Beyond Curriculum
From Nursery through to Year 6, opportunities will be taken to extend the curriculum beyond the statutory requirements and to develop our school values of adventure, articulacy, ambition, adaptability and altruism.
Some examples of extending our curriculum beyond the statutory requirements include:
Free after-school clubs - Every part of our school day is a learning opportunity, so we are lucky that we have extra learning through fun clubs after school everyday! Our clubs change every term and are completely free for all children. Activities such as yoga, hockey, rugby, cross-country, judo, cricket and tennis to name a few.
The Daily Mile - The Daily Mile is a fully-inclusive, free and simple initiative which improves the physical and mental health and wellbeing of children. There is no extra workload for teachers and it helps to raise attainment. At Cooks Spinney Primary we begin our day with a brisk walk/run together in key stages. This ensures that children have their full break / play time. The Daily Mile is not Sport or PE, but rather health and wellbeing through physical activity.
Free breakfast for all pupils - Recognising the importance of breakfast, Cooks Spinney now offers all children free breakfast in class at the start of each school day. Children choose from a variety of nutritious cereals including Shreddies, Cheerios and Corn Flakes. There are dairy and non-dairy milk options available for all.
Spinney Speaks Assemblies - In Summer Term, our pupils get the chance to take over assemblies! Pupils complete an application form outlining their chosen subject and why they think it will be important for their peers. Once selected, pupils deliver their assembly to over 400 people during our whole-school assembly!
Breakfast Club - Our Breakfast Club is open every school morning from 7.45-8:45am. As we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day and Breakfast Clubs have been proven to have a positive impact on punctuality, academic results, concentration, behaviour and attainment. We believe that a good productive start to a child’s day begins with a nutritious breakfast. Our breakfast club links healthy eating with fun and interactive games. We have a great choice of quiet activities such as puzzles, reading, drawing, lego, or colouring.
Residential - Our Year 6 children have the opportunity to participate in a residential trip. Pupils experience a wide range of challenging, high-adrenaline and skill-based indoor and outdoor activity sessions, our pupils are kept active throughout their stay. Their experiences are tailored to be as impactful as possible.
Friday Achievement Assembly - Our Friday achievement assemblies are a celebration of students’ personal achievements. Children’s hard work is acknowledged for the 5 A's, Individual achievement in class (Gold Book), Readers of the week, Artist of the week, , Apples (our school’s unique incremental achievement scheme), Sports Awards, Class of the Week and Attendance Class of the week. Parents and families of award winners are invited to join us.
Extra-curricular Trips - We provide the opportunity to go on trips to our local area and beyond to enhance life skills, learning opportunities and become active citizens. These have included: Harlow Playhouse, The National Gallery, Colchester Zoo, Kew Gardens and the Houses of Parliament.
School Dog - Bertie, our cuddly and friendly school dog is always on hand to support our pupils and lend a helping paw! He is a fully-registered Essex Therapy dog and our pupils love taking Bertie for walks in the school grounds or reading to him in the family room.
LEGO Therapy Sessions - Pupils love getting creative and chatty during our LEGO therapy groups. It's a social development program that uses LEGO activities to support the development of a wide range of social skills within a group setting.
Safe, responsible pupils - We welcome guest speakers and host specialist workshops for all of our pupils to promote safety in and out of school. These include: Bike-a-bilty training for Yr5, first aid training for Yr6, home safety workshops for Yr3, fire safety workshops for Yr1 and road safety workshops for Yr2.
