Teaching our Children – An Introduction to the Curriculum

Within the academic arena the key objective at Kent College is to ensure that at every stage of their development our children are stimulated, challenged and supported, and that the education they receive is entirely appropriate for each age group.

On this page there is a summary of what we seek to achieve at each of the three distinct stages within the school – Nursery, Infant and Junior. More details of each stage can be accessed through the menu. You can also find a full list of Academic Staff at the School and information on recent examination performance.

In the Early Years our children are welcomed into Nursery or Reception classes where we follow Government early learning guidelines. Our Nursery is their first experience of school, so activities there are play-centred and we are able to make full use of our excellent play and learning facilities, especially in the summer when our idyllic grounds can be used to full advantage.

Once in Reception the children have their own class teacher with a classroom assistant, but already they are seeing specialist teachers in dedicated facilities for French, Music, Expressive Arts and Games.

This careful introduction to school life ensures that our children are fully prepared for entry into Year 1 in the Infants and the beginning of the Key Stage 1 curriculum. Our Infant classrooms are bright and airy, with class sizes normally less than 20. There is a regularly changing variety of work on display, making the rooms an exciting place for learning. At this stage specialist facilities are extended with pupils able to make use of our ICT suite as well as the PCs in their classrooms.

Entry into the Junior Department takes place in Year 3, and this stage covers the final four years at the School. Specialist teaching is progressively extended to cover Art, Science and Design Technology, and by Year 5 our children are taught by specialists in every subject. This accustoms them to working in a more formal way before transferring to the Senior School at the age of 11.

For pupils recognised as having additional educational needs specialist help provided by highly qualified teachers enables these children to access the mainstream curriculum with confidence.

Select from the menu to see more detailed information about each of the three stages.