Teaching

Class make-up and numbers
If your child joins us before they are four they will start in the Nursery. If they join in the school year in which they will become five, they will be in Reception. Our Reception can admit a maximum of 45 children per school year in two intakes – September and January. The two Reception classes have 22 and 23 children. The rest of the school is organised differently to other primary schools, in a structure is known as vertical grouping. This means we combine two year groups of 45 children to make three classes of up to 30, each with a maximum of 15 children from each year group. The mixed classes are taught the same lesson content but teaching is differentiated according to ability and need. Throughout your child’s time at Drayton Park they will be in the same group of 15 children which, in alternate years, will be the younger or the older half of their class. The individual child has the advantage of remaining with a comparatively small peer group throughout their time in school but with the added advantage of being able to mix with a greater number of other children. They enjoy the experience and benefits of sometimes being the older members of their class and sometimes the younger.Class teachers are organised into phase teams, each with a phase leader. They work and plan for the classes in their teams: Nursery/Reception, Years 1/2, Years 3/4 and Years 5/6.