Junior School Teaching & Learning

Teaching and Learning

At Channing Junior School, we offer an enriching and exciting syllabus beyond the confines of a rigid curriculum. Creativity and innovation are developed from the Early Years and across Key Stages 1 and 2. Girls are mostly taught in their form groups until Year 2. From Reception, they receive specialist teaching in Spanish, Music, Drama, PE and Forest School . From Year 1, the girls receive specialist teaching in Art & Design Technology. In Key Stage 2 (Years 3 – 6), the girls also receive specialist teaching in French.

The curriculum is enhanced by an extensive number of trips and visits, including the much-anticipated residential trips in Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. The girls in Year 3 also eagerly await the one-night sleepover within the school grounds. We strongly believe that learning does not just take place in the classroom and that girls must be inspired to take advantage of all the opportunities they are offered. This is why the PE curriculum is enhanced with off-site swimming lessons (for pupils in Year 2 – 4) and watersports lessons (for pupils in Year 5 – 6) to provide the best education that Channing Junior School has to offer.

Monitoring Progress & Communication

Ongoing, comprehensive assessments throughout the year monitor the girls’ progress.

In addition to this, two Parents’ Evenings are held annually. In the Autumn Term, parents meet with Form Teachers to discuss how each pupil is settling in her new form early in the term as well as her academic attainment at the start of the year. KS2 parents can also meet with Specialist Teachers for academic meetings. At the end of the Autumn Term, parents of girls in Year 1 – 6 receive an Autumn Term Report for all subjects in the Year 1 – 6 curriculum (excluding PSHE which is reported in Summer Term) to provide an overall picture of what each pupil has achieved at the end of their first full term. Separate report grades are given for: Academic Achievement as well as Attitude and Engagement. Each grade is accompanied by a concise target for pupils to work towards throughout Spring Term.

In the Spring Term, parents meet with Form Teachers for an academic Parents’ Evenings to review progress and to discuss current attainment as well as academic targets for the term ahead. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 parents can also meet with Specialist Teachers for academic meetings.

At the end of the Summer Term, each girl in the school receives a full report. Parents are also invited to attend a Welcome Evening at the beginning of every year, which gives them an opportunity to meet their daughter’s teachers and teaching assistants and find out what the girls will be studying that year. Curriculum newsletters (detailing the curriculum) are shared on the Junior School virtual learning platform, Firefly, each term.

Parents can arrange an appointment to discuss progress or areas of concern with any member of the Junior School Teaching Staff via direct email. Parents are also invited to make appointments with the Head when required.

Homework

We like to encourage good habits from an early age and regular homework is one of them. From the start, girls are used to taking reading activities and phonics home to complete. The work gradually increases each year. In Years 4, 5 and 6, girls are expected to complete various homework tasks each night and at the weekend. Importantly for us, this gives the girls plenty of time to follow their own interests outside of school.

English as an Additional Language

Many girls at Channing are bilingual and even trilingual. Girls who join us from homes where English is not the primary spoken language receive tailored support to ensure that they have access to the content of the curriculum. Teachers adapt lessons without compromising content, which allows girls to integrate fully with the rest of their form and learn alongside their new friends.