‘Love Learning, Love life’

At Carlisle Infant School we believe that children learn most effectively when they are actively engaged and when they have a real sense of enjoyment in what they are learning. We work hard to ensure that the topics through which we teach the National Curriculum are interesting, exciting and appeal equally to both boys and girls.

We set very high expectations for our pupils and encourage them to take pride in all that they do. We are aspirational in our target setting and continually track the progress of our children. Our children know that through effort and by following the advice of their teachers they can achieve the highest standards in all subjects. We value all subjects equally and will help each child to discover their areas of talent and develop them further whilst also learning and developing new ones.

Our curriculum is broad and balanced and is taught through topics that allow children to make meaningful links with other subjects. We aim for ‘deep’ learning of key skills and concepts allowing children time to apply what they have learned before moving on to new content. The children will be given choice and ownership over their learning, starting each topic with their ideas and questions that can help to shape the topic’s direction and build on the childrens' prior learning and interests.

We believe reading to be the most important life skill the children will acquire with us and so we have a dedicated phonics programme, Read, Write, Inc. that helps the children to learn to read as quickly and efficiently as possible. We know that once children can read fluently then they can access all learning.

We value outdoor learning and make the most of the beautiful outdoor spaces we have. Through learning outdoors children can be active and healthy, explore the natural world close up, learn to take risks and solve problems, explore and experiment, make connections with other areas of learning and work as a team with their friends.

We believe creativity to be an important life skill and give the children the opportunity to work alongside professional artists who will inspire and motivate them to develop their own unique skills and talents. All children have the opportunity to perform regularly in class, in year groups and to the school and these experiences are important stepping stones in developing self-expression and self-confidence. We aim to offer as many high quality opportunities in music and the creative arts as our financial capacity allows.

Reception children dancing with Don Rae Abesamis

Year 1 pupils working with sculptor, Vivien Mallock

It is our view that a fit mind and a fit body are interlinked and we ensure that pupils have a wide range of opportunities to engage in sport and physical activities. We have an annual Healthy Living Day and throughout the year promote healthy eating and making healthy choices.

Our curriculum is inclusive and we seek to overcome any barriers that prevent children from succeeding. We know that every minute in school is precious learning time and that is why we are so insistent that children are in school on time every day. We are delighted that our attendance figures which are already good continue to improve steadily.

‘Love Learning, Love life’