How does our school day look?

The Government is determined that all pupils have the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential. To support this, on 28 March 2022 the Government announced, through the White Paper Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child, a new minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours for all mainstream, state-funded schools. St. Martin's complies fully with this expectation.

8.40 - 8.50

School Gates open; your child's Teacher or Teaching Assistant will greet you at the door; this is a time for you to pass on any messages.Children register and engage in learning activities immediately, allowing them to start their learning as soon as they enter the classroom. The register closes at 8.50

08:50 - 9.30 - Phonics/Reading Lesson

Pupils in EYFS and Year 1 undertake daily phonics based on our scheme, Essential Letters and Sounds. Year 2 pupils may be a part of this session, or a discrete spelling lesson. Children in other year groups take part in a daily reading lesson that focusses on core comprehension strategies.

09:30 - 10.30 - English

Writing will be inspired by immersion in high quality texts; these texts are used as a stimulus for drama, discussion, debate and the exploration of ideas.

We aim to engender a lifelong love of reading through the use of author visits, regular opportunities to read for pleasure , and a constantly evolving, engaging and exciting library selection.  There will be opportunities for whole class guided reading.

10:30 - 10:45 - Break

All children will be on the playground or playing field together; older children will act as play leaders to ensure everyone is included in a game.  There will also be the opportunity for a healthy snack.  The EYFS will have a separate outdoor area and break time to begin with.

10:45 - 12:15- Maths

In the EYFS this will be based on the EYFS framework.  There will be daily oral counting and children will experience numbers through concrete experiences and pictorial representations.

In the other year groups this will include work based on the National Curriculum; 70% of which is around number, calculation and fractions.  Children will be taught to master concepts before moving on.  There will be lots of problem solving, creative thinking and fluency.

12:15 - 13:00 - Lunch time

Meals will be provided by H3CS.  There will be a strong SLT presence and support for reluctant and slow eaters.  There will be the same provision outside as at break time with TAs and play leaders.

13:00 - 15:00

Our afternoons are used to teach the remainder of the curriculum. Humanities, Art and DT are taught in half-termly 'blocks.' Science, Computing, PE and RE will be taught as discrete subjects and the modern foreign language will be Spanish.  Children will develop knowledge and skills in a range of contexts and teachers will plan in opportunities to develop core skills such as teamwork, communication and problem solving.

In the EYFS there will be additional opportunities for structured play, show and tell and sharing news.  

15.00 - 15.20 - Collective Worship

Our collective worship will be Christian in character; an opportunity to promote spiritual, moral and cultural development which may be carried out as a whole school or in class.  Each term we will focus on one Christian value and there will be a variety of leaders including staff and clergy.

Friday's collective worship will include a celebration of the children's work and behaviour for learning. 

15:20 - Home time

A Teacher or Teaching Assistant will stand at the classroom door to make sure your child reaches you safely.