Extension group teaching began in 2000, led by Mrs Chambers for Years 4, 5 and 6. In 2004 Year 3 were included, beginning during the Summer Term after Year 6 completed their SATs. In 2005 we extended this to Year 2, although this is now more about targetting various groupings within the class - for extra boosting - rather than explicit extension group teaching. The Head Teacher is responsible for helping the Years 2 Class Teacher in boosting the children, whilst helping in Year 3 on an occasional basis. At the end of May, when the Year 6 extension group finishes, Mrs Chambers, following assessments, sets up the extension group on a more formal basis. The focus is on Maths and English, but extends into many areas such as accelerated learning, reasoning skills etc. Please note that the extension groups are about much more than preparing for examinations, but for things like developing and honing individual thinking skills, encouraging enthusiasm for reading and creative writing.
Our research has also noted that standard groupings, in each class, often benefit just as much from this programme, with the class size reduced and pupils being challenged to move on to that next level. In Year 2, particularly, we are attempting to focus more on those children in those 'middle' achievement areas, where a little boosting can have a significant impact upon performance.
Foundation groups, including Special Educational Needs pupils, have their own specialised support. For example, one morning each week Mrs Chambers takes the Year 6 extension group, while Mr Higgins teaches the standard group and a Teaching Assistant takes the booster (foundation) group. The children are taught in three different locations, allowing highly focused teaching to take place.
In terms of National Curriculum levels, either for Maths or English, the following guide may be useful in identifying the end of year targets for extension groups:
|
Year 2: Year 3: Year 4: Year 5: Year 6: |
Level 2A+ Level 3B+ Level 4C+ Level 4A + Level 5+ |
There is no guarantee, that once being invited to join an extension group, your child will remain there. That is really up to them in terms of taking on the challenge and maintaining the necessary enthusiasm and willingness to work. However, experience has taught us that once a child is offered a place in Year 3 we must really keep that place open as they transfer to Year 4, as we do not want to undermine their self-belief. On entering Year 4 they have acquired greater maturity and Mrs Chambers works closely with the class teacher on the basis of team teaching. The opportunity is open to the whole class, as children develop skills at varying ages. This process is repeated in Years 5 and 6, with the children appearing to cope well. At no time would we want to put any undue pressure upon a child, but simply offer them a challenge that they can enjoy. We must remain in control of the selection process, taking every effort to ensure fair play and equal opportunity for all. Children may move in and out of the extension groups at regular intervals. We do not contact parents each time a child moves between foundation, standard and extension groups, as this is far too unwieldy.
The opportunity of extension group should not be seen as an exclusive group, but as a mechanism for challenging the more able children, whilst allowing more time for class teachers to focus on the needs of other children in the class.
Examples of children's work is posted in the class sections listed in this dropdown.
