Key Stage 1 Curriculum at St Lawrence College
At St Lawrence College, Key Stage 1 is a joyful beginning to a child’s independent learning journey. In Years 1 and 2, children are nurtured in a warm, stimulating environment that helps them grow academically, socially, and emotionally.
Although each child has a dedicated classroom base, learning extends well beyond it. From exploring the Forest School to enjoying sessions with specialist teachers, our approach encourages discovery, celebrates individuality, and lays the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.
A Topic-Based Approach to Learning
Rather than teaching subjects separately, we follow a topic-based curriculum that links ideas across different areas of learning. This approach helps children form meaningful connections and apply skills in practical ways.
Skills Developed Through Topics
- Communication and language: encouraged through discussion, storytelling, drama, and creative writing.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving: developed while exploring themes such as habitats or world cultures.
- Collaboration and social skills: nurtured through group projects, role play, and shared tasks.
- Creativity and imagination: expressed through model-making, observational drawing, and learning about artists within themes like Houses and Homes or Animals and Their Habitats.
- Literacy and numeracy in context: for example, writing postcards during Around the World or measuring animal enclosures in science-based topics.
Children also benefit from lessons in French, PE, and Music, taught by subject specialists who bring expert knowledge and enthusiasm into the classroom.
