Lower School Curriculum

By Year 1 the children explore their attitudes towards technology, its value for themselves, others and society, and their awareness of its advantages and limitations.

In Year 2 the children continue to develop their skills in using hardware and software, so as to manipulate and present information.

Parents can keep up to date with the latest ICT news by following our dedicated ICT Twitter feed. Click here to request access. Parents are also encouraged to view our Parent Resource Blog which includes valuable information in relation to ICT.

It refers to an ICT Twitter page but I’m not aware we have one. We follow the KAPOW scheme for ICT so you could refer to that. We use the SCARF scheme to teach PSHE and relationships so that can be included. We don’t take the children to choose books from the school library. You could include Y2 going on a residential.
Everything else is fine.

As pupils move through the lower school, they build on their knowledge from Nursery, Kindergarten and Reception. They start to build up a repertoire of words and phrases, they listen attentively and start to link the spelling, sounds and meaning of words together. They cover the following topics; colours, numbers, family and greetings and they are also introduced to aspects of French culture.

Music plays a very important part in the curriculum at Forest. All children, from Nursery to Year 6, enjoy Music lessons each week with Ms Wellings, the school’s specialist Director of Music.

In Key Stage 1, the focus is on establishing a strong understanding of the basic musical elements through singing and playing instruments, games and other fun activities.  By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils know the basic note values from semibreve to semiquaver, the treble and bass clef notes on lines and in spaces, and simple definitions/Italian words describing tempo, timbre, texture and dynamics.

Singing is one aspect of Music that all Forest students especially enjoy. Songs are an integral part of all music lessons and are used to entertain, educate and encourage the children.  Pupils sing regularly in class, at assemblies and in the playground as well!  Interested pupils in Reception and Year 1 combine to create our Seedlings Choir each year, which is led by our Music Captain and supported by Ms Wellings and the Year 3 TA, Mrs Cooke.

Christmas is a special time on the Lower School Music calendar as that is when our Year 2 class become the stars of the annual Nativity performance, ably supported by the Year 1 and Reception chorus.  This is a highlight of our Christmas season and is eagerly anticipated each year.

Lower School is when most of our peripatetic lessons commence – we offer tuition with specialist teachers in piano, singing, violin, trumpet/cornet, guitar and drums.  We are proud that enrolment in peripatetic music has increased year on year, and we now have over 45% of Year 1-6 pupils learning an instrument/singing.  Pupils are expected to practise each day and to be diligent and enthusiastic about their progress. They have the opportunity to perform at assemblies and informal concerts throughout the school year, as well as participating in Brass/String Ensembles under the guidance of their teacher.

Parents can keep up to date with the latest Music news by following our dedicated Music Instagram feed @forestprep_music

In Years 1 and 2, the pupils continue to develop the skills needed to play a variety of sports, including hockey, gymnastics, basketball, handball, athletics, and cricket. They also participate in a weekly dance lesson taught by a specialist dance teacher.

Swimming starts in Year 1 and continues every week until the children leave school at the end of Year 6.

Our Lower School pupils enjoy a rich, diverse, exciting and engaging art curriculum. A holistic approach is taken to the curriculum which nurtures creative thinking skills and ensures children are learning through art, and also about art. Pupils are given a wide range of creative experiences to explore from mark making and painting to printing, collage and sculpture. Our carefully designed art studio is a bright, vibrant place where children are keen to learn and develop their creativity.