St Austin's Junior

Pre-Primary (Nursery - Kindergarten 2)

The St Austins Academy Pre-Primary caters for children from the age of 2 years. It has its own play area and specialist teachers and, in addition, each Pre-Primary class has a Teaching Assistant.

Our purpose-built Nursery was opened in September 2000 and was especially designed to cater for the needs of our youngest students. The class is led by a qualified Teacher with two Teaching Assistants. The Nursery class offers an informal, safe and caring environment where young children can take their first steps at school. We encourage children to develop socially and emotionally through interaction with their peers.

The aim of the Pre-Primary is to encourage each child to develop his / her own personality and social awareness, with an emphasis on academic achievement in English and Mathematics. Much of the work is done through structured play, focusing on the areas of communication skills, fine motor-control skills, gross motor-control skills and emotional and social confidence.

Language / English

The principal aim here is to foster social skills and communication skills, and to build up vocabulary. Children learn through participation in fun activities the foundation skills that help to prepare them for structured learning in the Primary (see below). Activities include picture-reading, news-sharing, story-telling, daily communication, drama, singing and music.

In the Nursery class, children are made aware of the alphabet, phonics, primary colours, opposites and directions. By the end of the Pre-Primary, reading and introductory writing skills are at the center of all classroom activities, while listening and speaking are at the center of socialisation and inter-personal skills which are vital at this age.

Mathematics / Number Work

Children are encouraged to develop skills such as comparing, grouping, identification and sorting though active participation. Skills at this level are explored through sensorial and practical experiences where concentration skills also begin to develop. By the end of the Nursery class, children should be aware of numbers and signs, shapes and solids, and simple number relationships.

Science / Topic Work

Children participate in informal Science projects or areas of topic work that are fun and lively as well as educational. Appropriate trips to associated places of interest are also organized where possible.

Physical Education / Swimming

All children are taught to swim, in a progression from confidence and knowing one's limits in the 'baby pool' to an introduction to the four main strokes in the large pool.

Primary (Year 1 - Year 6)

The Primary curriculum is based on the British National Curriculum, but also includes appropriate material drawn from other National Curricula and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP). Teachers make use of a wide range of textbooks and materials from the UK, local and international sources, as well as the Academy's own resource material.

English

The English programme concentrates on the four basic skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. The "Ginn 360" instructional reading programme is used, supplemented by other material. Children are taught the skills of reading and writing through intensive practice, while the habit of reading is inculcated through a personalised programme for which a range of books at different levels is available.

Fluency, accuracy and clarity of expression are formally taught and tested, and great emphasis is placed on these skills as the child progresses. Children are encouraged to remain abreast of current affairs, and personal, national and international events form the basis of classroom discussion and debates.

Mathematics / Number Work

Ginn's Abacus scheme is used to Year 2 with an emphasis on basic arithmetical skills, with practical number work being at the core of the programme. Children learn simple number relationships and the times tables, and, where possible, activities are related to the children's everyday experiences. Children are encouraged to work at their own pace and differentiated learning activities are provided.

From Year 3, the Heinemann scheme is used with supplementary material as necessary. This scheme provides a great deal of practical work, along with investigations, calculator work, mental arithmetic and problem solving. All these are based within the conceptual areas of algebra, number, shape, space and measures, and data handling.

In Years 5 and 6, students are grouped for Mathematics, according to the results of a standardized test, allowing for a greater level of differentiation within classes. Able students are able to progress more rapidly and students who find mathematics challenging receive more focussed support.

Science

Students are introduced to all the main areas of Science through an integrated, skills-based approach based on practical tasks, along with investigations and other experimental work. They are encouraged to consider their responsibilities to living things and to their local and global environments, to relate their understandings of Science to their personal health, to recognize that Science can provide explanations for natural phenomena and yet cannot answer all questions, and to consider the role of science in everyday life.

Humanities

Students develop a knowledge and understanding of different peoples and their environments, both today and in the past. The programme is based on an integrated thematic approach, each theme having a geographical or historical focus. Themes reflect our student population and have an international and Kenyan approach.

Information and Computing Technology (ICT)

Information and Computing Technology is a cross-curricular subject as computers are used in many areas of the curriculum as a tool to enhance and extend students' understanding. Students become selective in their use of technology and understand and appreciate the positive and negative effects on themselves and on society in general. They are encouraged to assess the value of ICT in their working practices and to use this as a basis for developing their own skills.

Kiswahili

As one of Kenya's national languages, Kiswahili is a gateway to the cultures of Kenya and Eastern Africa. The course, taught from Year 1 and initially orally only, places emphasis on confidence and intelligible communication; as these are achieved, reading, writing and the cultural components of the languages are introduced. Differentiated activities allow for the range of student aptitudes and experiences.

French

For students from Europe and Western Africa, French is a useful language for communication. Communicative skills are at the heart of modern language teaching, and this approach is used to teach French from Year 3 and onwards through speaking and listening, games, songs and writing activities.

Music and Drama

Performing, composing, listening and musical and dramatic appreciation are the four major components of this programme. Students are given many opportunities to perform and the programme is enhanced by concerts and plays. Instrumental and Voice lessons are also available.

Art and Design

Children are given the opportunity to express themselves using a range of media and materials, Not only is aesthetic expression and judgment encouraged, but children also develop an awareness of space, fine-motor skills and presentation techniques. Art and Design lessons are combined with other subjects and children are given the opportunity to mount and display their work within the classroom and around the Academy.

Physical Education (PE)

Students are taught specific athletic and sporting skills while also learning how to move, take care of themselves, keep fit and stay healthy. Regular PE lessons also help to foster team spirit and a sense of fair play. All children are taught how to swim.

Afternoon Club (Nursery - Kindergarten 2)

The Afternoon Club offers play-based activities, each with a focus on developing the skills acquired during the morning classes. The Club is taken by a specialist Teacher, aided by Teaching Assistants and typical activities include Art, Music and Drama, Story-telling, Physical Education and Swimming. Socialisation and Inter-personal