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One of the biggest advantages of a Carncot education is the individual learning attention made possible through favourable pupil to teacher ratios. The first three years are the most crucial for establishing the Carncot work-ethic and setting up the learning strategies that will stand our children in good stead for their whole lives. To achieve this, we carefully manage class sizes to balance school roll growth while maintaining an appropriate ratio of learners to teachers. The employment of specialist teachers further enhances the favourability of the pupil to teacher ratio.
Structure though is part of our learning culture and we see it as the key to success. Each pupil has their own desk, within their own classroom. They know who their class teacher is. Each pupil is accountable for their learning, and their teachers personalise the class learning programmes to challenge, motivate and inspire personal excellence.
Right from Year 1, Carncot pupils either leave their classrooms to take lessons with our subject-specialist teachers or have subject-specialist teachers supplement their home class teachers for certain subjects. Specialists, passionate about their areas of teaching expertise, reinforce children’s skills and confidence in areas such as mathematics, science, art, physical education and languages. One of the reasons why our students transition so well into secondary school is due to the similar style of learning employed at Carncot.
Our focus on pastoral care and well-being is underpinned by the notion that happy children are free to learn, along with our school values: respect, integrity, caring, honesty, excellence and responsibility (RICHER). It’s a team effort, which includes various members from the school community, including the principal, teacher mentor, a dedicated Year 8 Gold Badge leader, peer mediator coordinators and playground peer mediators. The Carncot buddy system pairs older students as buddies and mentors with younger ones, and experience shows it has become a special part of student life at Carncot, as have the ongoing inter-House competitions with friendly rivalry to the fore!
Sport teaches pupils the importance of teamwork, team commitment and learning to cooperate. It is another way for to learn new skills, and to challenge themselves. Carncot pupils join school teams in a wide range of summer and winter sporting options. Following our school events, we enter representatives in local primary school competitions, such as for swimming, cross country and athletics.
Each year, a range of class and school day-long school trips see pupils embracing a wide range of outdoor activities. From Year 4 onwards, pupils enjoy an annual school camp of increasing length. At each year level, we focus on personal, social and emotional development. We use our time on camp to undertake personal physical challenge-by-choice activities, to develop a respect and love for the outdoors.
Carefully selected staff offer quality before-school care is offered from 7.45 – 8.15am each day, while after-school care runs from 3.15 – 5.30pm, at competitive rates. Afternoon tea is provided, along with supervised quiet time to complete daily homework tasks. During most school vacation periods, subject to demand, we offer a wide range of exciting holiday programme activities.
We offer class music lessons, and many pupils take up the opportunity to have individual voice and/or instrumental tuition from a wide range of specialist music teachers who visit weekly. We enjoy regular school singing, undertake a major whole-school production on a biennial basis.
Our whole-school approach to Kapa haka adds another exciting and inclusive dimension to the cultural life of the school, and children proudly provide a strong kapa haka welcome for visitors and incoming pupils.
Our School van runs to and from Feilding on a daily basis.
