Academic / Education in Context / Teaching Methods

However to be able to properly develop these qualities and skills it is necessary to give

real time to them during the school day.

This meant changing the typical timetable where academic skills completely dominate, where the only other skill squeezed into the timetable are physical skills and where the rest are mentioned pedagogically, but have no real time or space to develop. So in the Kindergarten & Primary Class, academic time makes up no more than 50 % of the school day and the lessons are designed to be active, dynamic and fun. Whilst in the Secondary Class, with its emphasis on GCSE preparation, academic time constitutes two thirds of the day.

This gave us time for timetable slots such as Free Choice, where the children can socialise together and develop their own projects.

It also gave us time for considerably more outside playtime. Not your typical playtime however. Play at our school usually involves the whole class, including the teacher, playing sports, traditional games or games we have invented together. The teacher is usually around to offer any social guidance when needed so that playtime is very much a time for building social awareness, co-operative skills as well as physical skills. (See class timetables for Kindergarten, Primary & Secondary ).

The other fundamental change we made to the timetable was to allow it to be flexible and not set in stone. Our timetables act as a guide. However sometimes Free Choice throws up an area of interest that develops into its own lesson, or a game we are playing outside is especially absorbing and requires a little more time, or a lesson needs more or less time than the timetable provides, or it is a particularly beautiful day and we decide to have an adventure and picnic in the nearby forest for the day.

What Do We Want For Our Children? At the New Forest Small School we value and appreciate the importance of academic subjects. However, unlike state education and the majority of private education, we do not believe that the academic side of education should dominate the school timetable to the virtual exclusion of all other areas of development. When one considers that children typically spend over 80% of the school day involved in academic pursuits, notwithstanding the homework they are given each night we should rightly expect all our children to leave school as academic geniuses. That this is patently not the case must inevitably lead to the conclusion that a considerable amount of the lessons they sat through were a waste of time. Just like adults, children can only take in a certain amount of new knowledge each day, beyond this point they will just experience burn out. This will mean they will be sitting through lessons that they can no longer assimilate, will inevitably fall behind with and in many cases grow to dislike . Such an obsessively academic approach also flies in the face of all we understand about how children learn. For well over a hundred years child psychologists have understood that children learn best of all when they are active, involved and not overloaded. They have understood that children learn about life through life experiences and through the assimilation of this experience into role-play. And yet how much life experience are we providing for our children when they are sat down at desks most of the day, then return home exhausted and slump in front of the television or play station before it is time to do the evening's homework. Where is the time and place for the role-play that will help them make sense of their lives and thus better able to understand academic subjects in the first place? The time is hardly at school playtime, which in most schools is now reduced to a 15-minute morning break plus a 30-minute break after lunch with often no afternoon break at all. And the place? – typically a concrete playground packed with hundreds of kids, where bullying is rife, the noise all consuming and the energy frenzied. Is it any wonder that so many children are suffering from stress, mental exhaustion and depression, and / or are overweight or have behavioural problems such as ADHD? So despite all the best intentions of the teachers this is often an environment that is doomed to create more problems than it can ever solve.
So at the New Forest Small School we have tried to rethink firstly what we want to nurture in our children and secondly what is the best timetable to achieve this. In no particular order this is what we came up with…
However to be able to properly develop these qualities and skills it is necessary to give real time to them during the school day. This meant changing the typical timetable where academic skills completely dominate, where the only other skill squeezed into the timetable are physical skills and where the rest are mentioned pedagogically, but have no real time or space to develop. So in the Kindergarten & Primary Class, academic time makes up no more than 50 % of the school day and the lessons are designed to be active, dynamic and fun. Whilst in the Secondary Class, with its emphasis on GCSE preparation, academic time constitutes two thirds of the day. This gave us time for timetable slots such as Free Choice, where the children can socialise together and develop their own projects. It also gave us time for considerably more outside playtime. Not your typical playtime however. Play at our school usually involves the whole class, including the teacher, playing sports, traditional games or games we have invented together. The teacher is usually around to offer any social guidance when needed so that playtime is very much a time for building social awareness, co-operative skills as well as physical skills. (See class timetables for Kindergarten, Primary & Secondary ). The other fundamental change we made to the timetable was to allow it to be flexible and not set in stone. Our timetables act as a guide. However sometimes Free Choice throws up an area of interest that develops into its own lesson, or a game we are playing outside is especially absorbing and requires a little more time, or a lesson needs more or less time than the timetable provides, or it is a particularly beautiful day and we decide to have an adventure and picnic in the nearby forest for the day.
Education In Context Academic Subjects are taught to the children in a way that helps them see the connections between other subjects and most importantly their everyday lives. The study of the environment, world history and culture studies underpin much of the curricular content. Subjects are taught in context, in the context of the children’s lives and in historical context. Therefore in subjects such as Music, Design & Technology, Literature and Drama we begin by studying their history whilst relating this historical process to a timeless, universal experience. Similarly in Nature Studies / Geography considerable time is given to studying the Earth’s natural history, whilst in History itself we begin with the first human apes, Australopithecus and proceed chronologically. Specialist teachers are brought in when necessary to assist. We use the National Curriculum, the National Numeracy and Literacy Strategies where and when we feel they are appropriate. See Schemes of Work for a detailed outline of what subject areas we study.
Teaching Methods Children have certain universal needs. They all need to feel… Valued as an Individual Appreciated as a Member of the Group Respected For Who They Are Each child has their own unique qualities and skills to bring to the class. It is the teacher’s task to always celebrate the individual qualities of each child, to emphasise what is good and special. Whilst this applies equally to every single child their very uniqueness as individuals means that we cannot apply just one teaching method to suit all needs. Consequently we employ a number of different teaching methods, from traditional through to progressive, influenced by a broad range of different educational philosophies that congeal into the unique educational philosophy of our school. As the child educationalist Maria Montessori wrote,‘Look to the child, not the method’
	Most lessons involve one or more of the following - Group Discussion and Enquiry Group Dramatisation Working in Small Groups Recording their Discoveries Individually Individual Project Work Assignments Conclusion from the Teacher
Children are mostly encouraged to find the answers for themselves with the teacher guiding and prompting where necessary, rather than just telling them all the answers and hoping they will remember. Direct knowledge is always more effective than indirect knowledge.

Making mistakes is an essential component of learning. Therefore we encourage the children to accept and even value their mistakes as part of the learning process. If we make our children nervous about making mistakes then learning proceeds with caution and dread.
Assessment Assessment is an ongoing process that the teacher accumulates each day. However as we have small classes and each teacher is only responsible for a small group it is unnecessary to undertake the vast amount of written assessments that are required in state schools. Education should not be reduced to a process of ticking boxes – it is too subtle and complex for such an approach. The teacher carefully monitors educational basics such as reading, writing and maths with extra one to one tuition given where needed. At staff meetings each child is discussed in the broadest possible manner. Parents are always kept informed as to how their child is progressing through discussions at the beginning or end of the school day, through evening phone conversations where required and through an annual home visit. However when we assess a child we always bear in mind that children develop in different areas at different speeds. Also children often progress in stages, reaching a plateau before they move on to a new level. Therefore none of our assessments are cast in stone. Often a subtle change in approach by the teacher can be enough to help the child move forwards. Tests and Exams The children do not sit SATS tests, however children aged 10 and above sit annual exams in all subjects. The exam papers are written by the school and are of a high academic standard. They are designed to be at once enjoyable and prepare the children for GCSE’s. Please visit the link below to see the exam papers for each subject as well as the children's exam results. We think you might be amazed... Exam Papers and Results The main category of testing involves tests in all subjects but in the format of games such as quizzes and challenges – these are immensely popular and are also very helpful as revision exercises. However as all lessons involve a considerable amount of discussion and hands on activity it is always possible to be aware of the levels of each child’s understanding. Homework is given once a week, and is aimed at reinforcing independent study skills and allowing children to share school experiences with parents. Children are also encouraged to continue at home their ongoing project work.