they are introduced to Reading circles – an alternative approach to guided reading and comprehension tasks. Children are taught the 9 different roles, as a class, at the start of the school year. Examples are modelled, specific skills taught as a whole class or ability group and children are encouraged to ‘have a go’ before reading circles is sent as homework. The children then share homework in their groups, facilitated but not led by the CT. Children gain deeper understanding of texts, vocab and style, the use of chapters, links to their own experiences etc. DEAR opportunities are also important and this happens at least 3 times a week. Numerous other opportunities to read and discuss new vocabulary occur throughout each and every day. Children with SEND or support plans read more regularly on a 1:1 basis and partner reading is also used where appropriate to promote confidence, independence and skills.
Year 5 Writing
In Year 5, children write detailed answers and explanations in response to reading tasks. They are also taught key SPAG concepts in line with the long term plan and in response to the text type studied (e.g. biographies, fronted adverbials and use of pronouns and relative clauses). When planning for an extended write, teaching sequences follow a similar hook, practise, model, plan and draft approach as seen in early Key Stage 2. Teachers provide high level modelled texts and sentence level examples, exemplifying key features and author’s choices – e.g. use of pronouns and fronted adverbials to signal a flashback in a story, and other cohesive devices and vocabulary for effect.
Teachers also model peer assessment and use good examples of student work to encourage peer feedback and give experience of looking for key features that make writing successful. Editing and redrafting is carried out with children and children are directed to make revisions and changes that will improve the impact of the writing.
Homework
- Weekly reading circles tasks
- Maths activity
- 10 spellings – at least 6 ‘creative’ sentences/definitions/ word class etc
- Reading at home (this may be a chapter book of their own choice)
Year 6
Year 6 Reading
In Year 6 the children revisit the roles and the expectation of work produced for reading circles is increased. Children take ownership of their reading and they consolidate skills in their long term memory. New vocabulary is regularly taught to all children and there are ample opportunities for wider reading. Again SEND and LAP children have additional support with intense reading on a 1:1 basis at least 3 times a week, word cards, personalised learning and books at their level. SATS style questions are also used to teach children the skills required to answer questions correctly to get maximum marks and meet the expected standard and beyond.
Year 6 Writing
In Year 6, children recap the SPAG content covered in previous years and build on this knowledge by learning higher level grammatical features. They begin to combine these with deliberate choices to suit the genre, purpose and audience of the text they are writing. SPAG is taught discretely and through reading comprehension sessions when identifying key features of a text or evaluating writing for its grammatical content.
Extended writing must include the use of a high quality example text. Children are given time to explore this themselves, discussing the overall impact of the text and the distinguishing features. With teacher guidance, students unpick the key features and how these create a successful and cohesive text. There is then opportunity to practise the key skills, plan and draft their own ideas and begin to construct their own piece of writing. This may be done over the course of a few days, a week or even a fortnight. As in Year 5, editing and improving is also modelled and completed in both peer to peer and independent circumstances to develop the skill of scanning writing for errors and reading aloud to consider the impact of different word choices and sentence structures. Meaningful changes are made to work; not just adding an adjective but altering structures, phrasing or punctuation for greater impact.
Homework
- Weekly reading circles tasks
- Maths activity
- 10 spellings – at least 6 ‘creative’ sentences/definitions/ word class etc
- Reading at home (this may be a chapter book of their own choice)
Phonics at Escrick Primary School is taught through the Little Wandle scheme
We start teaching daily phonics through the Little Wandle scheme throughout both Reception and Year 1. This ensures children build on their growing knowledge of letter sounds supporting both reading and writing. We also timetable daily phonics lessons in for Year 2 to remind them of all the alternate graphemes they have learnt in Year 1 to ensure this is consolidated. Where needed we timetable extra phonics lessons for any child in Year 2 or KS2 who is not fully fluent at reading or has not passed the Phonics Screening Check, in order that the gap between themselves and their peers does not widen.
Reading
There are two types of reading books from school:
A reading practice book
In Reception and Year 1, we teach children to read through reading practice sessions. These focus on decoding, prosody (reading with meaning and intonation) and comprehension and are taught to small groups of children using books matched to the children’s secure phonic knowledge. This book will be sent home as an eBook and is at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.
Sharing book
‘Sharing Story’ books also go home weekly in Reception and Year 1. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together. Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read it to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
The Little Wandle website has excellent support for parents/carers https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/#HowWeTeach
There are a range of resources to support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school and feel confident about supporting their reading at home.
INTENT
We aim to promote a positive approach to mathematical concepts and procedures which are taught sequentially in coherent, small steps. We are developing an approach underpinned by mastery principles with an aim to achieve depth of knowledge for all, thus providing a platform which will give every pupil the opportunity to become fluent in basic skills and to be able to reason with and solve a variety of problems in real-life contexts and across the curriculum. Pupils who grasp concepts quickly are further challenged.
We want all children to be able to see mathematics as an interconnected subject and be able to make connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We want our children to apply their mathematical knowledge to other subjects.
IMPLEMENTATION
In line with the National Curriculum, children are taught to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics (including calculation strategies); reason mathematically using mathematical language and apply their knowledge and understanding to problem solving tasks.
We have begun to implement use of NCETM planning in Year 1 and are currently disseminating use of this planning to other teaching staff.
Currently, teachers Year 2 to Year 6 use schemes of learning published by White Rose Maths to support planning of maths lessons incorporating fluency, reasoning and problem solving, with some teachers trialling parts of NCETM. Both schemes support ‘Teaching for Mastery’.
Children who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on
and/or revisit later. All children revisit identified ‘basic’ maths skills and other concepts regularly throughout the school year.
Maths Teaching at Escrick C of E Primary has CPA at its core:
Concrete – providing children with objects and resources to manipulate in order to demonstrate their mathematical thinking.
Pictorial – providing opportunities for children to represent their mathematical thinking through diagrams, images, drawings or models.
Abstract – providing opportunities for children to become more familiar with formal mathematical representations including signs, symbols and digits.
- Maths Policy 2022
- Calculation Guidelines (Apr 24)
- EYFS and KS1 Maths Overview 2021 2022
- KS2 Maths Progression & Basic Skills
Help and Tips for Home
There are lots of ways to help to build your child’s confidence in maths. There are many fun games and activities you can do with your child that practise maths skills. Most children love playing games and it is an easy way to support their learning.
Tips for helping your child to enjoy maths:
- Point out the different shapes to be found around your home.
• Take your child shopping and talk about the quantities of anything you buy.
• Let your child handle money and work out how much things cost.
• Ask younger children to count all the coins in your purse or wallet.
• Look together for numbers on street signs and car registration plates.
• Look at house numbers and talk about odd and even.
• Ask older children to work out the best special offer.
• Look at clocks and tell the time. Talk about timings for cooking.
• Learn how to recall times tables quickly.
• Practise number recognition, numbers bonds to 10, 20 and 100
• Practise times tables including their related division facts e.g. 2 x 3 = 6 and 6 ÷ 2 = 3
Below are booklets for each year group with all the main mathematical concepts children need to achieve by the end of the academic year.
Intent
Science at Escrick Primary School fosters the natural curiosity children have and encourages respect and understanding of the world around them. Our approach to teaching Science aims to create inquisitive, resilient, and enquiry based learners.
Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and developed, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged which aids children’s knowledge and understanding of the world.
We believe that children learn best by active engagement. We provide them with a range of opportunities to work scientifically, ensuring these skills are at the heart of our science curriculum.
Implementation
Class teachers will plan and teach meaningful weekly science lessons aiming to develop knowledge, skills and confidence in Science. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, Science is covered within knowledge and understanding of the world. In KS1 and KS2, class teachers will plan their lessons following the school Science curriculum and following our Long-Term Plan.
When planning and teaching Science, teachers should aim where possible to make links with other subjects so the children can transfer and apply their skills. Teachers will use Focus Education units where appropriate, to ensure high level reading and writing are a vehicle to learn about and present Science learning.
Teachers will plan for collaborative learning within teams and groups in order to support and help one another to reach their goals. Children will also be asked to solve problems and answer questions independently; individual learning in Science will create resilient, confident learners.
Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various Working Scientifically skills in order to embed scientific understanding. Teachers find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts. Children are also offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities, visits, trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum. Regular events, such as Science Week allow all pupils to come off-timetable, to provide broader provision and the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills.
At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and checked by the teacher to inform monitoring and assessment of Science, this information is then passed onto the subject leader.
Impact
The successful approach at Escrick results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. We want children to enjoy and value science and appreciate the range of skills it will provide them with. An essential part of the children becoming scientists is promoting curiosity and encouraging the children to ask questions. By the end of KS2, our expectation is that children will be able to develop their own questions, plan different types of enquiries to answer those questions and communicate their findings in a variety of ways. Children will understand that part of science is failing and that problem solving helps us to overcome these failures. They will understand the role that science and other STEM subjects play in solving some of the key problems facing the world, such as climate change.
Our engagement with the local environment ensures that children learn through varied and first-hand experiences of the world around them. Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts and local charities, children will have a clear understanding of how scientists both past and present have contributed to society’s understanding of the world around them.
Children learn the possibilities for careers in science, as a result of our community links and connection with national agencies including the STEM association. They learn from and work with professionals, ensuring access to positive role models within the field of science from the immediate and wider local community.
Our Intent
Pupils will be familiar with a range of technology, understanding how it works, how it can enhance their learning and how they can code and control it themselves. They will also learn to become competent and critical users of digital content and the worldwide web, understanding how to be safe and responsible when using technology.
At our school ICT is used to enrich pupils’ learning at every opportunity. We have a range of technology: Chromebooks, laptops, iPads, cameras, video and unplugged activities. Computers are fun, however, technology can be dangerous so it must be used correctly. At Escrick, we strive for safety on computers and the Internet. On this page there are useful documents, activities and some guidelines to help you and your child stay safe online.
The ‘Parent Zone’ link below has a wealth of information about online safety, including parent guides to social media websites, online privacy settings and how to report concerns. Parent Zone is recommended by the DfE. The parent info page (https://parentinfo.org/) offers a search tool for any specific areas of online safety you would like advice about.
Safeguarding is EVERYONE’s responsibility. In school, our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Miss Emma Miller, or Claire Pape in Miss Miller’s absence. If you have any concerns about online safeguarding and feel that your child or another child is involved in unsafe activity online (or offline) then you should report this. CEOP https://www.ceop.police.uk/ceop-reporting/ has an online tool for immediate reporting of such activity, but you can also report this to school or to the police if required.
The DfE report on cyberbullying for parents has a range of useful links and advice topics for parents.
- A fantastic resource for parents covering a broad range of topics – as recommended by the DfE
Intent
At Escrick, there is a strong emphasis on building resilience, empowering children and nurturing mental and physical health. We provide a PSHE curriculum that enables pupils to embrace their own values alongside those of others, and in doing so flourish in their wider community.
From exposure to a range of global issues, children can develop knowledge and appreciation of being respectful global citizens.
Implementation
PSHE lessons take place weekly in all classes and are delivered through Jigsaw. Mindfulness is at the heart of Jigsaw as we believe if a child can be aware of their thoughts and feelings as they arise, they can choose to regulate/ manage their thoughts and feelings.
The Six Puzzles: There are six Puzzles (topics) in Jigsaw that are designed to progress in sequence from the start of each academic year:
Term 1: Being Me in My World
Term 2: Celebrating Difference (including anti-bullying)
Term 3: Dreams and Goals
Term 4: Healthy Me
Term 5: Relationships
Term 6: Changing Me (including Sex Education)
The puzzles are introduced through a whole school (or Key Stage) assembly. All classes work on the same topics at their own level, sometimes there is a whole school outcome for the puzzle and other times it is specific to the class. Jigsaw lessons all follow the same structure. The structure takes account of the learning process:
– Connect us (an inclusive whole-class game building social skills)
– Calm me (mindfulness practice using the Jigsaw chime and breathing techniques)
– Open my mind (to the essence of the learning about to happen)
– Tell me/show me (introduction to new information or skill)
– Let me learn (learning activities to make the learning my own)
– Help me reflect (on my learning progress and my emotional learning this lesson) and record this in my Jigsaw journal.
Jigsaw lessons also enable self-regulation and pupil voice, asking for help and knowing how to express emotions are givens throughout Jigsaw.
Impact
Children will develop more resilience and emotional awareness that will help them in all aspects of their learning. The impact of our PSHE curriculum can be measured and monitored in a variety of different ways including; learning walks, PSHE Journals, data analysis and tracking and pupil interviews.
Teachers carry out summative assessments at the end of each unit and provide a ‘best fit’ approach as to whether children have achieved the ‘expected’ standard. Throughout all PSHE lessons teachers assess formatively through observations, discussions and questions, this supports them with the planning and pitching of subsequent lessons.
It is our aim that our children leave Escrick Primary School with a confident image of themselves as valued people, who are better equipped to manage situations that arise in their lives both socially and personally.
- Jigsaw Information Leaflet for Parents and Carers 2020/1
- Jigsaw Online Safety Article
- RSE Primary Schools Guide for Parents
- RSHE a Guide for Parents and Carers Leaflet
- Jigsaw LGBTQ Parent Leaflet
- PSHE Policy Including RSE
- RSHE Information Evening
- PSHE Progression Map (2022-2023)
- RSE Recommended Book List
- Book List Reception
- Book List Year-1
- Book List Year-2
- Book List year-3
- Book List Year-4
- Book List Year-5
- Book List Year-6
- Books to Read to Make You Feel Better
At Escrick Primary School, we recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing to all our pupils. We aim to create an openness around the discussion of mental health and wellbeing and to empower our children be able to regulate their emotions. By implementing the Zones of Regulation curriculum we aim to teach our pupils to identify emotions in themselves and others and provide them with bank of strategies to help regulate their emotions and improve their wellbeing.
Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is a range of activities to help your child develop skills in the area of self-regulation. It is a curriculum based around the use of four colours to help children self-identify how they’re feeling. The curriculum also helps children better understand their emotions, sensory needs and thinking patterns. The children learn different strategies to cope and manage their emotions based on which colour zone they are in. Additionally, the Zones of Regulation helps children to recognise different feelings, develop problem-solving skills, and become more attuned to how their actions affect other people.
Understanding the Zones:
Talk through the zones with your child. Ask them how they would feel in each zone?
- Discuss what emotion they feel in each zone e.g. in the yellow zone I may feel worried
- How they physically feel e.g. in yellow zone I may have butterflies in my stomach or have sweaty palms (if feeling anxious).
- Then discuss what might they be doing- what be their actions e.g. in yellow zone would they be pacing around, snapping at others, fidgeting?
- Then discuss how to help them move into the Green zone e.g. if I was in the Yellow zone and feeling anxious I might find competing some yoga stretches/ breathing techniques helps me get back into the green zone.
- Create a list of strategies that work for the child- Remind the child that we are all unique and the strategies that work for one person might not help them so they need to think about what would help them.
Remind them that we will experience all zones and there are no good or bad zones- however our success in regulating our emotions depends on us recognising our emotion, understanding it and putting a support strategy in place
At Escrick Primary School we are passionate about our sport and regularly take part in competitions, friendly games and have intra-school events.
We help to organise events and really enjoy sport! We hope you will come back to this page and see how many things we have done.
Miss Winfield is our PE coordinator. Please feel free to ask anything or suggest clubs we may run, events to look out for and clubs which the children might like outside of school.
Rights Respecting Silver Website Page
Silver Award
Escrick Primary is proud to be a Rights Respecting school, as of July 2024. We were delighted to achieve our Silver status, for the Unicef Rights Respecting Schools award. We are now undertaking our journey towards Gold. We have worked hard over the past two years to achieve UNICEF Rights Respecting accreditation, which recognises our commitment to creating a safe and inspiring place to learn. Here at Escrick children are respected, their talents are nurtured and they are able to Flourish. Developing a Rights Respecting ethos in our school ensures that these values are embedded in daily school life, giving children the best chance to lead happy, healthy lives and to be responsible, active citizens, both locally and globally.
What is a Rights Respecting School?
A Rights Respecting School puts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/ ) at the heart of everything they do. This means that we ensure children at Escrick Primary know their rights and as adults, we make decisions with the best interests of the child. We teach children about the importance of becoming Global Citizens and ensure that they learn about world events. Furthermore, we take time to teach children about developing their full potential and ensure that they learn about people who don’t have access to their rights. We have always been an inclusive and compassionate school community, but this award has highlighted the hard work and commitment of both children and their families and our dedicated staff team. Here is a link we have shared with the children when introducing and talking about the importance of children’s rights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_70HXxd5Y .
Pupil Voice Page
Welcome to the Pupil Voice Group page
At Escrick C of E, pupils are actively encouraged to get their voices heard. To support this we have began a pupil voice group. The P.V.G. Will be meeting once a half term to discuss any issues in school and plan activities and fundraising ideas throughout the year.
Initiatives suggested last year were:
- Painting the fencing around school
- Making the dinner area brighter
- Reading books outside
- PE equipment out every breaktime and dinnertime