Prospectus
Welcome
Welcome to our happy, inclusive, safe school where children enjoy learning and socialising together and staff have the highest expectation of themselves and children.
Our mission statement at Two Gates is ‘Love children, love learning’ because we are committed to providing every child with outstanding educational experiences so that they become successful lifelong learners. We give equal importance to academic achievement and personal, social and moral education. This is reflected throughout the curriculum every day.
Staff and the Trust work in partnership with children and parents to ensure that everyone in our community understands and values the many different learning and enrichment opportunities provided through the broad curriculum and beyond at Two Gates.
Our school offers children and staff a very pleasant learning environment with high standards of accommodation.
We believe that a strong partnership with parents and families is essential in securing a complete educational experience. We encourage and value parental involvement in all we do and support families throughout their child’s time at Two Gates. We aim to keep parents fully informed about school through various communication channels – meetings, texts, letters, Class DoJo, X and this website.
Early Years
Our Early Years department consists of a 26 place Nursery with the opportunity for an extended day and a 30 place reception setting.
Staff collaborate daily to ensure progression in learning across the prime and specific areas of the Early Years Curriculum as pupils progress their learning journey towards the Early Learning Goals. A secure foundation is vital for all future learning; progression is planned from ongoing assessment and individualised next steps in learning. We use a variety of teaching methods and approaches to suit all children’s learning styles. A thematic approach ensures learning is relevant and holistic and we include children’s interests in the curriculum to maximise their engagement.
Interactive language rich displays and working walls capture interest, support next steps and celebrate learning. Outdoor classrooms are accessed all year round to extend and enhance learning.
From the start we encourage children to develop a curiosity for the world and be active in their own learning.
Healthy Eating, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind…
All food and drink provided follows the guidance of the Government’s School Food Standards. Only healthy snacks are permitted and drinking water is readily available throughout the day.
Our Physical Education programme includes gymnastics, dance, games, athletics, swimming and outdoor activities. It is is well balanced and enables all children to participate in two hours of exercise each week. Our aim is to instil in children life-long positive attitudes to regular exercise.
A number of sporting activities are offered as extra-curricular clubs, with individuals and teams taking part in district leagues and competitions.
The health benefits of walking to school are promoted; this also relieves congestion and pollution outside school. Children are encouraged to scoot to school.
Curriculum and Learning
Our curriculum is always evolving as we aim to ensure relevant and dynamic learning for pupils by making conscious connections across and within the full range of primary subjects. We believe this is how children learn best and supports and extends their knowledge, skills, understanding and progress. The curriculum more than covers the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. The principles of inclusion and equality of opportunity are at the heart of all we do. Children are involved in their learning and understand what they need to do next to improve – we believe this is very important.
The teaching and development of Basic Skills- Reading, Writing and Mathematics is the scaffolding upon which all other learning is supported. Personal, social and moral development are woven into the curriculum every lesson, every day so children learn to make informed choices and practise essential life skills and attributes, such as reliability, co-operation, tolerance, self-discipline, respect and friendship. Every pupil at Two Gates has a voice and their opinions matter and are taken seriously.
Enrichment
We believe children learn best from first- hand experience, so our curriculum is enhanced wherever possible by educational visits and visitors. Residential visits are organised for junior children where they can engage in and experience a range of outdoor activities whilst enhancing social skills through team building exercises. An international visit to Paris is available to Year 6 pupils to experience French culture and practise French speaking. Outdoor learning is planned into the curriculum for each year group and our Forest School Programme is fully embedded into the curriculum.
Two Gates has a strong musical tradition. We believe that participation in music develops many of the personal skills which impact on learning across all subjects. We take pupils to perform in various venues and provide free instrumental tuition to all pupils.
A variety of after school clubs are organised for infant and junior children e.g. cooking, computing, craft, orchestra, singing, drama, sport and many more.
