Learning at Rushen Primary School
Dear Parents/Carers
At Rushen Primary School we aim to develop children’s learning dispositions (the 6Rs) to enable them to become effective learners. Each of these 6Rs has six statements which support each one. One of these is the focus for our ‘Star of the Week’ assembly each week.
To help develop these dispositions we encourage children to develop their ‘Learning Muscles’; tools we use to become effective learners. All our children are encouraged to discuss them, understand them and make use of them when they are learning.
A list of the learning muscles and what they mean, together with the 6Rs and their statements, are provided, along with information about assessment and how you might be able to help at home.
Last year, we began a new strategy for teaching Mathematics, which has inspired our teachers and enthused the children. It is called Maths Mastery and later this year we will be inviting you into school to find out more about it. The ‘How to Help at Home’ sheets for Maths are now organised by year group and have a brief explanation about Maths Mastery included. Each sheet explains the end of year expectation for a particular year group. The main idea behind Maths Mastery is that children do not move up through the levels at different rates, they are encouraged to apply their understanding at ‘greater depth’. All children are expected to achieve the end of year expectation.
The English ‘How to Help at Home sheets’ are as before and organised in levels.
For most children, moving from one level to the next is a two-year journey. During this time, they will become increasingly engaged in developing their understanding and skills and applying them to their everyday challenges.
The 6Rs and Learning Muscles, together with level guidance and end of year expectation information, are used to support a curriculum designed around children’s interests, essential knowledge and skills. Every child has different needs within this framework. The challenges and activities provided for your child aim to ensure that they make progress and develop at a pace which takes into account their prior knowledge and understanding.
Ms Owens
Headteacher
National Curriculum Assessment
What is assessment?
Assessment of your child’s learning is very complex and detailed. All primary schools on the island adhere to day-to-day teacher assessment (TA) which is a rigorous process and allows your child’s needs to be met as their learning progresses. At Rushen Primary School we have adopted and developed a method of teaching known as Continuous Provision which enables teachers to work with small groups of children, assessing their progress and individual needs regularly.
What is assessed?
In primary school, English, Mathematics and Science are formally assessed. These are then divided into sub levels. Sub-level achievement is accomplished once your child has a proven record of independence at that level. For the teacher, this involves assessing each specific objective. Your child will know these as “I can...”, “WALT”, (We Are Learning To...) and “WILF” (What I’m Looking For) statements.
How do we ensure consistency?
The Isle of Man Department of Education and Children employ subject Moderators. The moderation process is statutory and gives confidence that teacher assessment judgements are accurate and consistent with national standards. It also helps to ensure that teacher assessment results are fair for children and are useful to schools and others who evaluate children’s performance and progress. Teachers of Rushen Primary School regularly carry out “in-house” moderation, sharing a variety of children’s work across subject areas to ensure that our own teacher assessment is robust, accurate and credible.
