Key Stage 1

Key Stage 1 includes Year 1 and Year 2, but at the British Overseas School we begin to consider Reception children as Key Stage 1 children the further they progress through that transition year.
Key Stage 1 is critical in the academic, personal and physical development of a child. It is in these two years that the foundations of reading, writing and mathematics are laid. It is at this age that children develop a greater sense of their own identity, personality and values. It is here that children further develop their inclinations to compete and to cooperate, whilst also learning to better appreciate their physical potential and limitations.
The BOS addresses these stages of development by ensuring that our children benefit from a broad curriculum – a curriculum that emphasizes strong progress in the 3Rs, but that also encourages children to retain their love for exploration, investigation and creativity. We do this in our approach to teaching by adhering to our maxims that learning should be enjoyable, varied and child-centred. We do this through our curriculum by introducing children to news ways to be inquisitive through scientific inquiry; to new ways to communicate, such as French and Chinese; and to new ways to explore their potential through sport and drama.

/

Teaching in Key Stage 1

Our Year 1 and 2 classrooms are more immediately recognizable as ‘classrooms’ than their EYFS counterparts. But they remain bright and vivid spaces, full of vitality and engagement.
The adult:children ratio remains excellent, with at least three adults working with the class most of the time. As in EYFS, team work is critical to ensure that our children are well supported in their learning; encouraged to be positive and optimistic about their progress and to feel secure and safe as they experiment, make mistakes and develop their resilience.