Teaching and Learning

About our school Core Principles Teaching and Learning Community Activities The learning environment About our school Welcome to our school prospectus. I hope that reading this will help those interested in our school get a sense of how Bosvigo is organised, what we value most and the opportunities we aim to provide for all our learners. Bosvigo School is a medium to large primary school located in the heart of Truro. The 300 children who attend our school are arranged into 11 classes, which themselves are organised into four Phase Teams: Foundation Stage (Reception Year), Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2), Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) and Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6). The most striking feature of Bosvigo School is the children. They are friendly, thoughtful and caring people with a genuine appreciation of one another. Our children work hard, try their best and thoroughly enjoy their learning. They have great ideas which they are keen to share at every opportunity and together with the staff of the school they are always looking for ways to make Bosvigo the best it can be. Our school was last inspected in November 2011 when the overall effectiveness of the school was judged to be good with a number of outstanding features. A link to the full school report can be found on our school website. I am extremely proud to lead a team that is committed to providing the very best opportunities for the children who attend Bosvigo School. Staff, supported by governors, work hard to deliver a rich and purposeful curriculum, preparing children for future education and helping them to acquire the skills and qual- ities needed to pursue learning for the rest of their lives. The enriching experiences provided for the children are encouraged and supported by their parents and families, whose confidence, help and support we enjoy. This relationship is a cornerstone to the future work of the School. The best way to learn more about our school is to come and visit, to see us in action and to meet the staff and children. To arrange a visit to the school, please contact the office via telephone (01872 274034) or email ([email protected]). We look forward to welcoming you to our school and to a happy and successful partnership with all our new children and families. Mr Chris Wallis Headteacher Our Core Principles ‘Valuing all, developing all’ at Bosvigo At Bosvigo School we believe in the concept of lifelong learning and the idea that both adults and children learn new things every day. Learning takes place everywhere – it not something that only occurs in the classroom. We maintain that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone; it should be fun, challenging and ultimately successful. Through our teaching we equip children with the skills, knowledge and necessary understanding to enable them to make informed choices. We believe that appropriate teaching and learning experiences help children to lead happy and rewarding lives. An inspiring environment We believe that individuals learn best in different ways. At our school we enable children to understand their preferred learning styles and encourage children to play an active role in their own learning and progress. We provide a rich and varied learning environment that allows children to develop their skills and abilities, enabling them to feel confident to take risks and become successful learners. Teaching and Learning Developing learners for life At Bosvigo we understand that children are born with an innate curiosity and drive to learn. It is our role, along with parents and other key individuals, to protect and nurture this characteristic. We develop this thirst for learning by providing a warm, supportive yet challenging learning environment in which children are encouraged to take risks and see making, and overcoming, mistakes as part of the learning process. Throughout the school we develop the skills of Readiness, Resourcefulness, Resilience, Reflectiveness and Responsibility - the ‘5 Rs’ - helping our children to develop the skills to meet challenges with courage, independence and a belief in themselves as a unique and well equipped learner on an exciting and lifelong learning journey. Key skills At Bosvigo School we believe that there are essential skills needed to make progress in a subject or area of learning. Our curriculum planning and assessment is based on these skills, which develop over time through high quality learning experiences and children’s understanding of themselves as a learner. We encourage children to use their prior knowledge and skills to make links between individual subjects and apply them to new experiences. Specialist teaching Every week, each class teacher spends half a day outside of their teaching duties to concentrate on the planning, preparation and assessment of their pupils’ learning. We take this opportunity to offer specialist teaching in certain curriculum areas. Furthermore, at times of the week teachers work across classes to deliver learning in specific curriculum subjects. This allows our children to benefit from weekly specialist tuition in subjects such as ICT, music, PE and modern foreign languages. Teaching and Learning “We have an ICT suite, iPads, netbooks and tablets, which means we have lots of opportunities to use ICT to make our learning more exciting.” Jake, Year 6 Teaching and Learning A topic-led curriculum At Bosvigo School, we pride ourselves on the inspiring, creative and imaginative approach we have to the school curriculum. We follow half termly and termly topics which provide a rich stimulus of exciting activities through which learning thrives. This approach enablesthe curriculum to be led by the children’s interests, and focusses on their questions, prior knowledge and independent learning styles. Through this integrated curriculum, children readily make links between their learning which aids analytical, evaluative and creative thinking. This is supported by educational visits and visitors, curriculum days and home learning opportunities, to name but a few. Children at Bosvigo School are encouraged to become independent life long learners. This approach of immersion in one topic across the areas of the curriculum enables our children to develop a broad, balanced and in depth understanding of themselves as learners and how the world fits together. Topics include, Pirates, Rainforest Rangers and Incredible Inventions. The school meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Early Years/ Foundation Stage Curriculum, and works within the frameworks of the National Numeracy and the National Literacy Strategies and the Cornwall Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education. Insert child’s quote about teaching and learning at Bosvigo Community Our School Community At Bosvigo we pride ourselves on being an open, friendly and caring school where children develop a strong sense of identify and self-worth. We provide children with opportunities to be responsible learners, both within and beyond the classroom. Our Year 6 children welcome our new Foundation Stage pupils into the school and take on the role of ‘buddies’ for the whole year, helping our youngest school members to settle into Bosvigo quickly and successfully. Our School Council provides children with a regular opportunity to share their ideas and views on school issues, whilst our House teams system encourages relationships across all school year groups. Community FOBSA When you join the Friends of Bosvigo School Association (FOBSA), you join a thriving community with our school at its heart. FOBSA exists to build relationships between school and parents and supports the school by raising funds for additional facilities that government funding does not provide. All members of the Bosvigo School community work together to enrich and develop the learning opportunities for all our children. We balance our drive to raise funds with a desire to bring our school community together and provide fun times for all. Together, we can make a difference. We regularly finance extras that enhance the children’s school experience: a school minibus, playground equipment, art materials, sports kit, tablet computers, a fleet of bikes and an outdoor stage to name a few. Every child, parent, carer and family member is automatically a member and their support is vital. Your partnership and contribution can be as much or as little as you are able to give but all support and help is invaluable. Everyone is welcome at meetings, which are held the first Tuesday of every month. Community Our local community At Bosvigo we recognise the value of being active members of our local community and how this helps children develop an awareness and sensitivity to the needs of others, as well as a sense of belonging. We plan, enjoy and learn from visits by representatives of local charities, businesses and religious organisations, as well as by members of the emergency services to name but a few. To enhance our sense of community we regularly take our learning beyond the school gates and into the local area, where we actively participate in community events such as the City of Lights parade, St Piran’s Day celebrations and community music events. Furthermore children’s learning is enhanced through regular opportunities to collaborate with local primary and secondary schools in community-based projects. Community Achieving a national and international perspective As technology evolves and the world becomes more and more accessible, we believe that children should develop a sense of place within the global community. At Bosvigo we place great importance on the international dimension of our school curriculum and have developed mutually beneficial links with schools across the globe, including schools in France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Germany, India and Australia. Activities Extra-curricular Activities At Bosvigo, we really value the learning opportunities that extra-curricular activities provide. Clubs take place before school, after school and at lunchtimes and the vast majority are offered free of charge.

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