Subject Guides

Why teach Art?
Art is high profile (often the first impression given to visitors) but often regarded as low status when compared to the Literacy and Numeracy curriculum. Art is a discrete subject with its own range of skills and vocabulary.

Art can play a key role in developing positive behaviours and attitudes that are beneficial to all curriculum areas, perseverance, exploring feelings and emotions, patience, developing thinking skills, team work and working cooperatively on shared projects. Creativity is central to art and is an attribute equivalent to intelligence. In preparing young people for future challenges, the ability to think creatively is essential in rapidly changing world.

Art is motivating.  Most children enjoy art experiences. It can calm, enthuse, and provoke deep emotions. Responding to an art work creates a level playing field. The promotion of visual literacy at a time when we are increasingly decoding symbols eg emojis and learning to rapidly assimilate  information does not require a ‘reading level’ to access information. It teaches observation, interpretation, seeing different perspectives, analysis and synthesis.  Children who may be more gifted in art than in other, often more ‘valued’ curriculum areas, can develop self-esteem and confidence that impacts positively in other curriculum areas.

Art can be used as a basis for all curriculum areas. The crossover from Art to Maths in terms of pattern, shape and form. Talking/writing about a picture or art technique provides constant literacy links and opportunities. Exploring colour links with science exploration. Art from different places and times provides links to Foundation subjects and makes an enormous contribution to multi-cultural and multi faiths education, instilling and underpinning tolerance and enriching the experience for all our children.

The Arts are under attack as never before. If we do not develop a love, understanding and appreciation of art in our children there will be sizeable gaps in their experience and impact negatively on their future experiences.

What makes good Art Education?
Quality first teaching includes good subject knowledge on the part of the practitioner. Regular INSET supports skills and knowledge development across the key stages to ensure that skills, techniques, and experiences are appropriate. Practitioners check for gender and cultural balance in resources, displays and artefacts that are used as a stimulus. AtOASP we introduce children to a different art work, exhibition or Artist each month with our Picture of the Month. All children have the opportunity to find out about a particular image, installation or artist at an appropriate level. The'Picture of the Month' provides a stimulus for art in the classroom and displays at the school.

All children have balanced opportunities to develop skills relating to colour, pattern, line, tone, shape and form. They progressively develop their skills and understanding using a range of media. Drawing, painting, printing, graphics, textiles, collage, 3D work and photography. They make connections with the work of other artists and craftspeople from a broad range of cultures.

Value is placed on the process as well as the product. Time for exploration and experimentation is built in. Sketch books are utilized from Year 2 as a working document. All children have the opportunity to participate in independent, small group, class and whole school projects. Termly whole school art activities provide information to inform assessment and future INSET plans. Each year in the Summer Term we have an exhibition to celebrate the extensive range and quality of Art at OASP.

Art in EYFS
Characterised by frequent brief experiences. The emphasis is very much on the process and allowing children to explore different media, Children participate in a wide range of art activities. They begin to develop an art vocabulary to identify colours and basic art techniques e.g. drawing, painting, printing, collage and photograph. They explore graphics programmes e.g. Busy Paint. They learn to talk about a picture. (Picture of the Month)

Art in Key Stage 1
Children build on the broad EY experience to practice and refine. They continue to develop their artistic vocabulary. They are able to explore mixed media and develop knowledge and experience of a range of art resources. For example, different drawing implements pastels, charcoal, exploring line, tone through cross hatching. They develop skills in colour mixing. They make links with the work of other artists and begin to explore symbolism in art utilizing Picture of the Month.

Art in Key Stage 2
Children continue to develop and refine skills through practicing and paying increasing attention to detail. Skills development continues in all media e.g. mono prints and making their own block prints. Projects last for longer periods over several sessions because of diverse skills employed in, for example - making a block print, testing, printing and embellishing. Children learn about art from different times and places. They gain understanding of symbolism and use Art to explore wider themes. They are increasingly able to identify media used and in turn, decide which medium they would like to use, Children use Picture of the Month as a stimulus for different genres.

Computing is an essential skill for all children to learn, and an important part of the curriculum. Coding and programming is an integral aspect of Science and STEM-related careers.  Learning these computing skills is key to this generation of school children's future success. We are teaching our pupils the vital skills that enable them to become creators and not just consumers of technology.Computing can be integrated into almost every subject that children study at school.

At Shirley Park we have a computer suite at Stroud Green and a bank of laptops at Long Lane, which enables each child to have their own computer to work on during computing lessons. Computing lessons take place weekly for all children from Year R to Year 6. We also have IPads which are used to enhance all areas of the curriculum and specialised programs to help children who need extra help with reading and maths. 

The new computing curriculum is broken down into three main areas:

Digital Literacy
The Internet is an amazing place; children can play, learn, create and connect. However, it is very important that we equip our children with the skills they need to keep themselves safe so they can experience the Internet positively and responsibly. They learn at an early age how to talk about and report concerns about anything that worries them when using the Internet. E-safety is revisited every year and throughout the year and we take part in Safer Internet Day in February.

Computer Science
Children learn how computers and computer systems work, and how they are designed and programmed. Children learn to design, write and debug computer programs, starting with using a programmable toy such as a Bee-Bot to travel around the classroom floor in Reception to designing games using Scratch in Year 6.

Information Technology 
Children learn how to use a range of creative tools to support learning across different subject areas, using multimedia, word-processing, digital imagery, and manipulating sound and video. They learn how to collect sort and manipulate data to answer questions.

Our Computing Curriculum

EYFS
In the Early Years, Technology is part of the early learning goal ‘Understanding the World’. They recognise and engage in a range of technology devices including; desktop computers, IPads, cameras and Beebots. The children soon learn how to control the computer mouse and are able to interact with age-appropriate computer software, such as BusyThings. By the end of Reception they can use Word to type simple sentences.

In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to:

• Understand what algorithms are (a set of step-by-step instructions for carrying out a function), how they are used as programs on digital devices, and that programs work by following these precise instructions.
• Create and debug (find and remove errors from) simple computer programs.
• Recognise common uses of information technology in the wider world.
• Use technology safely and respectfully, keeping their personal information private.
• Know where to go for help and support if they’re worried about anything they see on the Internet or other online technologies.
• Program a programmable toy such as a Bee-Bot  to follow instructions.
• Use different programs to create pictures and posters.
• Use Word to write sentences and stories.
• Use search engines to collect information for a project with a subject like the Great Fire of London.

In Years 3 to 6, children are taught to:

• Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems.
• Solve problems by breaking them down into smaller parts.
• Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to find and correct errors in algorithms and programs.
• Understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.
• Use search technologies effectively, understand how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content.
• Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.
• Develop simple computer game using a visual, interactive coding system such as Scratch.
• Use search engines to collect information about a project.
• Create PowerPoint presentations and quizzes about something they have learned.
• Learn how to use the advanced features of Word and create spreadsheets using Excel.
• Take photos using a digital camera or IPad, and edit them.
• Produce digital music using an app like Isle of Tune  or Soundation.

More and more we are learning from research about the huge range of benefits from participating in dance including a positive effect on our quality of life, body image and mood. Dance is important to us at Oasis Shirley Park for several reasons.

- it helps children build on their physical development; their sense of coordination and fitness.

- it builds on their interpersonal skills; their confidence, resilience, their social and emotional awareness.

- it promotes mental health and well-being.

Dance provides many children with the opportunity to feel like they are succeeding in something not necessarily academic. We provide opportunities for children who have an interest or skill in dance to develop this further. Our whole school flashmobs and danceathon provides an opportunity to build a sense of belonging and community for our pupils. This enables them to work with others, in a team, together towards a shared goal.

Teaching dance at Shirley Park

Dance is not only taught within the PE scheme that we follow (P.E hub) but also across the curriculum.  For example, it is linked to topics the children are learning, language of the term and multi-cultural week. We also get the children involved in a dance flashmob in the playground, we call this ‘Flashmob-Friday’. Each flashmob has its own focus for what we want to promote! For example, on World Kindness Day we performed a dance flashmob as a whole school to promote kindness!

Extra – Curricular Provision.

We have an after schools street-dance club for KS2 children to get involved with. They work towards a performance with other schools within CSDA (Croydon Schools Dance Association) and a competition called ‘Let your feet compete’. 

 Exciting Opportunities

Each academic year we have exciting opportunities for our students. Whether it involves a dance workshop, a flashmob or a danceathon, we try to get every student dancing!

Reading
Reading consists of two dimensions: word reading and comprehension. At Oasis Shirley Park, we ensure that the teaching focuses on developing both areas for every child. For skilled word reading, this requires a speedy recognition and pronunciation of printed words. Phonics is essential in helping embed this.
Comprehension primarily draws from children’s’ knowledge of the world and their understanding of vocabulary. The teachers at Oasis Shirley Park ensure that comprehension skills are developed through high quality discussions and from engaging with a variety of stories, poems and non-fiction texts. 
Children should be encouraged to read daily at home as well as in school in order to establish a passion for reading and to enhance their vocabulary, as well as securing a better understanding of the world.
At Oasis Shirley Park, we follow the SFA (Success For All) programme which involves teaching children the skills for reading, writing and comprehension. 
EYFS
When leaving EYFS, children should be able to read and understand simple sentences and use their phonics knowledge to decode words and read words aloud. In Nursery and Reception, children have plenty of mark-making opportunities and letter sound matching activities indoors and outdoors. In addition to this, there are high quality age-related storybooks that children engage with in school. We hope to engender a love of reading and a passion for picking up a book in this stage.
Key Stage 1
Children’s reading skills are developed through engaging with a variety of high-quality books in our school. Our SFA programme, taught 4 days a week in KS1, ensures children are reading exciting books daily and are able to engage with poetry, fiction and non-fiction texts. In addition to this, children are taught the skills required to answer comprehension questions successfully. By the end of Year 2 children are taught to use their phonics knowledge to read confidently and fluently. For children who struggle with reading, reading interventions provide a systematic phonics programme to help them catch up. Children also have a daily 30 minute ‘Rocking Readers’ session where they are taught the specific skills required for reading comprehension e.g. inference, skimming & scanning; vocabulary and key facts retrieval.
Key Stage 2
As children progress through KS2, we have the expectation that they are able to read a wider range of books and poetry at an age-appropriate level.  Their pronunciation and speed should be effortless and mostly accurate. Teachers continue to enable children to engage with a wide range of texts in school through the reading schemes “Power of Reading”, “Success for All” and “Rocking Readers”, strategies that have been chosen to enhance pupils’ enjoyment and understanding of vocabulary as well as their comprehension of texts they have read. Children in year 3-5 are taught specific reading skills in two 60-minute SFA sessions as well as three further 30 minutes Rocking Readers sessions, whilst year 6 have a shorter daily session.

Writing
There are two dimensions to writing: transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (structuring ideas into speech and writing). Teachers at Oasis Shirley Park ensure that teaching incorporates both with an opportunity for children to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. Children are also taught the vocabulary required to discuss their writing and spoken language.
At Oasis Shirley Park, we use the ‘Power of Reading’ scheme from Year 1-6 which involves engaging with an exciting age-related book and producing in-depth writing based on it. In addition to this, writing is taught through our range of curriculum topics.
EYFS
In Early Years, children begin to use their phonics knowledge to write words that match their spoken sound. They are expected to be able to write simple sentences that can be read by themselves as well as others. In Nursery and Reception, teachers ensure the learning environment is engaging and stimulating for young children, allowing opportunities to engage with letters and sounds and mark marking. In Reception, children have daily Write Away sessions in which they are encouraged to write in simple sentences.
Key Stage 1
In KS1, children develop the stamina to write narratives, recount real life events and poetry. Children are given the opportunity to think about what they are going to write by planning or saying their sentences aloud first. In addition to this, children are encouraged to write down key words including new vocabulary to help them structure sentences.  Teachers provide an opportunity for children to re-read their work to check it makes sense and evaluate what they have written. SFA (which takes place 4 days a week) and Power of Reading (once a week) allow ample opportunities for these strategies.
Key Stage 2
As with reading, by the end of KS2 children’s writing is expected to be fluent and effortless. Children are taught to plan, draft, evaluate and edit their writing by identifying the audience and purpose for writing, selecting the appropriate grammar and vocabulary and using the correct organizational and presentational devices to guide the reader. In KS2 children produce writing based on books from ‘The Power of Reading’ programme as well as linking writing to their topic.

Handwriting
In Early Years, pupils are encouraged to develop their fine motor skills through mark making. By Reception, pupils are taught to form letters accurately and cursive writing is modelled by the teacher. The expectation by the end of Year 1 is that children begin to form their letters in cursive style and this is developed through to Year 2 where children begin to use pens if their handwriting is cursive. Teachers ensure that handwriting is modelled twice a week in years 1 - 5. By the end of KS2, pupils are expected to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed using pens.

Spelling
EYFS
In Early Years, children have an opportunity to practice green and red (tricky) words.
Key Stage 1
Children are taught to spell by segmenting words into phonemes (sounds) and representing these by graphemes (letters). It is expected that by the end of Year 1 and 2, children are able to spell common exception words accurately.
Key Stage 1
In Year 3, 4 and 5 children are expected to know how to spell the age-related common exception words which are taught through our “clued spelling” scheme.  In addition to this, by the end of KS2, teachers ensure that children show a sound understanding of how to spell words using a variety of advanced spelling rules; this is assessed termly by discrete spelling tests as well as within their independent writing.
Grammar
Grammar lessons are taught discretely once a week in year 1 and 2, increasing to daily in Year 3-6. As part of these lessons, year groups 3 – 6 use “raising stars” and “Pixl” resources to ensure frequent revision of key grammatical points.

Home Learning
Children should read daily and a comment can be made in their Reading Record. 

Useful websites
Phonics
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/
www.busythings.co.uk
English games KS1 and 2 
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/punctuation

What underpins English success?
Quality first teaching, high expectations for all and formative assessment underpin all English teaching across the school. Children are provided with activities that sufficiently engage and challenge them. In-lesson marking ensures that children are moved on or supported to maximise their learning. Children are continually given the opportunity to reflect on their learning through discussion, planning, editing and evaluating. Rapid interventions that consist of pre- and post- teaching ensure that children have the opportunity to make excellent progress

The ethos of our academy
The Ethos Curriculum in our school aims to think about the whole child and empower them to grow and make informed choices. Our Ethos vision is to make children hone in on their talents and think deeper about issues that affect our daily lives. Our children are our future and the school’s ethos ensures that the education we provide will teach our children to make moral choices, develop further understanding of the cultures and religions that make up our world and identify talents within themselves that will help them to understand themselves better.  To that end, at Oasis, our Ethos curriculum is made up of Humanities, Music and Pupil Voice, supporting children in their personal, emotional, social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. We also focus on Global Citizenship where we work with our partner school in Zimbabawe. We raise money to improve their quality of education and learn about their culture. We teach our children about helping others and take part in charity events including Red Nose Day and Children in Need. 

Our class charter
The theme of the first school week of the academic year is ‘We are Shirley Park’. It is a week where children get to know their new teacher and are given an understanding of the Oasis Habits, self-control, kindness, patience, perseverance, honesty and happiness. During this week children create a class charter, an agreement between staff and children about their behaviour in the classroom and in the school. It reminds them of the Golden Rules and Oasis Habits. Every Class Charter is unique to a child’s classroom. 

Opportunities to reflect
Children need time to process and understand information they encounter. To that end, children are given daily opportunites to reflect on their learning. Daily reflections are important because children are then able to assertain how much they understand, reflect on what they can do better and have opportunites to speak and share their feelings on a subject that is important to them. 

SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural)
Our SMSC curriculum helps children acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future.  We want all our children to leave school with the skills they need to grow up as healthy individuals who can make informed decisions about their lives.
To that end, we teach SMSC using our DOT COM programme. The programme is based on a cartoon character called Dot Com and is delivered using a series of age appropriate ‘Dot journals’. Through the journals, children are introduced to characters from different backgrounds and family groups and of differing abilities and skills. The characters enable children – through being one-step removed – to speak out on issues they may face in their day-to-day life. Lessons are designed to be age appropriate and embed the key themes of personal safety, respect for yourself and others, children’s rights and responsibilities, good decision-making and the importance of communication.
We also teach our children different ‘habits’ every half term to help them become a holistic child with an understanding of the fundamental habits to succeed in life. 

Pupil Voice 
It is important that the children in our school have a voice in school-wide decisions. To that end, we have a school council with one elected child from each class from Reception to Year 6. Our council meets once a week to discuss issues affecting our school. We take pride in our school council for helping to achieve so many objectives already, such as road safety, improving our playground environment, working with our international school in Zimbabwe and developing our school motto ‘Learning Together, Achieving Forever.’

Current Affairs 
To make informed decisions in their future, children need an understanding of what is happening in the present, therefore we teach our children Current Affairs once a week. Current Affairs start from Reception upwards; children may watch the news or learn about a local, national or international event. We also have a newspaper that comes to our school weekly called ‘First News’ so children can read about world events at an age-appropriate level. 

Philosophy for Children (P4C) 
At Oasis we teach P4C, a successful and innovative way of opening and thinking outside the box. This allows children to think and debate topics that are important to them and look at an issue from many sides of an argument. P4C lets children see that their ideas have value, and that others have different ideas that have value too. Children realise that they do not always have to be right, and develop confidence to ask questions and learn new ideas through discussion.

As part of our healthy living curriculum, we teach our children about vital areas of what it means to live well and look after not only others but yourself too. 

Topics covered include:

• Mental Health
• Diet
• Relationships
• Exercise
• Health and Safety
• Dangers and Substances

Find out more about how this is integrated throughout the year here. 

Humanities covers the teaching of History, Geography and Religious Education. Through these lessons, children are taught a range of skills that are built upon each year. Examples of topics taught in Early Years are All about Me, Celebrations, People who help us and Nursery Rhymes. As children move up to KS1 their topics include Doctor, Doctor, Weather and Seasons, Animals and Oceans and Seas. When children reach Key Stage 2, they delve into topics such as the Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt, Space and Dinosaurs.

The children learn a range of historical and geographical skills and progression is ensured as children move through each key stage.

Mastery of Maths
Maths is crucial for everyday life and at Shirley Park every child is provided with the opportunity to ensure they leave us with the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. It is our aim that children develop a secure understanding of mathematical concepts and processes, combined with genuine procedural fluency. A child who has mastered a particular skill is able to apply their understanding and solve different types of problems, including where the skill is either embedded in a different context, or where an informed choice of method is required.

Some children will be able to achieve mastery with greater depth. This means that they are able to apply their understanding of a concept in a wider variety of contexts, some of which are more difficult. They can manipulate the facts they know and the skills they possess in order to solve more complex problems. More developed forms of mathematical reasoning are central to this process, and enable the recognition of a link between operations and processes.

What underpins Maths success?
Quality first teaching, high expectations for all and formative assessment underpin all Maths teaching across the school. Children are provided with activities that sufficiently engage and challenge them. In-lesson marking ensures that children are moved on or supported to maximise their learning. Children are continually given the opportunity to problem solve and reason mathematically in a wide range of contexts. Rapid interventions that consist of pre-and post teaching ensure that children have the opportunity to make excellent progress

Teaching Maths
Maths Mastery provides our starting point for teaching Maths in Years 1 and 2 and Abacus provides our starting point for teaching Maths from Years 3-6. Teachers use the teaching resources from Mahs Mastery and Abacus alongside a wide range of additional resources to ensure children gain an in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts.

Calculation Policy
An up-to-date Calculation Policy with an overview of calculation methods and strategies ensures teaching methods and models are clear and consistent across the school. Parent workshops take place annually to share this information with parents, with the aim to support home learning.

Home Learning
Children from Reception to Year 6 are able to supplement their Maths learning at home through a range of websites. Each child in Year 1- 6 is provided with a personal login for TT Rockstars and Sumdog. These programmes are also used in school to enhance learning. Children in Reception are able to access Busy Things.

EYFS
Children build their mathematical knowledge in a range of contexts such as singing songs, shape hunts, cooking, chanting days of the week and months of the year. Practical activities are a staple of Maths in the EYFS, such as reciting numbers in sequence, number recognition, identifying shapes and developing the use mathematical language alongside exploring various mathematical concepts.  All children participate in collective learning, as well as indoor and outdoor challenges, which are aimed at building their problem solving and reasoning skills.

Please look at the Oasis Basic Skills Workshop presentation to see how you can help your child to develop their Reading, Writing and Maths skills in the Early Years.

Key Stage 1

Children's Maths skills are developed through the use of models that represent a clear link between the concrete, pictorial and the abstract representations of numbers. Teachers ensure children are supported with a range of practical resources such as cubes, bead strings and number lines to develop precise understanding of place value. Children begin to make clear connections between inverse operations (addition and subtraction as well as division and multiplication). Songs and chants continue to be used to support children learning of number facts including multiplications. Problem solving and reasoning are further developed through word problems, verbal reasoning activities and next step questions.  

Key Stage 2
Children continue to work on their number facts with the expectations that by the end of Year 4, they will be able to recall quickly their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 times table (this will be assessed, at the end of Year 4, in a statutory assessment from the Academic year 2019-2020).  As children progress through Key Stage 2, the expectation is that they develop a secure understanding of all four operations and can demonstrate procedural fluency in both written and mental calculation methods. Children’s knowledge of place value and the number system is extended to include larger integers. Children use and apply their mathematical skills through increasingly complex problem solving and reasoning tasks. In Year 6 children are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Children are expected to explain their mathematical thinking both verbally and in writing. 

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy

Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is the soul of Ethos. At Oasis, we pride ourselves in our music curriculum and the opportunities it provides for our pupils. From Early Years, children are exposed to a range of instruments. By the end of KS1, children can use pitch and sound from their own voices to create a musical scene. At the end of KS2, children will have the opportunity to use a range of instruments to conduct a musical piece. Children sing songs from Nursery all the way to Year 6. Our habits are linked to songs that children enjoy.
The Junior Choir rehearse weekly and perform at school and community events. The choir members are also part of our Oasis Hub choir which combines the talents of children from our school, Oasis Shirley Park Secondary, Oasis Ryelands and Oasis Arena. 

Massage in Schools Partnership

Mission statement: to provide high quality and professional training to all teachers and caring adults willing to bring ‘caring touch’ into schools.

Vision: every child attending school experiences positive and nurturing touch every day … everywhere in the world.

Children are not the people of tomorrow, but people today. They are entitled to be taken seriously. They have a right to be treated with tenderness and respect, as equals. They should be allowed to grow into whoever they were meant to be … the unknown person inside each of them is the hope for the future. 

Janus Korczak, A Voice for the Child

Respect

• Respect is the cornerstone of the Massage in Schools Programme.
• Children learn the routine at their own pace; there is no rush. The routine has 16 strokes, each with a name and picture to go with it, for example, baker, bear walk and ice skating. Children all over the world are doing the same strokes.
• Every child has the right to say no to giving or receiving a massage. In this case the child is given the option to sit and watch, massage in the air or on a table or a teddy.
• Children are encouraged, at their own pace, to talk about how they like their massage, a bit softer etc.
• Children must ask permission before giving massage; this is non-negotiable.
• Peer massage is strictly peer to peer and not adult to child or vice versa.

Teacher Training

No adult can lead a peer massage session without training from a peer massage trainer. When we first introduced the programme, in September 2014, Carol Trower, the Chairperson of Massage in Schools International, visited our school and delivered training to all staff in Key Stage 1 and 2. In November 2014, Mrs Botley became an accredited Peer Massage trainer. Since this time, Mrs Botley has trained all new staff and Reception staff to lead the routine, and will continue to train all new staff. With Mrs Botley, as our in-house expert and trainer, we have a sustainable model of training in massage.

Benefits for Children

• A natural brain-calming technique due to release of oxytocin levels.
• The opportunity to learn and experience saying yes and no to touch.
• A feeling of being individually perceived
• Relaxation, reduction in stress levels
• Improved concentration and learning
• Encouragement and development of imagination
• Developing respect for peers
• Stronger sense of self and self-esteem
• Greater progress and achievement leading to better life chances
• More collaboration
• Improved relationships with teachers, peers and adults
• Helps to foster atmosphere of calmness, safety, honesty, trust, tolerance, happiness, support and appreciation.
• This atmosphere in turn aids development of positive behavioural and social skills.

Benefits for adults at school

• More harmony in the classroom
• Easier and smoother classroom management
• An activity without pressure which is not target-oriented
• Experience the positive level of oxytocin
• Quiet, calm classroom
• Greater levels of accomplishment in the school day
• Time and space in the school day to reflect
• Improves bond between adults and children in the classroom
• All the benefits for children can only benefit the adults too!

Benefits for parents

• Their child sleeping better at night
• A tool to help settle for homework
• Receiving a massage from your child (96% of children take their massage home)
• An activity you can share with your child
• An improvement in sibling relationships

Benefits for Society

• A more peaceful society
• More respect for one another and self-respect
• Lower rates of addiction
• Higher levels of social skills
• More caring for one another
• The acceptance of touch as normal and healthy
• A less stressful environment
• Fewer mental health issues
• Development of conscience
• Fewer people in prisons
• Prevention against radicalisation

PE Teaching at Shirley Park
Years 3 – 6 use the P.E. hub scheme of work and Reception to Year 2 use the Real P.E scheme of work.These schemes teach progression in a range of sports and activities including gymnastics, dance, football, athletics, netball and many others. Children revisit the sports and activities so that teachers can see the progress pupils make year on year. 
Year 5 children attend a term’s course of swimming lessons at South Norwood Pool.

Extra -Curricular Provision
We are part of the Croydon Sports Partnership. This gives us access to training for staff in the teaching of PE and training for pupils in how to lead play activities in the playground. As a school, we also have access to borough-wide competitions in sports such as netball, football and rugby. 

After School and Lunch Time Clubs
We offer a range of after school sports clubs across our two campuses. Coaches from Sports After School Sports Ltd, other external agencies and teachers lead a range of sports for various year groups. At lunch time members of the PE team run sports-specific activities in the playgrounds, for example Mr Eniola coaches Year 3 and 4 football.

Exciting opportunities
Each academic year we have exciting sporting opportunities for our students. These have included visiting Crystal Palace FC grounds and meeting the payers, and also mentoring on site from professional Rugby stars such as Danny Cipriani. 

As part of our safeguarding curriculum, we teach our children key lessons based on the Prevent Strategy. 

Topics covered include:

• Pupil Voice
• Developing Critical Thinking Skills
• Safeguarding
• Mental Health
• Knowledge about Democracy
• Ethos

Find out more about how this is integrated throughout the year here. 

Our approach to RE is firmly underpinned by the ethos of Oasis as a whole, and as a Christian school, Shirley Park prides itself in its diverse RE curriculum. Children study all faiths and every year group takes part in celebrations such as Diwali, Christmas and Eid. All year groups visit a different place of worship, so children understand how different cultures practice their religion. Yearly, we hold a Harvest, Christmas and Easter service either at St Luke’s Church, Woodside or in our own school halls.  

Science is all around us. A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, all pupils at Shirley Park are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They are encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

EYFS Understanding the World (Science and Technology) 
Children explore their immediate environment through digging, planting growing and sensory exploration. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things happen, and talk about changes. Children engage in sand, water and malleable play, collaborating scientific skills such as prediction and measurement, with hands on experiences.  Children talk about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions. Children recognise and engage in a range of technology including; computers, the interactive Wizefloor, IPads, cameras and Beebots. By the end of Reception, children will be able to select and use different technology for particular purposes.

Key Stage 1 and 2
Science is taught explicitly in every year group from Year 1 upwards. It is taught in a spiral manner where the basics of a topic are taught lower down in the school and then built upon in later years.

Working scientifically encompasses all science teaching across the school and represents the fundamental skills that a child needs to develop in their science learning:

• Asking questions
• Planning and setting up different types of enquiries
• Performing tests
• Using equipment
• Observing and measuring
• Identifying and classifying
• Gathering and recording data
• reporting, presenting and communicating data/ findings.

Every year we take part in British Science Week organised by the British Science Association in March. During this week we focus on Science and Technology and each class takes part in a whole school challenge, science shows visit the school and there is an after-school family challenge. 

Class Gardens
We want our children to experience nature and the outdoors in a positive way so we are taking more lessons into our outdoor spaces to facilitate an enriched learning environment.  As part of developing our children’s understanding of nature, every class now has a ‘class garden’ where children grow and look after plants from seeds over the year as an ongoing project.   The plants children will grow will help connect their experience of science in nature to their everyday life.  In addition, plants in learning environments help to relieve stress, decrease air pollution and increase creativity.