Extra-Curricular Enrichment

Play

Children spend up to 20% of their time in school at play. Changes in society such as heavier traffic, busier lifestyles and fewer areas available for play have led to 'play deprivation' for many of today's children.

We wanted to make sure that our pupils' playtime was coherent and planned for. We therefore introduced 'Outdoor Play and Learning' (OPAL). You can read more about OPAL here:

http://outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk/ 

Now, our playtimes are fun and exciting, with lots for the children to do! We have lots of games and equipment which encourages children to role play, climb, explore and investigate. We also offer organised games each day to help our pupils to burn off their energy.

Better quality play leads to happier children and happier staff. With better quality play opportunities, there are fewer behaviour problems, a more positive attitude to school and improved skills development and learning. As the children improve their quality of play and have more enriching play times, there are fewer accidents and classroom learning is enhanced, as the children come in from play happy and ready to learn.

In February, 2019, Ofsted commented on our high-quality playtimes:

Pupils are confident and self-assured. This is because adults teach them to be independent, to solve their own problems and to take risks. These skills are apparent within lessons and in the playground. The outdoor space offers high-quality provision and a range of activities: examples include a ball park, an arts space, a wildlife area and a running track. A sports coach provides structured games. Pupils also self-direct their play and use resources imaginatively

Extra Curricular Clubs

At Alfred Salter we are very proud to offer a wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities across the year groups.

Most of these clubs and activities are targeted towards a certain age group each half term with the hope of rotating these throughout the academic year.

As part of our whole school curriculum, we offer guitar, keyboard and violin lessons to every child in Year 4 and families have the option to enrol their child in 1:1 music tuition in Key Stage 2.

As mentioned in our curriculum section of this website, we do have a resident art teacher and music teacher whom work with all children across the academic year.

We have the following after-school, extra-curricular activities this academic year: 

• Millwall Football Training 
• Japanese 
• Yoga
• French Club  
• Debate Mate
• Drama Club
• Athletics
• Girls' Football 
• Circus Skills 
• Art Club 

Our extra-curricular activities are very popular and often have waiting lists. Please contact the school office if you have any questions.

Educational Visits

We aim to develop pupils’ opportunities beyond the classroom with a comprehensive offer of trips, visitors and residential ‘School Journeys’ which aim to help the pupils make the most of our London location!

Beginning with local area visits in the Early Years and culminating in the Year Six opportunity to spend a week living as a farmer at the Farms for City Children farms in Devon, we offer a range of trips and experiences which help to broaden our pupils’ understanding of the world.

Trips

Recent trips have included a Year One visit to The Tower of London; a boat ride on the River Thames in Year Two and a Year Five trip to the Houses of Parliament. The majority of our trips link directly to pupils’ learning in English, Humanities and Science and often feed into the work which pupils later complete in class. Such experiential learning enhances pupils’ understanding of a topic and allows them to place new ideas and vocabulary in context. We also have strong links with local arts organisations including the National Theatre and the Unicorn Theatre. We aim to offer the opportunity for every pupil in Years One to Six to attend at least one live concert, play or performance every year.

Residentials

We offer three residential opportunities for our pupils – in Years Two, Four and Six.

In Year Two, the pupils stay overnight at a YHA centre just outside London, where they engage in nature play, teamwork and shelter building activities.

In Year Four, we venture further afield to PGL on the Isle of Wight. There, pupils can participate in high adventure activities such as High Ropes challenges and the zip wire whilst also enjoying the seaside location!

Finally, in Year Six, we take the pupils to Nethercott House in Devon, one of the Farms for City Children farms. The pupils live and work as a large family for a whole week, caring for the animals on the farm and learning a great deal about living together in the countryside. It really is an unforgettable week!

Visitors and Partnerships

Each term, we welcome a diverse range of visitors into the school to give talks, host workshops and run series of lessons around a theme. Many of our visitors cover aspects of personal, social and emotional education – such as visits from the Police, Fire service and the local hospital – equipping our pupils with life skills which will be of use both in and outside of school. We also welcome visitors from the local community, such as Canada Water library, and have recently welcomed Neil Coyle – our local MP – who spoke all about the recent election and his role as an MP.

We also have a number of longer term partnerships which have led to lasting outcomes for our pupils. We have recently worked with the Museum of London and Time and Talents Nursing home to create a community cookbook and our partnership with Shakespeare’s Globe has embedded a dramatic approach to learning across the curriculum.