Feb 6, 2012
Foundation School
Ensuring every child is known: 3 schools within the Academy
The Foundation School is a very distinctive offer at LWA. Led by Ms S Standring, the school has two full time year managers who devote their time to the welfare of students. Mrs J Reid, who works with Year 7, handles all transition arrangements with our primary feeder schools ensuring a smooth and anxiety-free transfer from primary to secondary school.
This is supported by extensive contact between Academy staff and Year 6 students throughout the final term of primary. As well as being involved in Primary-based projects, all students spend at least a day working in the secondary school environment; Ms Standring is assisted by Mrs K Tinker, Learning Project Leader in the Foundation Curriculum.
The Curriculum
It is of enormous importance to us to ensure that our students build on the knowledge and skills gained in Primary schools and begin to make good progress as soon as they arrive with us. The Year 7 curriculum is very much tailored to the needs of young secondary students, combining familiar elements of primary approaches such as fewer changes of teachers, with the specialist subject teaching more common in secondary.
The curriculum offer in the Foundation School has been praised by the National Curriculum authority and local education authority inspectors for providing engaging, exciting and developmental experiences for students in the early years of their secondary studies.
Specialist Teaching
We have three colleagues with special responsibility for teaching in the Foundation School, who all have primary experience. Vanessa Preston, Advanced Skills Practitioner in Foundation School, leads on a subject called Project in Year 7. This aims to engage pupils in active learning opportunities in groups, pairs and as individuals. Pupils are encouraged to reflect upon what and how they have learned on a regular basis in order to make improvements. They are also assessed in terms of their literacy in this subject. Mani Lali, Advanced Skills Practitioner in Literacy, ensures every individual student has the support to develop their skills in literacy, which are essential to make good progress at secondary level. All pupils in Year 7 are involved in the Renaissance Reading Programme which forms part of their Project experience. Mrs Tinker, Learning Project Leader, also leads a subject called Learn To Learn which focuses upon transferrable skills which are essential for success in all subject areas.
