HOW WE LEARN 

At Millennium Primary School we believe learning should be exciting.  Our ultimate aim is to provide memorable learning experiences where children explore and investigate through well-structured practical activities, reading, discussion and interaction with their peers and teachers. This approach enables children to make sense of their learning, develop a sound understanding of new concepts and explain their new knowledge, skills and understanding to others.

Our curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced and not only incorporates the National Curriculum but the needs, thoughts and ideas of every learner in our school.  It provides opportunities and learning experiences relevant to our children, our families and our community. The curriculum is subject based, spiralised, builds on children’s prior knowledge and skills, links key subject concepts together, introduces children to concepts and themes repeatedly throughout their time at Millennium and values the diversity we encompass. This spiralised learning approach enables children to transfer their knowledge, skills and understanding from their short term memory to their long term memory, ensuring that deep learning takes place. 

Teachers use a ‘gradual release of responsibility’ approach in every lesson which starts with the retrieval of prior learning and introduction of new vocabulary.  Moving on teachers show and model to the children first (I do), then get children to help and work together to understand further (we do) and then they set children off onto independent work (you do) to show their understanding. 

 Learning does not only take place inside the classroom but we promote outdoor learning and the importance of educational visits. Being located on the Greenwich Peninsula and in close proximity to Central London we ensure children are given meaningful opportunities to explore their locality and the world around them.  Children visit places relevant to their learning and development, such as visits to art galleries, museums and places of worship.  Teachers also plan for educational visitors to come into the school to immerse children in experiences like historical reenactment, finding out about space inside a huge science dome or touching and caring for live exotic animals. We recognise the importance of these experiences and know they enhance the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding.

At Millennium we believe that children are confident learners when they are given the opportunity to be expressive and coherent in their talk.  We take speaking and listening seriously.  We know children are more successful when they are active and can talk about their learning.  Teachers model and scaffold talk using sentence stems and exemplars, provide all children with opportunities for exploratory and presentational talk and ensure structured speaking is embedded within the classroom to develop children’s confidence when sharing their ideas and learning experiences. Our quality first teaching approach meets the needs of all pupils, including our rising number of learners for whom English is not their first language, as well as those children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.