CROSSCANONBY ST JOHN'S C OF E SCHOOL - 'A little school with a big heart.'

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SEND - 'Special Educational Needs and Disabilities' and our SENCo - 'Special Educational Needs Coordinator'

Our school has a qualified and experienced SENCo who oversees all SEND provision - Mrs Kelly Bowe. She works closely with all staff, parents, and external agencies to ensure that every child with SEND receives the support they need to reach their full potential.

SENCo - Mrs Kelly Bowe: email: head@crosscanonby.cumbria.sch.uk   Tel: 01900 812326

SEND Governor: Mrs Hannah Birkett

Our SEND Policy is available to view on our website:

https://crosscanonby.cumbria.sch.uk/parents/policies

https://crosscanonby.cumbria.sch.uk/about-us/send

We are committed to building strong, trusting relationships with our parents and are always available to discuss any concerns you may have. We are proud to be an inclusive school and look forward to working with you to give your child the best possible start.

CATERPILLAR CLASS - EYFS: NURSERY AND RECEPTION

Our Caterpillar Class is for the children in Nursery and Reception. Their class teacher is Miss Wignall. She is supported by Miss Turnbull.

Miss Wignall (class teacher) can be contacted via Class Dojo or by telephoning school - 01900 812326.

The Early Years Foundation Stage covers the Nursery and Reception years. At Crosscanonby St John's CE School, the children are taught in a well resourced classroom with a continuous provision to meet the needs of all pupils. The children have access to outside learning daily. In addition enhancements are provided to meet the needs of individual children and are tailored to the interests of the children.

We pride ourselves in taking the children out to local places of interest and inviting visitors into school.

The staff are highly qualified and pupil to staff ratios are low.

All children are provided with a healthy snack mid-morning; fresh water is available throughout the day for children's water bottles to be filled.

At Crosscanonby Primary School, we aim to provide a balanced curriculum across the seven areas of learning, providing opportunities for children to engage in activities that are adult led, child initiated and guided and supported by adults.

Our EYFS Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning

At Crosscanonby St John’s CE School, we provide an inclusive, nurturing environment where every child can thrive. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards for learning, development, and care for children from birth to five years old.

We work in close partnership with parents and carers to meet each child’s unique needs, ensuring they receive a secure, safe, and joyful foundation for their education.

Safeguarding, Child Protection, and Welfare

Your child’s safety, health, and well-being are at the heart of everything we do. We strictly adhere to all statutory EYFS welfare requirements and statutory guidance under Keeping Children Safe in Education.

  • Policies: Full details on our procedures for keeping children safe are outlined in our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.

  • Designated Safeguarding Leads:

    • Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs Kelly Bowe (Headteacher)

    • Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL): Miss Moore (Class 1 Teacher)

    • Safeguarding Governor: Mr Marc Baillie

  • Reporting Concerns: If you ever have a concern regarding a child's welfare or safety, please speak directly to a member of our safeguarding team.

Areas of Learning and Development

The EYFS framework is structured around seven interconnected areas of learning and development:

Prime Areas

These areas are fundamental for building children’s curiosity, enthusiasm for learning, capacity to learn, and ability to form relationships:

  • Communication and Language: Developing listening, attention, understanding, and expressive vocabulary.

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Building self-regulation, healthy relationships, and personal confidence.

  • Physical Development: Developing gross motor skills (balance, coordination, spatial awareness) and fine motor precision (pencil control, tool use).

Specific Areas

These areas strengthen and apply the skills developed in the Prime Areas:

  • Literacy: Comprehension, word reading, and early writing.

  • Mathematics: Deep understanding of numbers to 10, numerical patterns, and spatial reasoning.

  • Understanding the World: Exploring past and present, people and communities, and the natural world.

  • Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with materials and performing through music, movement, and role-play.

Our Approach: For our youngest children in Nursery, practitioners focus heavily on the Prime Areas. As children gain confidence and capability, the balance shifts to include equal focus on the Specific Areas. A strong foundation in the Prime Areas remains central throughout the EYFS so every child is well prepared to access the Year 1 curriculum.

How We Teach: Adult-Led & Child-Initiated Learning

The EYFS framework specifies that learning must be delivered through planned, purposeful play and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

  • Child-Initiated Learning: Through high-quality play, children explore, practise skills, solve problems, and make sense of the world. Practitioners actively interact during play to scaffold learning, stretch thinking, and deepen understanding.

  • Directed Learning: Children participate in daily whole-class and small-group sessions for focused instruction in Phonics, English, and Mathematics. The proportion of directed learning gradually increases as children progress through Reception to support their transition into Key Stage 1.

  • Enriched Curriculum: Our provision is enhanced by weekly specialist sessions, including PE on Wednesdays with our sports coach, Andy, and Music with Mr Clarke.

Phonics and Early Reading: Twinkl Phonics & Rhino Readers

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We use Twinkl Phonics, a Department for Education (DfE) validated Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) programme, delivered through consistent, daily whole-class and guided sessions.

  • Multi-Sensory Approach: Children follow the adventures of Kit, Sam, and the Twinkl Phonics family. Lessons use actions, handwriting rhymes, mnemonics, and songs to secure rapid recall of grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and common exception words.

  • Fully Decodable Books: Early reading is supported using Rhino Readers—a collection of fully decodable books exactly matched to our phonics progression. Children only encounter sounds and tricky words they have already been taught.

  • Home & School Access: Families can access these decodable texts both in hard copy and digitally via the free Rhino Readers eBook app.

How Children Learn: Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning

We observe and support how children learn across all activities, focusing on the three statutory Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning:

  1. Playing and Exploring: Children investigate, experience things, and "have a go."

  2. Active Learning: Children concentrate, keep trying when they encounter difficulties, and enjoy their achievements.

  3. Creating and Thinking Critically: Children develop their own ideas, make connections between concepts, and adapt their strategies.

Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)

Within the first six weeks of starting Reception, children complete the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA). This brief, 1-on-1 task with their class teacher assesses early literacy, communication, language, and mathematics skills to establish an accurate national starting point.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Support & Admissions

We follow the statutory SEND Code of Practice using a continuous Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle:

  • Identification: Ongoing practitioner observation and statutory assessment against EYFS milestones allow us to quickly identify children making less than expected progress.

  • Parent Partnership: Parents are a child’s primary educators. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s development, please speak to Miss Wignall (Class Teacher) or Mrs Bowe (SENCo) as soon as possible.

  • Early Targeted Support: We implement immediate, targeted support and adaptations without waiting for formal external diagnoses, ensuring every child accesses the full curriculum. Details can be found in our SEND Policy.

  • Admissions: Information on joining our school family is available in our Admissions Policy.

Supporting Learning at Home

Working together with families ensures the best outcomes for our children. Please explore the recommended educational websites linked at the bottom of this page to support your child’s learning journey at home. We encourage parents to review these sites in advance to guide their child toward the most age-appropriate games, stories, and activities.

CLASS 1

Class 1, which consists of Year 1 and Year 2. The children are taught by Miss Moore and are supported by Miss Libby, Miss Fisher, Mrs Moore and Mrs Hodgins throughout the whole day.

The children also benefit from a weekly PE session, on Wednesdays, with our Sports Coach, Andy and a weekly Music session with Mr Clarke.

The Teaching of Phonics in Class 1

Phonics lessons are taught daily to all children in Class 1; children are grouped according to the phonics' phase they are working within.

We have implemented the 'Twinkl Phonics' Scheme (an approved Phonics teaching scheme). All staff have completed CPD training to ensure that our approach is consistent throughout.

Co-ordinating reading books are used to support the structure of this teaching scheme - 'Rhino Readers'. These are an an exciting, original collection of engaging fully-decodable books, exactly aligned with Twinkl Phonics, covering all levels. Children will only encounter the sounds and tricky words they’ve already learnt at their stage of the scheme. Staff will determine when children are ready to access these books and parents are encouraged to hear their children read every day, if possible. 

The Phonics Screening Check

The Phonics Screening Check takes place for Year 1 children and any Year 2 children who did not make the check when in Year 1; this is usually in June. Children throughout the country will all take the test during the same week. If they are absent from school during that week, they will take it within the specified time frame. Children in year 2 will also take the check if they did not achieve the required outcome when in year 1 or if they have not taken the test before. The Phonics Screening Check is designed to allow schools to assess whether children have made expected progress within their phonics learning and have reached an appropriate standard. It can help teachers to identify gaps in children’s phonics knowledge and gives the school a picture of where children may be excelling or requiring extra support.

The Phonics Screening Check is designed not to be stressful for your child. We will have prepared your child well for it beforehand and it will not be referred to as a ‘test’. The check contains 40 words. Some of these words are real words and some are ‘non-words’ or ‘nonsense words’. Your child will be prepared for the fact that some of the words will not be real words and these words are identifiable during the test by having a small image of an alien next to them. These ‘non-words’ are important because all children will need to use their decoding skills to read them as they will have not been learnt by sight. The test will take around 10 minutes per child, although children are allowed to work at their own pace and there is no time limit. If your child is struggling, the teacher can stop the check. Each child will sit one-toone with an adult and will be asked to read the 40 words out loud.

The 2027 statutory phonics screening check for Year 1 pupils in England will take place during the one-week window starting on Monday, June 14, 2027.

Key Stage 1 Assessment and Teacher Assessment

In line with Department for Education (DfE) guidance, statutory Key Stage 1 (KS1) SATs for Year 2 pupils were made non-statutory (optional) starting from the 2023/24 academic year.

While formal national tests at the end of Year 2 are no longer mandatory, schools may still choose to use past assessment papers in Reading, Mathematics, and English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS) as part of their internal evaluation processes.

At Crosscanonby St John’s CE School, we assess children continuously throughout Key Stage 1 using ongoing classroom observations, daily work, and teacher assessments. If test materials are used, they serve purely as one tool among many to inform our teacher assessments, helping us evaluate each child's progress in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics to ensure a smooth transition into Key Stage 2 (Year 3).

Key Stage 1 collection of evidence for Teacher Assessment will take place during May.

CLASS 2

Class 2 is a combination of Year 3 and Year 4. The class is taught by Mr Corkill and is supported by Miss Summerfield. 

The children also benefit from a weekly PE session, on Wednesdays, with our Sports Coach, Andy and a weekly Music session with Mr Clarke.

YEAR 4 - Multiplication Tables Check

If you have a child currently in Year 4,  they will be participating in the multiplication tables check in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help us to identify if your child may need additional support.

The Multiplication Tables Check is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions. Your child will be able to answer 3 practice questions before taking the actual check. They will then have 6 seconds to answer each question. On average, the check should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.

The Multiplication Tables Check will be carried out in the two week period starting on Monday 7th June 2027.

CLASS 3

Class 3 is a combination of Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. The class is taught by Mrs Bowe in the morning and Mrs Elder in the afternoon, and has the support of Miss Baxter and Mrs Gibson.

The children also benefit from a weekly PE session, on Wednesdays, with our Sports Coach, Andy and a weekly Music lesson with Mr Clarke.

Key Stage 2 SATs

At the end of Year 6, our children will sit tests in:  

  • Reading
  • Maths
  • Grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS)

These tests are both set and marked externally, and the results are used to measure the school’s performance (for example, through reporting to Ofsted and published league tables). Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessment to give a broader picture of their attainment.

The Key Stage 2 SATs in English and Mathematics assess children against the expectations of the primary national curriculum.

Children are assessed at the end of Year 6 in the following areas:

  • English Reading: A reading comprehension paper testing understanding, inference, and vocabulary.

  • English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS): A short-answer grammar paper and a separate spelling test.

  • Mathematics: Three papers covering Arithmetic (Paper 1) and Mathematical Reasoning (Papers 2 and 3).

  • Writing & Science: Teacher assessments are reported based on ongoing classroom work throughout Year 6.

Understanding Your Child’s Results: Scaled Scores

National curriculum levels (e.g., Level 4 or Level 5) have been replaced by a scaled score system:

Scaled Score Result Category What It Means
Below 100 Has Not Met Expected Standard (NS) Working towards the expected national standard for Year 6.
100 – 109 Met Expected Standard (AS) Demonstrates a secure understanding of the Year 6 curriculum.
110 – 120 Higher Standard / Greater Depth Performing at a high level above the national expectation.

Each child receives a raw score (the actual number of marks earned) which is converted into a scaled score between 80 and 120. Parents receive these scaled scores alongside their child’s end-of-year report in July, confirming whether the national expected standard was met.

In 2020 and 2021 KS2 SATs did not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Primary school SATs results will not be published in national league tables until 2023 to reflect the disruption to children's learning.

DATES FOR KEY STAGE 2 SATS - Monday 10th May 2027 - Thursday 13th May 2027.

2027 KS2 Test Timetable

  • Monday 10 May 2027: English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) Paper 1 (45 minutes) and Paper 2 spelling (20 minutes)
  • Tuesday 11 May 2027: English reading test (60 minutes)
  • Wednesday 12 May 2027: Mathematics Paper 1 arithmetic (30 minutes) and Paper 2 reasoning (40 minutes)
  • Thursday 13 May 2027: Mathematics Paper 3 reasoning (40 minutes)

Please find below, details of suggested websites that can be accessed at home to support your child’s learning and development throughout their primary school education. We hope you find this information useful and enjoy using these sites to enhance your child’s learning experiences at home!

Please remember to review the sites ahead of time so that you are able to help your child find the best resources available within the sites. Some offer a great number of games, songs, stories, videos etc. so it is important to know the site well in order to support and develop your child’s learning.

EYFS:

  • www.busythings.co.uk

Excellent site built around the 7 areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. You can access a free 7-day trial but you need to subscribe after this period to access the content – various subscription packages available.

  • http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm

Great site with some free phonics games

  • www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies

Many games often recognised by children from their favourite programmes.

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/eyfs/

Links to particular cbeebies games from areas of learning.

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories

Cbeebies stories and rhymes.

  • http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/

Interactive books and reading activities to share with your child at home.

  • http://www.funwithspot.com/

New and improved! Try creating your own Spot story.

  • www.sebastianswan.org.uk

Books for reading together with links to understanding of the world (good for natural science).

  • http://www.ictgames.com/

Some excellent numeracy and literacy resources

  • http://www.ictgames.com/looCoverWriteCheck/LCWC_demo/index.html

Good for spelling high frequency and tricky words!

  • http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html

Lots of maths and literacy games

  • www.boowakwala.com

Many games and songs including those relating to festivals.

  • www.poissonrouge.com

Many delightful games. Spend some time exploring!

  • http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=37

Games of varying quality to support different areas of learning.

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/

The Little animals’ activity centre - plenty of good quality activities to support learning

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/story/sbi.shtml

The Little animals’ activity centre – stories

  • www.abc.net.au/children/play

Various educational games, videos and craft ideas

  • www.britishcouncil.org/kids-songs-little-kids.htm

British Council “Learn English” – songs and stories

  • http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/15.cfm?s=15&p=252,index

Good quality games from a range of websites such as BBC. Supports communication, language and literacy, problem solving, reasoning and numeracy as well as other areas of learning.

  • www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/index.shtml

Problem solving reasoning and numeracy

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/

Visit the world with Barnaby Bear!

CLASS 1:

  • Learning and Exploring Through Play www.learningandexploringthroughplay.com
  • Messy Little Monster https://www.messylittlemonster.com
  • Hello Wonderful https://www.hellowonderful.co
  • Music with Nancy https://youtu.be/egt_2WBjeOM
  • Imagination Tree https://theimaginationtree.com/
  • Best Ideas for Kids https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/
  • Twinkl https://www.twinkl.co.uk
  • Cool resource to learn about deep sea creatures https://neal.fun/deep-sea/ National Geographic Kids
  • https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/
  • Oxford Owl for Home https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
  • Topmarks https://www.topmarks.co.uk/
  • Mystery Science https://www.mysteryscience.com
  • Cbeebies https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies
  • Cbeebies Radio https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio
  • Nature Detectives https://naturedetectives.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/
  • TTS https://www.tts-group.co.uk/home+learning+activities.html
  • Hungry little minds https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/#3
  • Classroom secrets https://classroomsecrets.co.uk
  • Arcademics https://www.arcademics.com

CLASSES 2 and 3:

WEBSITES TO HELP CHILDREN WITH STATUTORY ASSESSMENTS: