The teams and extensions programme

Barnes Primary School aims to provide all children with a challenging and stimulating curriculum. We want every single child at our school to reach the highest possible standards and make the maximum amount of progress they are capable of. We would like them all to surpass what would have been expected of them based upon their baseline performance on entry to our school. We know that some children are achieving, or have the potential to achieve, significantly in advance of the average for their year group. It is our responsibility to enable them to reach the highest possible standards. We do not use terminology like ‘gifted’, ‘talented’, ‘more able’, or ‘less able’ because we don’t believe in false categorisations that create the prospect of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

Extension provision (outside the school day):

Children thoroughly enjoy the extension classes they are offered because they are given tasks that are suitably stretching and demanding. We believe that this additional input, not only benefits these pupils but benefits all pupils. This is because the vast majority of learning at our school involves mixed ability pairs of pupils working together. We seek to create a community of learners – one in which everybody learns from everyone else. We want to ensure ever child has the opportunity to reach the next stage in their learning – whether that is achieving mastery, deepening understanding, or exceeding age-related expectations. The pupils involved then establish the expectation within their respective classes for what is possible and what to aim for. This supports their peers who do not attend extension provision as the outcomes for currently lower and middle attaining pupils clearly demonstrate.

The programme provides additional provision in the following areas: English and mathematics (Years 4-6) and scientific enquiry (Years 4 and 5). Each programme runs for one term in Years 4-5. In Year 6, the programme runs for the majority of the year.

We try our hardest, within the staffing capacity we have available, to open up this programme to as many pupils as possible. Extension provision supports pupils who are already attaining highly and those who show strong potential that may not yet be reflected in formal test outcomes. Children are invited to an extension programme based on:

• Pupils’ previous end of year tests scores.
• Pupils’ previous end of year teacher assessment.
• Class teachers’ views of pupils’ capacity to access and engage with the challenging material presented.

We are committed to ensuring that there is transparency and equity in the allocation of places to the groups.

Team provision (outside the school day):

Team provision plays an important role in helping pupils make strong and steady progress. ‘Teams’ are targeted sessions in one curriculum area providing extra time, tailored support, and focused teaching to help children secure key skills and deepen their understanding. Sessions focus on pre-teaching of upcoming learning, consolidation of previous learning or focused practice of foundational skills or concepts which children would benefit from securing. Children enjoy their experience of ‘teams’. By working in smaller groups, pupils gain confidence, develop effective learning strategies, and experience success at their own pace. Our aim is to ensure every child feels supported, valued, and able to achieve their full potential.

The programme provides additional provision in English and mathematics (Years 1-6).

We try our hardest, within the staffing capacity we have available, to open up this programme to as many pupils as possible. Team provision supports pupils who are working towards the expected standard and those who show strong potential that may not yet be reflected in formal test outcomes. Team participation is reviewed termly. Children are invited to ‘team’ provision based on:

• Pupils’ end of year tests scores.
• Pupils’ end of yar teacher assessment.
• Class teachers’ views of pupils’ capacity to access and engage with the challenging material presented.

This is a structured course with a focus on mathematical enquiry, problem solving, using and applying logic and formulating generalisations based on evidence.

The aim of this course is to develop the following generic skills:

• Enquiry: defining a problem; predicting an outcome; testing a conclusion
• Creative thinking: generating and extending ideas; suggesting a hypothesis; looking for alternative outcomes.
• Reasoning: making and explaining deductions; reaching decisions informed by evidence.
• Evaluation: evaluating evidence and reaching conclusions; making generalisations.

The aim of the programme is to accelerate pupils’ scientific enquiry skills. All learning involves practical investigations and pupils are expected to communicate their findings through a range of different methods including diagrams, graphs, photographs, observational drawings and other forms of data representation.