Creativity and Learning

Creativity is a key part of the Academy’s curriculum. We emphasise that encouraging creativity in pupils’ learning is about two equally important factors:

• creative teaching which will inspire, engage and motivate pupils,

• developing creativity within the child.

 

The strand is broken down into three parts:

• the skills of learning which should be taught

• the attributes of children which should be nurtured

• the learning environment which should be provided

The Academy has a large outdoor area, with Wi-Fi enabled, which can be used for a variety of aspects of Teaching and Learning. The learning environment is planned for both indoors and outdoors to encourage a positive attitude to learning that is not exclusive to a classroom setting, and provides different approaches and tasks to be adapted to different learning styles. This outdoor area enables pupils to take part in activities such as, but not exclusively, Science and Topic work in an authentic, natural environment.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Early Years education is the foundation upon which young children build the rest of their schooling. It is a holistic education that encompasses all learning and development. In the EYFS setting at RCPA we believe that all children are entitled to the best possible start in their school life, both intellectually and emotionally, in order to enable them to develop their full potential.

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We aim to support each child’s welfare, learning and developmental needs by:

• Recognising that all children are unique and special.

• Understanding that children develop in individual ways and at varying rates - physically, cognitively, linguistically, socially and emotionally.

• Providing a safe, secure and caring environment where children feel happy and know that they are valued by the practitioners looking after them.

• Fostering and nurturing children’s self-confidence and self-esteem through their developing awareness of their own identity and role within the community.

• Teaching them to express and communicate their needs and feelings in appropriate ways.

• Encouraging children’s independence and decision-making, supporting them to learn through their mistakes.

• Developing children’s understanding of social skills and the values and codes of behaviour required for people to work together harmoniously.

• Supporting children to develop care, respect and appreciation for others, including those with beliefs, cultures and opinions differently to their own.

• Understanding the importance of play in children’s learning and development.

• Providing learning experiences in play which reflect children’s personal interests and areas of curiosity in order to encourage and develop their natural desire, interest, excitement and motivation to learn.

• Providing experiences which build on children’s existing knowledge and understanding in order to challenge, stimulate and extend their learning and development.

• Providing effective learning opportunities in a range of environments, inside and outside.

• Providing opportunities and experiences for children to become responsible and active members of the school community.
   

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Years 1-6

We encourage an active learning orientation for all pupils through the following:

• Belief that effort leads to success

• Helping children to use their creative skills

• Enabling children to be confident in making mistakes and taking risks

• Allowing children to have involvement at times in the direction of their learning

• Equipping children with the belief in their ability to improve and learn

• Preference for providing challenging tasks – the learning struggle

• Encouraging personal satisfaction from success at difficult tasks

• Providing opportunities for children to use problem solving and self-instruction when engaged in tasks

• Ensuring children have concern for improving their own competence

• Developing children’s skills of self-discipline

• Staff engagement for themselves in all of the above.
   

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