The Merlin School

The Merlin School, established in 1986, is a pre-prep school for boys and girls aged four to eight. You’ll find us in the heart of Putney, in a beautiful Victorian house. We’re proud of its many period features, which lend the school a very special atmosphere. Our school hall, for example, used for assemblies, drama, music and dance, is the renovated ballroom.

We teach in spacious classrooms in the main building and in three purpose-built cloistered classrooms at the rear of the school. For playtime, sports and outdoor learning, there is a large playground, with a safe, artificial turf surface. Each of the light, airy classrooms is visually stimulating, with colourful, interactive displays that are constantly updated.

At Merlin, our practical approach to learning enables the children to take an active role in every subject – they are never simply passive participants. English and Maths underpin our core curriculum teaching every day. Science, Music, PE and Games, French, Drama and ICT are all taught by specialist teachers. This breathes life into the timetable and gives the children the opportunity to move around the school from lesson to lesson.

Each term, a new topic is taught in class and many aspects of History, Geography, Art, Design & Technology and Religious Education are woven together under that chosen theme. This cross-curricular teaching through topic puts learning into context and encourages the children to make connections. It allows our teachers to deliver subjects in depth, while still ensuring that all elements of the curriculum are covered. Above all, it captures the children’s imagination, fires their enthusiasm and inspires them to want to learn. Through such creative and stimulating teaching of core, foundation and broader curriculum subjects, the children are prepared at ages seven and eight for school exams or entrance assessments to prep schools.

The General Aims of the Curriculum

• To generate a passion for knowledge and learning.
• To stimulate pupils to think for themselves.
• To enable pupils to develop self-reliance, self-esteem and self
  confidence.
• To enable pupils to use leisure time enjoyably and profitably.
• To promote health and fitness.
• To develop an awareness of themselves as feeling part of a smaller community that is part of a larger world.
• To encourage the development of personal values based on loving, caring, sharing, thanking and giving.

The EYFS aims to provide secure foundations of learning, equality of opportunity, quality and consistency and establish working partnerships between staff and parents.The four Overarching Principles of the new EYFS are as follows:

• Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
• Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
• Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and / or carers.
• Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with
  special educational needs and disabilities.

At Merlin, we value children as unique individuals and celebrate their achievements, no matter how tiny they may be. (This is through ‘Star of the Week’, stickers, golden gallery etc. – see Merlin behaviour policy and section and Promoting Good Behaviour through Positive Language in the EYFS-below).

At Merlin, we endeavour to develop positive relationships with children and families to encourage children to be strong and independent. (There is plenty of opportunity for parent / carer and teacher interaction – yellow reading record, at pick-up time in the playground, scheduled appointments etc).

At Merlin, we are committed to providing enabling environments and we appreciate and support the different rates and styles of children’s learning. (Teachers are expected to show differentiation for all sessions on planning, and in practice. Small groups are run by teachers or TAs to meet the needs of those in the EYFS needing extra support or extension, and we teach differentiated group sessions from the Spring term in English and Maths each week – we call it ‘mix up Maths or English.’) What follows is a set of notes on how the different requirements of the new EYFS framework will be met at Merlin. These notes are numbered as they are in the Statutory Framework for the Revised EYFS Framework 2017 document, for ease of reference.