Our Parklands vision reflects everything we strive for; the best for our children. Our children’s best interests are at the heart of everything. At Parklands we recognise and value each child’s individual strengths, talents and diversity and seek to encourage their full potential. We embrace our children as individuals. In Reception, we work collaboratively with the community we serve to ensure we nurture our pupils, thus allowing our children to grow, which will enable them to succeed.
A Parklands Child
Reception children can expect a very busy day at School! Learning in Reception takes the form of both formal lessons, including Phonics, Maths, Topic, English and learning in our classroom environment, which is both indoors and outdoors. Our curriculum is though-out and structured in such a way, much like our learning environment, to ensure children make progression, regardless of starting points. In Early Years, the child is much of the curriculum. Our topic delivery is derived from a mix of children’s interests and expected knowledge; we build upon children’s current knowledge and prior learning. Each week, we also offer curriculum enrichment via PE sessions which are delivered by specialist coaches; ARTIS which is a drama and communication-based session that brings our learning to life with songs, actions, movement and music; music lessons and planned PSHE lessons.
Our learning at Parklands is fun and interactive! We aim to ignite curiosity and awe and wonder through providing hooks into learning and real/rich experiences which enhance children’s learning and engagement. These experiences are what we view as expected experiences, such as to see and touch real farm animals, observe a caterpillar life cycle, to cut and eat a range of real fruit. Please see our Seesaw Blog for further pictures of our learning in action!
Please see our Curriculum Ambition for further information, including our ‘Communication Offer’ available at our unique School.
Parklands Curriculum
It is our intent to provide a high-quality curriculum tailored to suit the diverse needs of our children and the community we serve which reflects our School’s local context. We pride ourselves on knowing our children and families well and use this knowledge to shape our curriculum that adds breadth and enrichment to our children’s lives, embracing the significance of adding to our children’s cultural capital from the curriculum we offer. We have high aspirations for our pupils to succeed, thus our curriculum is carefully planned to address potential gaps in pupil’s knowledge and skills, that is progressively sequenced with assessment points throughout the year, to close gaps and ensure our pupils are on track for success.
Please see our Long Term Plan for further detailed information regarding our exciting curriculum.
At Parklands we deliver our English through ‘Talk for Writing’, which is a fun and interactive way of children learning stories, internalising language structures, innovating and creating their own stories. In addition to these texts being planned across the year, we also have a spine of books called ‘Fab 5 Stories’. These texts have been carefully selected for various reasons, such as old and gold, rhyming patterns, PSED/ wellbeing, promoting diversity or BAME as the main character. This ensures it broadens our children experiences, as well as language and vocabulary opportunities.
Please see our ‘Fab 5 Stories’ story spine for further information.
Please see our Curriculum Ambition for further information.
A Parklands Parent/Carer
At Parklands Primary School, we aim to welcome parents and carers into our setting as we believe that this partnership working will provide the best start to a child’s journey through their early year’s education.
We promote this is a number of ways;
- A number of transition activities including ‘stay and play’ sessions for children and parents before children start School;
- Bring your child into the classroom each day, help them complete a question of the day and complete a morning task. Staff are always on hand to speak with also!
- Weekly ‘stay and play’ sessions – you (parents, grandparents, siblings) can stay on a Thursday morning and play with your child in the classroom, see what they like to do at school, speak with staff and look at your child’s learning journey;
- Updated parent notice board outside our classroom;
- Half termly shared learning goals – these are mini personal targets which both school and home will work on together – such as using cutlery and fastening their own shoes;
- Half termly newsletter – we will share current learning, our ‘Fab 5 Stories’, parent information such as dates for your diary and how you can get involved with your child’s learning;
- Termly craft mornings – watch out for dates via the newsletter and texts;
- Termly parent information sessions, such as an introduction to Phonics, Transition to Year 1 – watch out for dates via the newsletter and texts;
- Parents evening.
Regular learning will also be posted on Seesaw, our class blog.
We would love to see your child learning at home – please share this with your child’s teacher or key worker, or alternatively email us: office@parklandsleeds.org.uk
Further Useful Links:
BBC Tiny Happy People: https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people
50 Things to do before you’re 5: https://leeds.50thingstodo.org/app/os#!/welcome
Book Trust – Reading with your child: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/tips-and-advice/reading-tips/
CBeebies grown up’s: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups
Early movers – activities to move: https://www.earlymovers.org.uk/activities
Family lives – child development: https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/early-years-development
Literacy Trust – words for life: https://wordsforlife.org.uk/activities/
Bilingualism Matters – FAQ’s: http://www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk/parents-questions/