At Moorside Primary School and Nursery, we implement the full National Curriculum, with enrichment opportunities through Forest Schools and Nurture.
Forest Schools planning links to the topic/theme, skills and identified areas of the curriculum. We use The Cambridge Oracy Assesssment Framework and Boxall Assessments to measure the impact of learning in the outdoors on Oracy and children’s well-being and resilience respectively.
Children who need additional support and intervention are offered the opportunity to attend Nurture and this is arranged through our Inclusion Team, led by our SENCo, Miss Ryder.
The aim of providing Nurture Groups is to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and break cycles of low achievement and to tackle social exclusion by ensuring that an unequal start in life does not mean an unequal chance to engage with learning. The Nurture Group will mean that disadvantaged or disengaged children have access to a nurturing intervention to equip them with the skills and resilience they need to impact on their learning positively across the curriculum and social interactions at school.
The six principals of Nurture are:
- Children's learning is understood developmentally.
- The classroom offers a safe base.
- The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing.
- Language is a vital means of communication.
- All behaviour is communication.
- The importance of transition in children's lives.
All our classrooms follow a nurturing approach to teaching and learning, which is also reflected through our Behaviour and Teaching and Learning policies.
In addition to our long term curriculum planning, we use National Celebrations, Events and Current Affairs to enrich and enhance children’s knowledge and understanding of British Values and the wider world. These events are led by our School Council and Subject Leaders, to engage pupils in enriching learning experiences, which often spark specific interests for children to take their learning beyond the classroom.
Ripon City of Sanctuary:
Ripon City of Sanctuary was established in 2015, and we are working towards achieving City of Sanctuary status at Moorside. This is part of the national network of City of Sanctuary groups. At Moorside, we are an inclusive school and therefore promote a culture of welcome for asylum-seekers and refugees both within our area and nationally.
Our Foundation Stage Leader, Mrs Jackson is our Champion for children who speak English as an Additional Language.