ENGLISH
In the Spring term year 7 will cover non-fiction in the form of letter writing and fiction in the form of myths and legends. They will have the opportunity to be assessed formally on both their reading and writing skills with some speaking and listening used to develop their ideas. They will also continue with spelling intervention in addition to phonics and handwriting support where necessary. They will continue to have dedicated reading time with one to one feedback.
MATHS
The Spring term sees the Year 7 students develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills further. Number, including multiplication and division if applicable and pattern recognition are some key skills that our students will start to learn.
Weekly online, independent learning with Mangahigh continues.
We also aim to do a whole school Mathematics project where we hold a community event to raise money for a selected charity.
SCIENCE
Forces at Work – In this theme we do lots of activities in which the girls experience forces and their effects. They find out how forces can make things move, slow things down and keep things still. They also learn about friction and pressure.
Patterns in Life – In this theme we find out how living things are organised. We spend quite a lot of time looking at cells and finding out about the jobs that they do in plants and animals. We also look at the way in which living things can be put into groups which share similar characteristics.
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Environmental Studies incorporates work from History, Geography and practical outdoor learning. This outdoor learning provides the students with opportunities to learn and enhance their horticultural and animal care skills.
In History this term we will be exploring the link between us and our environments. We will look at how environments and cultures have adapted over time.
In Geography this term, we will be focusing on what our environment is and how it may be different in various parts of the world.
RELIGION AND ETHICS (R AND E)
The Religion and Ethics balanced curriculum is designed to help pupils begin to explore and engage with the six main religions from a spiritual and ethical perspective to stimulate their interest and understanding. The subject naturally is geared towards discussion, debate and a variety of opinions when exploring a range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues. Pupils are encouraged to appreciate and respect the British values of tolerance and freedom of speech when exploring their own beliefs and that of others.
Pupils will consider the different ways in which people worship, looking at feasts and fasting as well as finding out about some of the Spring festivals from different religions. They will be able to look at buildings, signs and objects that are special to some people and explore the significance of Easter. Pupils will have opportunities to meet religious leaders and explore more about their role in the community.
ART
In the Spring term our project is called ‘Express Yourself’ and pupils explore how other people express themselves using Art and culture. The focus to start with will be portraits and then we move onto study art from around the world. Talking about art and sharing their opinion is a large part of this project, which helps pupils with self-reflection and appreciation for other’s perspectives. Pupils get the opportunity to use a range of materials and express themselves creatively in a range of ways.
DESIGN CRAFTS
During the spring term students will have the opportunity to take part in a cross curricular project with the Dance and Drama department. After an initial research phase, students will co-create a range of Props, costumes and scenery that they will wear for an in-school performance.
Year 7 students will be exploring a range of 2D and 3D techniques and materials, including print-making, textiles and upcycling.
MUSIC
The music curriculum at Alfriston has been carefully designed to be therapeutic, and to promote confidence and a growth mindset for all our girls. We aim to be absolutely inclusive and to meet our girls whatever their level or need. Our Learning for Living skills of Engagement, Independence, Risk Taking, Resilience and Social Interaction are promoted in every lesson, and in some of our topics, Organisation will be an important focus.
Students will learn keyboard skills to improve dexterity, pair work skills, resilience in individual practice, and risk taking in performance. Lessons and methods are differentiated so that students work at their own level. The majority of students will perform solos and duets by this point in the year.
We then move to Improvisation and Composition on keyboards and rhythm instruments. The Elements of Music are taught here, through listening and composing. Instruments of the orchestra will be touched on via the Intentional Listening element of the course, which is formally introduced here too.
DANCE
Dance from around the world – This term, pupils will explore different dance styles from around the world such as Gumboot dancing and Bollywood. They will build on the key concepts from the autumn term (Action, Space, Dynamics and Relationships) to create and choreography their own routines to perform.
PE
Pupils will be introduced to Gymnastics, Health Related Fitness and Trampolining. Pupils will start by learning the importance of safety when exploring and encountering new and increasingly challenging physical expectations when using a variety of equipment. Basic shape, body control and spatial awareness will feature prominently whilst developing skills and techniques in isolation. Swimming will also continue to be a weekly feature.
SOCIAL SKILLS
Pupils will be split into smaller groups and receive a rotation of Social Skills, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy. For the Social Skills classes pupils will talk through what they have covered in Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy and it will be reinforced in a circle time format. Following this, pupils will play games or do team building exercises in order to build friendships with the other pupils, learn/practise social and emotional skills, and become accustomed to the style of Social Skills lessons ready for year 8 and 9 when the classes are much larger.
In the Occupational Therapy lessons, pupils will be supported with their transition into secondary school through the development of their independence skills. The lessons will cover expectations about appearance in school and the related skills needed, e.g. buttons, zips, hair tying, bag packing. They will also explore where things are in school, route finding, using a timetable and how this can be transferred into the community. At the end of the Summer Term there will be a block of lessons focussing on road safety.
For the Speech and Language Therapy Classes pupils will cover Classroom Skills, which includes listening skills, showing you are ready to work, respecting others, indoor and outdoor voice and learning teachers’ names. They will also explore how to use their visual timetable, bag packing, homework diaries, and asking for help.
PSHE
PSHE at all key stages aims to promote positive well-being and mental health enabling pupils to take responsibility for their learning and future life choices.
Pupils willhave opportunities to understand and reflect on their experiences and understand how they are developing personally, emotionally and socially, encompassing many of the spiritual, moral, social, cultural and health issues in their lives and that of others in wider society. This will enable them to be have a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the world they live in while building meaningful relationships. It will also enable pupils to develop leadership of themselves and others and develop personal and transferable skills related to the Learning for Living skills such as confidence and resilience.
There will be opportunities for pupils to find out what the school is like, how it functions as well as its rules. They will then think about friendships and relationships and begin to consider their future challenges and choices.
Spring 1: Pupils will explore relationships and examine the importance of emotions, Identifying and expressing feelings, Self-esteem and Unkind comments, Managing strong feelings, Romantic feelings and sexual attraction.
Spring 2: Pupils will focus on the topic of Changing and Growing. There will be a strong focus on changes at puberty, Self-care, Healthy and Unhealthy relationships, Consent, Different types of relationships.
HOME ECONOMICS
The pupils working in Home Economics will focus on basic cooking and food preparation skills. Pupils will learn how to work safely in the kitchen as well as developing, an understanding of what Home Economics is and learn the important hygiene and healthy eating rules. They will learn about basic nutrition and the importance of a balanced diet. Pupils will cook a wide range of dishes from a variety of simple recipes. Pupils will gain independence in the kitchen and begin to discuss the skills they are learning.
Pupils will continue to cooking from recipes provided. We will focus on how important it is to ensure that food safety and hygiene is being followed to avoid any accidents and minimise any risk of food poisoning. They will also be focussing on purchasing foods from a variety of sources; food labels provide information to the consumer. During these lessons the pupils will follow a project on ‘Breakfast’ and why it is important.
FOREST SCHOOL
The pupils working in Forest School will be outside in the woodland area having a hands-on opportunity to learn about the natural environment through directed tasks and exploration. They will be guided to use their own initiative to solve problems and cooperate with others. The students will be given a large amount of freedom in their learning.
In Year 7 there will be a large focus on organising ourselves and being prepared for each lesson as well as becoming familiar with the rules and ready for learning. The main theme throughout the lessons will be building relationships and team work. Some of the activities throughout the year will include den building, fire lighting and exploration.