The curriculum in the Junior School follows the English National Curriculum adapted for our Sri Lankan and international context. Pupils are regularly assessed throughout the year to ensure that all pupils make excellent progress in their learning.
The school aims for all its pupils to make the progress that would normally be expected to be seen in a UK school. Many British School pupils achieve above and beyond these standards and the school aims to continue to challenge such pupils with extension activities that will ultimately enable them to meet their potential in their gifted academic areas. At the same time, the school also provides a certain level of support for those pupils who may find some aspects of their learning more challenging.
Progress is the key to our success criteria and we aim for all pupils to achieve a good level of progress each year.
The Junior School uses the National Curriculum for England as a starting point for providing a broad and balanced curriculum for all of its pupils.
Through ongoing formative assessment, regular summative assessment of the core subjects and tracking of pupils’ progress, teachers differentiate provision to meet individual needs and current levels of attainment within the class. Where strengths and weaknesses are identified, lessons are planned accordingly to provide support or extension.
Where children need significant additional support, parents are informed and programmes of study are devised to fit the needs of the child and support the ongoing classwork.
These programmes are delivered primarily by our class teachers supplemented by our dedicated support staff. Work may be carried out with specific groups of children who have similar needs or at other times focus on individual children. This support can take place in the classroom or sometimes outside of the classroom.
Throughout this process, effective communication between the teacher and the learning support teacher or the teaching assistant is very important, with plans shared and feedback given to parents. When necessary, our Special Education Needs Coordinator, Mrs Alison de Silva, will be involved in the process with some children requiring an IEP (Individual Education Plan).
BSC aims to work in partnership with parents to ensure that we are working together to support the pupils to achieve their highest academic outcomes. We offer a range of opportunities for parents to find out about their child’s learning through regular Book Looks, Parent Teacher Conferences and reports. We value the role of parents in helping develop a love of reading, from regularly sharing stories together at home to encouraging daily reading practice of schoolbooks.
Pupils in Junior School will not be routinely set homework so that they can enjoy a broad range of extra-curricular activities outside the classroom, similarly we do not recommend that pupils receive external tutoring as everything that they need to learn in covered in the curriculum.
