Personal Development
Our unrivalled personal development programme is meticulously designed to nurture the whole child, fostering resilience, confidence, and independence while igniting a lifelong passion for learning. By seamlessly integrating character education with the development of skills, talents, and interests, we empower our pupils to become well-rounded individuals prepared for the challenges of modern Britain. Our innovative approach ensures that children not only acquire knowledge but also retain and apply it effectively, embodying the principles of 'knowing more, remembering more, and doing more'. This comprehensive offering extends beyond the academic curriculum, providing rich experiences that contribute to pupils' spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. In alignment with the highest standards of educational excellence, our programme cultivates responsible, respectful, and active citizens who are equipped to thrive in an ever-changing world, thus fulfilling and surpassing the expectations set forth in both the national curriculum and OFSTED framework.
Our Curriculum
Through our ambitious curriculum offer, children at Killisick accumulate knowledge, behaviour and skills which leads to a developed cultural awareness.
We are conscious of our role in developing children’s objective cultural capital and have planned for children to study a wide range of great artists, musicians and writers in our curriculum from age 7 to 11; introducing them to ‘the best that has been thought and said’.
Our reading flightpath texts feature a variety of high quality stories and poems from great authors and is further enriched by stories that explore issues of race, gender and ethnicity.
British Values
We promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs through:
● our own school values
● our whole school literature bank of quality texts
● our curriculum
● assemblies.
We are proud that our pupils represent a diverse background. We are dedicated in supporting our children to develop their knowledge and skills to become confident, responsible and respectful members of the school and the wider community.
Children's Leadership
Our innovative children's leadership programme stands as a beacon of excellence, nurturing tomorrow's leaders today. Through a diverse array of roles including Behaviour Buddies, Resilience Leaders, Sports Leaders, School Parliament Representatives, and Leaders of Learning, we empower our pupils to develop essential leadership skills and a strong sense of civic responsibility. This comprehensive approach not only enhances personal development but also contributes significantly to the school's positive ethos and pupils' spiritual, moral, social, and cultural (SMSC) growth. By actively participating in decision-making processes and taking on responsibilities, our young leaders exemplify the British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect. This programme goes beyond the classroom, providing real-world experiences that develop character, resilience, and confidence. Furthermore, it supports the national curriculum's aim of preparing pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of later life. Through our leadership initiatives, we cultivate articulate, empathetic, and proactive citizens who are well-equipped to thrive in modern Britain and make meaningful contributions to society.
Our Youth Voice in Action team is made up of:
- School Parliament Representatives,
- Wellbeing Warriors,
- Eco Leaders,
- Sports Leaders,
- Leaders of Learning,
- Digital Leaders,
- Assembly Set Up Squad,
- Attendance Champions
Assemblies
Our assemblies are a time when the whole school comes together to celebrate and share in relevant, meaningful experiences, provide opportunities for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and create a sense of awe and wonder.
We have traditional assemblies three times a week where the whole school comes together. Two days a week each class has a class-based collective session in the form of a British Values or Picture News session. These sessions are carefully designed to give children time to be still, to reflect and to make sense of who they are and their place in the world, as well as reflect on issues impacting children and young people across the UK or world.
Nurture & Wellbeing
We believe in being an inclusive school where individuals are happy, safe, respected and valued; where there are expectations of excellence for everyone, and all achievements are celebrated. We impress upon our children the need to believe in themselves and their ability in order to achieve greatness and be successful. We know, however, that some children require more support in order to achieve this. Our nurture provision is designed around safety and care for all. It is relationship based and helps to build and promote a sense of belonging. All provision is carefully planned to ensure it meets the individuals needs of each child and is consistently delivered within identified boundaries and parameters. We have clear criteria for each of our Pathways to ensure there is demonstrable progress and impact, with regular reviews of usage and impact. The ultimate aim of our nurture and wellbeing provision is to get children ready to be back in class and learning.
We have created three different pathways of support to meet the varying or growing needs of children:
- Pathway 1 is the universal offer for all children at Killisick
- Pathway 2 is the emerging needs pathway for children who have been identified as requiring further nurture or wellbeing support.
- Pathway 3 is our enhanced pathway which is designed around children’s significant needs. This pathway is bespoke and involves a multiagency approach.
The Nurture and Wellbeing provision is led by the Child and Family Support Worker, the SENDCO and the Mental Health Champion.
Two dedicated spaces ensure that our nurture and wellbeing provision is effectively implement and consistent for all children:
The Nest:
Most nurture-based activities will take place in The Nest which is a quiet, calm environment where children can feel at ease either on their own or in a small group (under the supervision of an adult). ELSA sessions, therapeutic interventions and other group sessions will take place in here. Our soft start check-in breakfast and end of day check-out sessions will also take place in here. This space can also be used responsively, should children require it.
The Roost:
This is our sensory room. Activities which calm, alert and organise will also be undertaken in this space, as well as other proprioceptive activities such as swinging, rolling and jumping.
Mental Health Support Team
We work closely with the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) in Nottingham, who currently offer support across over 70 schools and colleges. This team is part of a project funded by the NHS to make sure that children in both primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges gain timely mental health support they need and deserve.
MHST’s have three core functions:
- They offer evidence-based support for mild-to-moderate mental health issues.
- Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP’s) and a team of specialist practitioners assist the Senior Mental Health Lead in schools and colleges to create or develop a whole school or college approach.
- Provide timely guidance to education staff and connect with specialists to ensure children and young people receive the right support and stay in education.
Forest School
Forest schools is offered as curriculum enrichment and an intervention. It offers children regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in our woodland area. Forest schools is a specialised learning approach that sits within and compliments the wider context of outdoor and woodland education. At Killisick we have a Level 3 Forest Schools Instructor who delivers this intervention alongside 2 Level 1 members of staff.
O.W.L. Enrichment
Other Ways of Learning Enrichment - or OWL Enrichment, as it is known - is our unique offer to our children at Killisick where all children get the opportunity to learn something beyond the traditional.
Enrichment lessons happen every Friday afternoon across the whole school; during this time children get the opportunity to learn a new skill or develop a talent or passion that they wouldn’t normally get the chance to. We offer these experiences free to all our children, they just have to choose what passions and talents they wish to discover or grow.
Children can choose from a wide variety of activities including: Knitting and crochet, Henna and Mendi, survival skills, archery, cookery, drama, Drumba, British Sign Language and many, many more.
Extended Offer
Killisick provides a range of after school clubs for children across all year groups.
We offer clubs such as: Football, Choir, Performing Arts, Dodgeball, Yoga, Dance, Multi-skills and Maths.
The sporting clubs develop pupils' understanding of maintaining an active lifestyle and keeping physically healthy.
Other clubs promote opportunities for the children to thrive beyond the academic. All clubs are inclusive.
Music Tuition
At Killisick Junior School, our music tuition offer is a vital component of our commitment to unrivalled personal development. Learning to play an instrument, such as the piano or guitar, provides children with numerous benefits that extend beyond musical ability. Mastering an instrument enhances cognitive skills, including concentration, memory, and problem-solving, while also fostering creativity and self-expression. Additionally, our pupils have the exciting opportunity to perform as individuals or as part of an ensemble during our music festivals, which cultivates essential life skills such as teamwork, confidence, and resilience. These experiences not only enrich their musical journey but also contribute significantly to their overall character development, aligning perfectly with our school's vision of nurturing well-rounded individuals who aspire to achieve greatness.
Family Support
The school has an Inclusion team that offers early help to families and children, to support them before situations get to crisis point. This team consists of a full-time Child and Family Support Worker, the SENDCO, 2 trained Mental Health First Aiders (children and adults) and 2 trained ELSA practitioners.
They remove barriers to children’s learning, build relationships with parents and carers and are the link between school and home. They support issues such as housing, homelessness, finances, domestic abuse, mobility difficulties, health problems, parents in prison, bereavement, attendance, parenting capacity, family separation, attachment issues and any other things that will be having a negative impact on children and families.
They are able to provide high quality interventions and signpost effectively.
Community Action
Within the curriculum, there are planned opportunities for trips and visitors to support children’s learning and their personal development.
Children are given opportunities to engage with experiences first hand that they might not otherwise have had the opportunity to. Children can draw on these experiences to build their background knowledge.
Special Events
We value opportunities to celebrate and take part in special events linked to subjects, religious festivals, important social matters and to celebrate successes through assemblies, performances and themed days.
We believe our special events give our children opportunities for SMSC through awe and wonder, imagination, cultural awareness and creativity.
Purposeful Play
Playtimes and lunchtimes are designed to engage children in purposeful physical activities.
They encourage team building and are helpful in ensuring all children feel included. Playtimes allow children to develop strong relationships with key adults across the school, allowing them to play alongside them.
Our school sports leaders also support during break and lunchtimes to ensure that all children are engaged in physical activity and feel supported learning new skills.
PSHE & RSE
Through our PSHE curriculum, children are taught about positive relationships and respect for others and how these link to promoting good mental health and well-being.
They learn to understand and respect our common humanity; diversity and differences so that they can go on to form the effective, fulfilling relationships that are an essential part of life and learning.
We use Jigsaw PSHE as a high quality planning support and pathway, which we enrich through different charities and organisations
● NSPCC
● Young Minds
● Equation
● NottAlone
Online Safety
We teach our children how to make the best use of the internet and technology in a safe, considered and respectful way, so they are able to reap the benefits of the online world.
Opportunities to learn about how to stay safe, behave online and where to go for help and support when they have concerns is woven throughout both our PSHE and Computing Curriculums.
Children learn what positive, healthy and respectful online relationships look like, the effects of their online actions on others and how to recognise and display respectful behaviour online.
We are an accredited National Online Safety School.
Religious Education
Our Religious Education curriculum poses challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. It develops our children’s knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other religions and worldviews, improving their perception of the wider world and the power of faiths and beliefs within contemporary society. Religious Education encourages our children to learn about a range of different religions.
We work closely with different religious leaders in our local area and Nottingham Trent University.
Different year groups have the opportunity to visit different places of worship throughout their Key Stage 2 career.