At Ocean Crest, we are committed to providing the highest possible quality of education at all levels, especially at the primary level. Every child is expected to achieve their full potential in a positive and caring environment. We aim to achieve this through developing mutual trust and respect among pupils, parents and the school by working together with parents to monitor and achieve success with every child, irrespective of the ability level.
The Primary School Curriculum is founded on four basic principles:
Challenging: It challenges and integrates real-world
Flexible: It is flexible to meet pupil’s needs and taught in a way that relates to children’s lives and exposure now and in the future.
Differentiated: method of teaching matches pupil’s individual needs, abilities and opportunities
It provides a solid core foundation in preparation for Secondary School. The Primary School is run by a team of well qualified, hardworking and committed teachers and non-teaching staff who, with a sense of responsibility, make time for pupils’ individual attention. The school embraces both Nigerian and British National curriculum which would prepare pupils for both Nigerian and other International Common Entrance Examinations. A common curriculum comprising the under-listed core and non-core subjects is taught throughout the school.
Our Literacy Curriculum is from key aspects of the English National Curriculum. Children learn how to communicate proficiently in speaking, listening, reading, comprehension and extended writing. Handwriting and Spelling practice are also included in literacy lessons. Pupils’ progress are carefully monitored to enable teachers identify areas of weakness. Pupils undergo a reading assessment to ascertain their reading ages and are placed on the appropriate reading levels. Our school has a robust library, which pupils are encouraged to take advantage of. Literacy programmes are a vital part of our curriculum and are carried out through Spelling Bee Competition, Book Day, Creative Writing Programme, Phonics Club, Diction and Elocution Classes, to mention a few.
We want our pupils to become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama as well as non-fiction and media texts. All children are encouraged to take books home each evening to practice and reinforce the skills taught in school. Guidance is provided on how parents can best support their children’s learning in this area. Pupils are helped to develop the ability to express their thoughts and ideas and communication skills through the written word. We believe it is important that children see their writing as having purpose and that they regard themselves as authors of their work. Opportunities are provided for children to develop the necessary writing skills required for different purposes and audiences. The link between reading and writing is strongly emphasized. Quality time is spent each day teaching mathematics through investigating, oral, practical, written and problem-solving (critical thinking) methods. Topics for the term are seriously taught, evaluated and always revisited by the teacher for pupils to understand the concept of mathematics with confidence and to make mathematics interesting to them. Skills around problem solving, reasoning and numbers are taught to pupils at our school to help them understand the complexities of our global world and the demands of a fast paced technologically advanced environment.
• Build confidence in pupils in the study of math by dispelling all fears and presenting math in a fun and interactive way.
• Encourage the application of mathematical concepts in everyday human transactions
• Present pupils with appropriate mathematical vocabulary to guide fluency in use and demonstration
• Develop in pupils’ strong thinking and analytical skills.
The timetable provision requires that Math is taught daily in the classroom and for duration of at least one hour. Other variants of mathematics taught at our school include Mental Math and Quantitative Reasoning.
Scientific skills are developed in pupils applying academic and practical activities made up of the systematic study of their physical and natural world through careful observation and experiment. Teaching and learning in science reflects our belief that children have a natural sense of awe and wonder in the world around them. We aim to provide the children with a science knowledge base, and encourage them to ask questions, make predictions and to test these in order to discover more about the world around them. We also hope to foster responsible attitude towards the environment and all living things.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) prepares pupils to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technologies. Pupils use ICT tools to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly, creatively and with discrimination. They learn how to employ ICT to enable rapid access to ideas, information and experiences from a range of sources, people, communities and cultures. Increased capacity in the use of ICT promotes initiatives and independent learning, with pupils being able to make informed judgments about when and where to use ICT to best effect, and to consider its implications for home and work both now and in the future.
At Ocean Crest School, we acknowledge that ICT and e-learning makes a massive contribution to all aspects of school life, for pupils, staff, parents and the wider community, in this ever changing technological world. We believe that all children should be given opportunities to engage in a broad ICT- rich curriculum that provides motivation, enthusiasm and enjoyment; develops lifelong skills; and raises standards in learning and achievement. We are well equipped with ICT infrastructure including interactive white boards in all our classrooms.
The teaching and learning of Geography and History is through planned themes, which are incorporated into an overall curriculum frame work. Through the study of Geography, children are given opportunities to develop an awareness of their immediate surroundings, other places and how people have used their environment. Through this, they will be introduced to the techniques necessary to undertake field work and geographical enquiries. Children are encouraged to broaden their knowledge of places and environments throughout the world; develop an understanding of maps, and range of investigative and problem-solving skills both inside and outside the classroom. As pupils study Geography, they encounter different societies and cultures. This helps them realize how nations rely on each other. It can inspire them to think about their own place in the world, their values and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment.
History provides children a sense of existence in the past as well as the present; a feeling of being in history. They are taught to understand how the present has come about and to develop an appreciation for the heritage of their country through factual presentation of history, biographies of famous people and historical functions/events. Our aim is also for them to have the knowledge and understanding of how multiplicity and diversity of cultures within the society and the world has developed and united. Our children need to recognise the contributions of each culture and to explore its value system.
OCS has a strong tradition for arts education both within the curriculum and from extracurricular activities. We feel it is important to give the arts a high profile in the curriculum, to maintain balance and to develop an area for which the school justly has a good reputation. Every year, we work hard to provide an arts programme for the children that are educational and exciting. This has included working with artists in a wide range of media from environmental arts as well as drama. We have been involved in art exhibitions and arts competitions, galleries visits and many more so as to enrich the curriculum for the children. Creativity is encouraged by after school clubs for pupils who have produced a range of very high quality work. We also engage our children in dance/drama presentations. These have been a huge success. The children themselves perform in productions, which is a triumph of whole school teamwork under the leadership of their teachers. Plays like Snow White, We Are The Dream in the Primary, and Little Red Riding Hood in the Nursery amongst others. Right from the playgroup, children are exposed to various instruments such as tambourines, drums, maracas and triangles. As they advance through the school, they specialize in mutual instruments such as recorder, piano, violin, guitar, etc.
The school choir performs in a number of musical events such as Christmas concerts and orchestral presentation during the Christmas and other festive periods that are used to entertain parents and the community. Interest in Arts is fostered at an early age. Pupils throughout the school are exposed to all forms of Art, design and handcraft.
Our overall aim is to make foreign language learning fun. We do this by playing lots of games, singing songs and learning rhymes. We also learn about life in France and how it compares to life in Nigeria. We read and write some French and make comparisons between aspects of French language and English language. We listen to native speakers and learn about famous French people- past and present Religion/Ethics/Character Education/Citizenship. These subjects are value-based education important for developing moral qualities in children at a young age such as humility, truthfulness, trustworthiness, honesty, courtesy, tolerance and selflessness. Value-based education will help to give direction to their social, moral and spiritual development thus bringing quality to their lives and helping them to develop positive social attitudes now and in the future.
Home Economics is taught to equip young people with skills and knowledge which will encourage good health and a positive attitude to food throughout life. The subject gives insight into what is really in the food we eat, how to plan and cook nutritious and economical meals and the importance of good nutrition and health.
Yoruba language is taught as a lesson in the school since we are in the South Western part on Nigeria. Igbo Language on the other hand is introduced and offered as a club activity for interested pupils. Physical Education: We aim to develop a healthy lifestyle in our pupils and therefore all pupils in school have regular P.E lessons during school hours. Teaching ensures that when ‘evaluating and improving performance’, connections are made between ‘developing, selecting and applying skills, tactics and compositional ideas’, and ‘fitness and health’. Pupils build on their natural enthusiasm for movement, using it to explore and learn about their world. They start to work and play with other pupils in pairs and small groups. By watching, listening and experimenting, they develop their skills in movement and coordination, and enjoy expressing and testing themselves in a variety of situations. Pupils also enjoy being active and using their creativity and imagination in physical activity. They learn new skills, find out how to use them in different ways, and link them to make actions, phrases and sequences of movement. They enjoy communicating, collaborating and competing with each other. They develop an understanding of how to succeed in different activities and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success. We have specialist teachers for all the special subjects mentioned above, who give children individual attention.
To heighten self-awareness and enhance self-esteem through acceptance.
To encourage the children to be responsible for their own actions.
To encourage every child to express their individuality appropriately.
To provide a wide range of Outdoor Education programmes.
To under the digital world and see the many possibilities.
Understand the process of setting a task or goal and how to accomplish it.
