THE CEDAR Classroom

The Cedar class at Belvoirdale Community Primary School is taught by Mrs Moores and two learning support assistants, Mrs Jones and Mrs Merron.

The classroom offers a secure environment for children to explore their feelings, emotions and behaviours, while developing effective strategies to cope with them. This prepares them to confidently engage in their learning journey. The children work with an experienced teacher and two highly skilled learning support assistants to provide a holistic way of teaching and learning, by following the principles of The Green school Approach.

The Philosophy of Cedar class

Children work in a variety of different ways, utilising a myriad of skills to access their learning journey. However, some children require a different approach to standard mainstream. Cedar class serves as a nurturing classroom, providing support to children in Key Stage Two who have specific learning needs. It inspires children to engage with their environment, embrace adventure and passionately pursue their interests. This is a time for joy, laughter, exploration, and curiosity, allowing them to forge connections, express their creativity, and embrace both the organized and spontaneous aspects of learning inside and outside the classroom. It’s a time to get hands-on, dive into new experiences, and fully immerse themselves in the journey of discovery. Our primary goal is to educate our children in a holistic manner that fosters social development and cultivates essential life skills.

In addition to the classroom-based learning, time is dedicated to outdoor education. This includes engaging in physical activities such as walking and running, practicing yoga and mindfulness meditation. Cedar class also undertake projects to enhance the school environment and acquire practical skills like forest school, DIY, gardening, baking, and working with our local community. Collaboratively, the pupils strive to enhance their social and emotional development.

The Cedar class actively advocates the nurturing concept across the school, disseminating information to parents, caregivers, families and the broader community. For more details about the Three Frame Day, please refer to the subsequent content below:

PHILOSOPHY AND PEDAGOGY

Cedar class uses a Three Frame Day.

Frame 1:  The Thematic Frame of child lead topic learning

Frame 2:  The Proficiency Frame of teacher taught skills.

Frame 3:  The Experiential Frame of enquiry-based learning.  

It fosters engagement and facilitates child-centred learning through interactive hands-on experiences and investigative approaches. More details are below as well as our weekly timetable:

READING

At Belvoirdale, we understand the importance of building lifelong readers, and this is no different in Cedar class. The class follow the school phonics scheme, Song of Sounds as well as Focused Fluency sessions that follow the whole school, Read with DERIC reading approach.

THE THREE FRAME DAY

Adapted from the Three Frame Day developed by The Green School in Bali and New Zealand, the class splits learning sessions into separate categories or Frames: Thematic, Proficiency and Experiential.

Lessons are taught in shorter sessions to ensure engagement, accommodate pacing, and allow for specialized techniques. They aid emotional regulation, motivation, and interest. Flexibility and understanding individual profiles are crucial for effective learning.

Frame 1: THE THEMATIC FRAME:

Learning is all about enjoying phonics, reading, and writing. Children follow Song of Sounds phonics, focused fluency (DERIC) and an array of writing genres such as, narrative, explanation, poetry, information. Writing lessons begin with a short whole-class approach to engage, then continue with small groups according to their level of comprehension.

In Frame 2: THE PROFICIENCY FRAME:

In this frame, children practice and challenge themselves in their mathematical skills. They begin whole-class, then continue in small group activities, either guided by adults or independently, tailored to their proficiency levels.

In Frame 3: THE EXPERIENTIAL FRAME:

In the afternoon session, the curriculum covers subjects such as: art, DT, science, history, geography, PE along with Forest School, projects, community work, cooking, strategic gameplay, and structured Lego activities. These foster Executive Functions, crucial for self-regulation, planning, decision-making, and social communication.