The National Curriculum of England and Wales (NCE) is renowned for concerning itself with the development of the whole person. Learning is certainly important, but not enough in itself. Young people need to develop their potential to explore and discover the world around them, to think for themselves and form opinions, to relate appropriately to others, to develop confidence through physical education and to gain experience in taking responsibility. This will form the core of what is delivered in SIS Umm Sheif, and how it is delivered and developed. We understand the basis of NCE to be a minimum requirement for excellent education and strive to expand its principles in our schools. It is important for parents and children to note that, while our school offers the National Curriculum of England and Wales (NCE), our vision allows us to develop the school according to the needs of the community. The NCE provides an excellent framework for academic and social development but does not dictate all aspects of school life. At Star International School Umm Sheif,, we believe we have an excellent opportunity to grow the school organically to suit the surrounding community. Most current curricula place a very weighted emphasis on academic development and leave little room for balance. We believe that other fields of growth are equally important and not only supplement academics but, indeed, encourage and accelerate learning in the traditional classroom. Our timetable allows for at least one period every day when students are engaged in structured physical learning, thereby enhancing their focus and keeping them healthy. Especially at the foundation and early primary stages, there is a general neglect of ‘play time’ in many schools in the region. We believe that, in order for students to grow into versatile adults, these periods of play interspersed with formal lessons are extremely important for nurturing imagination and providing students with a rich learning environment.

Structured playing hours encourage the learning of new vocabulary, enrich social bonding and promote the learning of roles. Schools often find it difficult to explain to parents not previously exposed to the NCE why it is important for their children to participate in the annual concert or sports day and why the many hours of rehearsing and practising are part of the school day. A vital part of learning and discovering is what the classroom ‘feels’ like to both the student and teacher. Our learning areas are extensive and open, most taking the form of grouped activity centres. There are times of the day and week when students would sit in the traditional ‘class’ format but most hours are passed in working with a few other students and moving from one activity to another in ways designed to augment discovery. Acknowledging the freedom to investigate and experiment does not necessarily imply the relaxation of morals and ethics. At Umm Sheif,, we will create a fertile learning environment, enhanced by physical and creative development, whilst still providing a framework which encourages structure and a sense of social responsibility. We would discourage tendencies that ignore the sensitivities of the region and that promote antisocial behaviour. Rather, our school would pride itself on the parallel development of academics and personal character. Although most parents know how important creative expansion is to the learning process, it is worth noting that our classes will contain elements of music, dancing, singing and dramatics. Teachers sometimes decide that a numeracy lesson is more easily taught using singing as an aid; or, sentence structure may be played out like a drama. In this region, with so many nationalities and perceptions of education, we hope to capitalise on the various cultural treasures to enhance learning.

Extra Curriculum: We are accutely aware of the value of activities outside the specified curriculum in enhancing and reinforcing what has been learnt by students in the classroom. In our determination to form a nurturing environment for the development of children who can approach the world at large, we will offer an array of extra-curricular activities (both during the school day and after) that we believe will allow the students to realise the theoretical lessons as well as expose them to as many scenarios and elements of learning as possible. One of the key aspects of school life is sport and we believe that, with the indoor hall, swimming pool and outside track area, we can offer students a reasonable exposure to competitive sport arenas. The auditorium, on the other hand, will become a primary focus of cultural activites in the area and will provide another avenue for extra-curricular development. While we have made certain alliances with outside agencies for offering activities, we also believe that, as the school develops its own character, so will it enhance its links to the community at large and increase the array of offerings to the students.

SUBJECTS AND AREAS FOR 2009/10
Primary Subjects
01. Literacy
02. Numeracy
03. Science
04. ICT
05. Social Studies
06. History
07. Geography
08. Music
09. Art
10. Modern Foreign Language (only offered in KS2)
11. Physical Education
12. Arabic (for 1st language & 2nd language speakers)
13. Islamic Studies (for Muslim students)

Foundation/Kindergarten Development Areas
01. Personal, Social and Emotional
02. Communication, Language and Literacy
03. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numbers
04. Creativity
05. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
06. Physical