curriculum

Literacy is an essential part of society and our education.  The impact that English will have on all our students  lives is exceptional, therefore it is important that not only are key skills taught but a genuine love of the subject is fostered at an early age.   At Dreamers Academy we work with you to provide high- quality learning experiences which will enable each child to develop a concrete understanding of literacy practices and a passion for literature.

Our english lessons are broken into key subjects designed to develop crucial skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  Proficiency in these areas allow for our children to communicate effectively and to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.

English is taught through the following subjects:

• daily reading
• phonics
• creative writing
• comprehension
• spelling
• grammar
• speaking and listening

Our aim is to promote high standards of language and literacy to ensure our children are able to:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding
• read widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• build their vocabulary and understand grammatical and linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
• write clearly, imaginatively, accurately and coherently for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
• use discussion to clearly explain their understanding and express their ideas
• be competent and confident in speaking and listening presentations

Our children are also  involved in activities such as book club, Poetry, spelling bee, field trips, art and science fair, and gardening at every stage

Mathematics teaches all of us about problem solving, and the skills needed to develop our problem-solving abilities in other ways, including developing the ability to calculate, reason and solve problems. It enables our children to understand relationships and patterns in numbers and space within their day to day lives. As their knowledge and understanding grows, they will learn to appreciate and apply mathematics to a variety of contexts.

At Dreamers we aim to:
• promote confidence and competence with numbers and the number system at levels appropriate to individual boys
• develop the ability to apply knowledge and solve problems through decision making and reasoning in a range of contexts
• develop and apply a practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered and presented
• explore the features of shape and space, and develop and apply measuring skills in a range of contexts
• promote an understanding of the importance mathematics plays in everyday life
• develop pupils’ ability to apply their knowledge with confidence to new concepts
• encourage pupils to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems
• develop pupils’ spoken mathematical language by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions which assists pupils to make a mathematical justification or argument. 

Science’s impact on all of our day-to-day lives is immeasurable and it is a subject vital to our world’s future prosperity. All pupils at Wetherby are taught to appreciate the far-reaching applications of science and how it can be utilised to explain the changes they observe in the world around them, predict how things will behave and analyse cause. Through engaging, inspiring lessons and workshops boys are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, processes and uses of science. Our aim is to enable children to be bold in their scientific questioning, inspire curiosity and support each pupil to have the confidence to ask ‘why’ and ‘how’. 

Through our science curriculum, pupils are encouraged to deepen their understanding of a topic through developing their investigative and problem-solving skills with a systematic, methodical and creative approach. They also begin to appreciate the way science will affect their future on a personal, national and global level. Recognising that they have the power to affect their futures inspires the children at Wetherby, and through the addition of enrichment workshops, the boys are given a platform to nurture their passion for science.

Wetherby follows the most up to date curriculum, focussing on practical and investigative work. Through building a body of key foundational concepts and knowledge, pupils learn to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. During experiments, boys are taught to observe and record changes and are encouraged to work as both part of a group and independently.

Science allows our pupils to explain the unknown in ways they would never have imagined. At Wetherby, we take this love and mystery of the unknown and channel it into effective educational experiences, where children can enjoy and contextualise their learning.

Dreamers Academy Children are encouraged to explore, discuss, accept and further their own understanding of the rich and diverse faiths followed by the citizens of the Ghana and also the wider world. Religion and beliefs form our values and are reflected in how we interact with each other. Religious Education (RE) at Dreamers Academy makes a unique contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our children and supports wider community cohesion.

Teaching Religious Education provokes challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, ones self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong, and what it means to be human. Not only does it foster knowledge and understanding of Christianity, but also other principal religions, other religious traditions and worldviews that offer answers to questions such as these. Education in this area also contributes to personal development and wellbeing and to community cohesion by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.

Children  from Creche  and upwards are taught French because we believe that it gives our pupils a good opportunity to acquire language learning skills from the earliest schooling age. By the time they leave Dreamers Academy, they have a solid linguistic structure upon which they can build.

During the introductory stage, the language is taught orally through songs and games, with the emphasis being very much on fun-based activities.

Reception children learn simple topics such as numbers, colours, greetings, animals and food and drinks. In Years 1 and 2, we introduce some simple phrases and easy grammatical concepts like action verbs and negatives, for example. The time allocated to French lessons is thirty minutes per week, during which our children have the opportunity to acquire a knowledge base in the language and a growing familiarity with French culture.

Through art and design, Dreamers Academy children are given the freedom and confidence to express themselves through various art forms and creative processes. We aim to challenge and broaden their young perception of art by opening up their minds to new ideas and alternative ways of thinking. We highly encourage creative thinking and enable our children to delve into the never ending, wonderful possibilities that the imagination has to offer.

Children are encouraged to take inspiration from the world around us and use a variety of materials and techniques to communicate their response. Promoting art on a deeper level, they begin to understand the relationship between art and emotion and how they can represent this through color, line, shape and form.

Working in a relaxed environment and with an extensive range of equipment, tools and resources, our children are provided with the opportunity to create work of the highest standard. They are able to share their creative achievements within the school, and with their families.