Union School Academy
High Quality Teaching & Learning
At Union School our staff are committed to providing a high quality teaching & learning environment. We have high expectations of all our teachers and for all our students. These expectations include the planning and delivery of high quality teaching and learning experiences. We aim to develop a strong culture of success and high achievement in all our classes and throughout the school community.
As educators, we will strive to be successful, self-directed and collaborative learners who model the qualities desired in our students. We will be creative, critical, collaborative and reflective thinkers who display successful habits of mind and act ethically at all times.
As staff, we will :
Be lifelong learners who :
• Develop a deep subject and pedagogical understanding of teaching and learning to inform best practice
• Participate in meaningful professional and personal development which guides our practice
• Work collaboratively to develop, deliver, evaluate and provide informed feedback on learning
Establish an environment for high quality learning by :
• Developing ethical and respectful relationships where collaboration is encouraged
• Creating a culture of high expectations and self-direction for all learners
• Creating a safe learning environment where all learners are supported, encouraged and challenged
Develop expert learners through :
• The explicit teaching of skills, habits and knowledge needed for highly successful learning
• Fostering deep understanding of intellectually challenging and significant learning
• Using dialogue and rigorous involvement in complex tasks
Personalise and connect learning by :
• Building on and valuing all learners’ understanding
• Using authentic learning activities to facilitate, assess, provide feedback and report on learning
• Creating individual significance and meaning in learning experiences
Visitors to our learning spaces should expect to see
- Learners who understand the purpose and required outcomes of their learning and can clearly articulate this.
- Learners working individually, collectively and/or collaboratively to achieve shared objectives.
- Learners engaged in authentic learning of real world significance that is being assessed using varied high quality and authentic methods/tools.
- Learners having regular opportunities to construct, consolidate and reflect on their learning.
- Learners engaged in collaborative or self-directed learning opportunities facilitated by purposeful staff design, utilising fully integrated ICT resources that enhance and facilitate learning outcomes.
- Learning being personalised and made relevant for all learners, differentiated where needed to ensure learners are engaged and working to achieve the best they can.
- Learners engaged in challenging activities appropriate to their level, especially the more able.
- Frequent formative feedback being provided by self-review, peers, teachers or others, with data being used to inform, and improve, future learning and achievement.
- Staff collaborating on the preparation, delivery and evaluation of learning and moderating student work to assess learning and identify areas of improvement and required intervention.
- Staff in rigorous discussion of significant learning matters to improve and inform best practice including professional observation/reflection and peer/self-evaluation of teaching and learning practices.
Ian Tysoe,
Head Teacher
La Toute Petite Section
Welcome to our Nursery Section
In creating our nursery class, we have brought together all the elements of our successful Union School Maternelle setting and we offer excellent nursery provision for 2-3 year olds.
Start early for success
Experimental research in educational neuroscience shows that the level of oral language in early years foundation stage is the best predictor of academic success in elementary school as well as the best predictor of a child’s progress in learning. Stimulating children’s oral language skills in the early grades is a significant advantage for their future learning in all areas (language, mathematics, science, etc.).
Our nursery is a stimulating, dynamic setting where each child is unique and is encouraged to reach their full potential and develop with confidence and independence.
In our nursery, the day is structured around the needs of the child. The classroom is safe and welcoming and provides endless opportunities to explore and learn. Our fully qualified teachers are on hand to accompany and extend our nursery children on their learning journeys
Bilingualism in our Nursery
In Union School all our students are in total immersion in both French and English.
The earlier the brain is exposed to a language during its development, the easier it is to acquire this language. Brain networks involved in learning language become more and more specialised over time, it is therefore more complex to learn a second language when the networks are specialised than when they are learned very early in development.
This is why our bilingual team ensures that children work in both French and English from the earliest age. Learning time is divided equally between French and English language activities.
Our Learning Environment
We provide a rich learning environment with opportunities for children to play, explore and create. We seek to harness the natural curiosity of our children by encouraging child initiated learning and open-ended play. These aspects are supported by the best classroom equipment and materials for learning by investigation.
The principles of our curriculum are based on the core subjects of communication and language, literacy, numeracy, understanding the world as well as important competences such as self-regulation and social skills. We take techniques from excellent practice such as Singapore maths and the UK Letters and Sounds phonics programme as well as child centered learning experts.
"Play is the highest form of research"
- Albert Einstein
Exciting Activities
Our external provider experts ensure the highest level of skill for the developmental age of our youngest learners in, for example, sport, rugby tots and music. The teachers also work on creative arts and crafts, yoga, body mind centering, movement and dance, potager gardening, science investigation and much more.
Our outdoor learning environment involves loose parts play and investigation as well as gross motor skills with bikes and scooters.
A school of Excellence from Nursery onwards
Our nursery children begin to learn, at their level, about our Union School values of Excellence, Confidence, Kindness, Team spirit and solidarity.
The children who have been through our nursery class will be autonomous, confident and bilingual. They will have sound foundations in a broad learning spectrum to build upon throughout their schooling