Academic Curriculum
The very best of a modern education.
At Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, every decision we make is aimed at offering your child the very best of a modern education. Learning never stands still at Berkhamsted Pre-Prep. We believe in making learning active and encourage the children to approach every day with questions and curiosity so that they want to learn more.
We combine a high-quality standard of teaching and superb facilities with a true understanding of our pupils and their needs.
Learning opportunities are planned to allow our children to question, debate, collaborate and problem-solve from a very young age.
While a focus on academic achievement is key to success, we also believe that opportunities beyond the curriculum are just as important to our pupils’ development and happiness.
We create a warm and welcoming environment where your child will flourish, with the attention and support they need to achieve their best.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
At Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) consists of our Stepping Stones Nursery and our Reception class.
Children join our Stepping Stones Nursery in the September following their third birthday, joining Reception at the age of 4, subject to availability.
We recognise children’s development and learning at this stage as a six-term journey through Nursery and Reception, which is progressive and adapted to each individual child’s needs, designed to increase their confidence and developing them into adventurous young pupils.
Our EYFS curriculum is planned in accordance with the ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’ (DfE 2012).
We focus on three prime areas when children start at our Stepping Stones Nursery:
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language Development
• Physical Development
Once the children have settled into their new environment and are secure within these prime areas, the other areas of learning take equal precedence, with the daily experiences encompassing the following core areas of the EYFS curriculum:
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding of the World
• Expressive Arts and Design
We place equal importance on all aspects of the curriculum within the EYFS in order to ensure that each child develops the foundation skills and aptitudes they require for successful learning.
Daily learning is planned to meet the needs of each child and is responsive to every child’s individual interests and developmental needs.
In addition to the EYFS framework, children at our Stepping Stones Nursery also benefit from specialist teaching in Drama, French, Physical Development and Music.
Wellies and waterproof clothing are a must at Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, as our outdoor environment within our extensive grounds provides a multitude of learning opportunities for our children at this very first stage of their educational journey and beyond.
We incorporate Forest School principles into learning, with regular visits to the woods and fields part of our Outdoor Education programme.
Ongoing assessment for learning ensures that we monitor and evaluate each individual child’s learning and the progress they make on a daily basis.
The teaching teams within each class will skilfully observe children – both informally and during adult-led learning – enabling them to plan for their next steps and ensuring learning is progressive, continuous and supportive.
Key Stage One
Key Stage One follows EYFS, as the next educational step before entering Key Stage 2 at Berkhamsted Prep.
Covering Year 1 and Year 2, children are within Key Stage One between the ages of 5 and 7 years.
At Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, we focus on ensuring that the transition between each educational stage is seamless. A thorough preparation for each transition and opportunities built into the curriculum give our children the confidence and motivation to embrace the next steps in their educational journey.
Learning at KS1 is aimed at securing mastery so that children’s knowledge is deep and secure, establishing a strong foundation for pupils’ learning at KS2 and beyond.
Our approach to learning is to engage each child so that they are continuously working within their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), challenging and stretching each child to aim high and achieve their best.
At Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, our daily teaching not only encompasses the factual knowledge required across the curriculum. It is underpinned by a culture of developing learners who are independent, questioning and able to collaborate for enquiry-based and investigational learning.
The curriculum is based on the National Curriculum but further enhanced by specialist teaching in Art, Drama, French, Music and PE.
Our children are taught to self-evaluate their learning using co-written success criteria which enables them to consider their areas of success and to identify their next steps.
We believe an increasing level of independence is central to children’s pastoral development and we actively encourage our children in Year 1 and Year 2 to develop personal responsibility and to be role models for our younger children.
Our personal, social and emotional teaching continues to focus on developing our children’s wellbeing so that they can reflect on the personal qualities needed to be part of a community and further develop their self-esteem and resilience to a mature level.
Children in Year 1 and Year 2 take up positions of responsibility such as School Council and House Captains to develop their early leadership skills.
Home Learning
Consolidating the learning objectives taught at school in a fun and interactive way.
We understand that engaging your child in further study at home can be a challenge, but we believe it is crucial in teaching children to challenge their expectations of what they can achieve, developing them into ambitious, motivated students with the desire to succeed.
We approach home learning in a way which is designed to consolidate the learning objectives taught at school in a fun and interactive way.
During the Early Years Foundation Stage, children’s home learning focuses on developing their early reading, spelling and problem-solving skills whilst Key Stage One home learning includes some project work and investigative tasks.
You will have many opportunities to discuss your child’s home learning needs during the Pre-Prep years and we are always very keen to ensure that it is appropriate, purposeful and above all, stress-free for your child.
A metacognitive approach
At Berkhamsted Pre-Prep, we aim to encourage children to be open to learning new things so that they embrace new experiences and opportunities with an understanding that lifelong learning is key to self-improvement, and enjoyable!
Metacognition helps our pupils develop their awareness of how they learn and what they need to practise to improve in each key learning habit. This creates a learning friendly classroom culture, encouraging your child to be an innovative, confident, curious and independent learner.
At Pre-Prep we see its positive impact on a daily basis. Our pupils:
- Understand the different roles that need to be deployed when working together as a team in the classroom. We work to identify and utilise pupils’ complementary strengths to resolve any conflict within the team.
- Explain how different topics and subjects are related and rely on each other.
- Listen actively and respond respectfully with compassion and empathy.
- Spot patterns and identify the big picture as well as the fine detail.
- Appreciate the importance of planning ahead and reviewing progress regularly.
- Understand the different roles they need to play when working together as a team and know how to resolve conflict.
- Develop strategies that build resilience and view challenges and mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. We call this “mistakes are our friends” at Pre-Prep.
As we develop these skills and habits, we observe how it provides our children with greater capacity to identify their successes and areas for development, to be able to discuss with confidence their next steps, so that increasingly with support they develop ownership and agency of their own learning.
By equipping our children with the learning habits and skills in the youngest years we are confident that it will support their transition to the next step in their educational pathway at Prep whilst setting the foundations for them to thrive in the 21st century.
If you would like to know more about our approach, talk to our children and team when you visit our School. We believe they are our best example of the benefits of a metacognitive approach.
OPEN EVENTS
Why Berkhamsted?
As dreamy country schools go, the pre-prep is right up there, while the prep – a five minute drive away – is much bigger and so urban it could almost be London.
Staff share an ambitious vision, with high expectations for what all children can achieve and ensure that high standards of learning and care are delivered.
Inside, the emphasis on teaching and learning, as well as cross-curricular, is evident from the glass-covered noticeboards alone – among the largest and most comprehensive we’ve seen.
