The Curriculum

The Curriculum at the British International School in Tyumen is based on the English National Curriculum.

The National Curriculum is organised in Key stages:

Our Infant and Junior School caters for children from Nursery to Year 6

The National Curriculum organises the Foundation Stage curriculum in the following way

Communications, Language and Literacy

Mathematical Development        

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Creative Development

Physical Development

Personal, Social and Emotional Development                                      

The National Curriculum organises the course of study for KS1 and KS2 in the following way:

A curriculum overview for your child’s year group is provides each term.

This gives general information regarding the curriculum material to be covered in the near future.

English Language Lessons

At Infant and Junior School is taught using the English National Literacy Strategy as a basis. In KS1 and KS2 a reading and writing lesson is given for an hour every day. In Foundation Stage this lessons lasts 45 minutes. The children spend some of this time learning together with the whole class writing stories or reading a ‘big book’. We call this ‘shared reading and writing’. The literacy hour also includes time for individual and small group work. Children learn specific reading and writing skills in small groups, this is called ‘guided reading or writing’. Most of all we try to promote a love of reading and writing.

Specific advice on helping with language work at home.

Mathematics lessons

Our mathematics work uses the English National Numeracy Strategy as a basis.

Children learn to use mental strategies to solve problems and to explain how they arrived at their answers.

We also promote a relaxed and comfortable attitude to all number work. It is not all number work though! Shape, measures and data handling skills are among some of the other elements of mathematics that we teach.

Specific advice on helping with numeracy work at home.

Homework at the Infant and Junior School

Nursery and Reception: No formal homework. Reading books to share at home are available.

Key Stage 2 Accelerated English classes may have vocabulary lists and very specific grammar tasks.

There are clear expectations for a Russian homework task from Year One upwards.

Children are encouraged to borrow books from the Library to read as much as possible.

Children should not be expected to spend significantly longer on them than the guide times set out above.

Activities may not take as long as the guide times: that does not matter at all as long as they are useful.

Homework

What sort of homework activities should your child be doing?

All homework activities will be related to work children are doing at school.

However, homework should not always be written work. For young children it will largely be:

• reading with parents or carers
• informal games to practice mathematical skills

For older children homework may include:

• reading
• preparing a presentation to the class
• finding out information
• making something
• trying out a simple scientific experiment

• Homework is not provided when children are absent during term time for holidays or when a child is sick

for a short time. In the event of long term sickness suitable arrangements will be made by class teachers

• Please ensure that book bags are checked and all homework is completed every evening and returned to school each day.

Reporting back to parents

Class teachers are available to meet parents during a scheduled after-school consultation session.

It is expected that parents and teachers will meet at least once during each term.

Parents also receive written reports on their children’s progress each term.

These reports will notify parents of course work covered and levels of academic achievement and effort.

Staff will of course contact parents if there are specific issues that arise during the course of each term.