Daily Life

Welcome Circle

We start our day with the ‘Welcome Circle’ to help us connect with each other and warm up for the day ahead. The Welcome Circle can involve yoga, physical exercises, breathing and meditation. Children also have the opportunity to express themselves and share their feelings, ideas, news or discuss any topics or questions that they might have.

Project Lesson

A core aspect of the work we do is through our ‘Project Lessons’. Project lessons explore themes that are carried across the different Flexi Hub subject lessons. We look at specific project topics in depth over the term and as a group use the project themes to explore a variety of creative and academic mediums, skills and approaches. We encourage children to continue to work on their projects outside of their time at Flexi Hub and for each child to lead their project in their own individual way.

Project themes will be diverse and creative, incorporating core subjects such as history, geography and science. Each topic will be learnt not only through writing and documentation, but practically and artistically. This will enable the learning to be interactive, fun and using a hands-on approach to learning.

Regardless of the topic, we aspire to grasp and encourage authentic learning where numeracy, literacy, social and emotional skills are developed, by working together and expressing ourselves in a group setting. We celebrate the coming and going of the seasons into our lessons and encourage the child’s interest in the world around them.

Previous project themes have included: Africa, India, Europe, South America, London, Ancient Egypt, architecture, health and well being, botany, remarkable people and inventors, zoology, clothes through time, religion and spirituality and weather and the seasons.

Subject Lessons

At Flexi Hub we offer a range of diverse subject lessons delivered by a pool of hand-picked, talented and experienced teachers. Subject lessons include; English and maths, outdoor learning, gardening and permaculture, yoga and multi sports, art and textiles, contemporary dance and choreography, drama and performance, music and choir, mindfulness and meditation.

Beams English and Maths lessons

In Maths lessons at Flexi Hub we primarily work to foster confidence and enjoyment. Work is carried out using a mixture of individual, partner and group work. Problem solving plays a big part in our maths activities. During the maths sessions children will cover the following topics: Mental fluency with numbers, number bonds, counting and place value, recognising, describing, drawing and comparing shapes, measurement-describing and comparing length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money, practically looking at multiplication and division in real life and fractions using real life examples, looking at charts and graphs and recording data. 

In English sessions at Flexi Hub we build on each child's skills and work to nurture a love of reading, creative writing, storytelling and lots more. We listen to and work with a wide range of stories, poems and non-fiction. Each session children work on using their phonic knowledge to read and write new words. Children work on writing and sequencing sentences to form short narratives. This is done individually and as a group. Children will be introduced to spelling and grammar rules and practise using these in their writing. In the sessions, children will take part in discussions, taking turns and listening to what others say. They will learn to write for different purposes. We aim to foster a love of reading and writing and let our imaginations run free.

Sparks English and Maths lessons

 In our English lessons we aim to cover a variety of curriculum areas, skills and knowledge, based on the National Curriculum and broadly spanning the end of KS1 and KS2 – roughly school years 2-6, but also taking into account the children’s existing skills and knowledge. We cover aspects of phonics and spelling, punctuation, grammar, writing techniques, including writing creative pieces like stories and poetry, and non-fiction texts – aiming for a broad range of experiences of the many aspects of English, which we hope will complement the work the children do at home. 

In our Maths lessons we also aim to cover a wide range of the many aspects of Maths, giving the children skills and knowledge that is based on the National Curriculum school years as outlined above, and that we hope will complement their home learning. We cover aspects of number, data handling, shape and space, units and measures, and problem solving, and aim for a range of practical activities and more formal written tasks.

In both English and Maths, we aim to give the children opportunities to work individually, in pairs and in small and large groups, and to share their observations and learning. We are sensitive to children’s varied learning experiences, and try to engage them by using a range of teaching techniques, offering them support and encouragement, and aiming to engender a love of learning.

We use appropriately levelled workbooks to support our wider class learning. We are happy to make suggestions of further activities or workbooks that can be followed at home to help with areas that children might need extra practice in.

Children for English and Maths are divided into two ability groups- Beams (beginners) and Sparks (more experienced).

Dance Lessons

During our dance lessons we will grow awareness and an understanding about how our bodies can communicate through movement and dance. How we can use dance as a form of self-expression, celebration, learn spatial awareness, physical strength and confidence. We will achieve this through different fun tasks and games, mime and creative choreography and learn how these skills can present a story, a mood and capture an audience. 

Our dance lessons will cover a range of different dancing styles and techniques from classical ballet, to all different dances and trends through time. We will explore traditions and cultures through dance and learn about the world around us by using dance to celebrate this beautiful diversity.

Art  Lessons

The art lessons cover a wide range of carefully planned foundation skills, whilst looking at and taking influence from artists and cultures that are relevant to the Flex Hub project themes. 

Within the lessons we will be developing many artistic skills and techniques to express our ideas visually. We will have the opportunity to explore many mixed media techniques, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, collage, photography, printmaking and 3D construction, to display and present a body of work that communicates our ideas, thoughts, feelings and subject matter. The children’s results are open-ended and individual and encourage discussion and reflection time. 

Choir and music

In our choir sessions, we will be playing singing games, creating rhythms, learning how to read music, and exploring an eclectic range of songs from different music genres and times.  We will be following the project theme each term with our choice of songs and aim to build confidence singing in both rounds and two-part harmonies.  At the end of each term, there will be an opportunity to share the songs that we have been practicing. Above all, we will be having a great deal of fun and enjoying the wonderful experience of singing together as a group!

Drama Lessons

The drama sessions are high energy, engaging, theatrical but most importantly fun! We use drama games and exercises to boost the children’s confidence with the addition of movement and singing to better engage with their whole bodies and voices when creating characters and bringing stories to life. We encourage the children to find their individual voices and explore their imaginations, but they also learn to work in groups creating small scenes and improvisations together. We usually work towards a short play or musical that I have written/adapted specifically for the children. Creating a performance together gives the children an extra level of achievement when supported by their peers and families, but it also gives them the experience of working together as a team to create something they can be very proud of.  

Sports & Movement Lessons

The sports and movement lesson covers a full range of team games, chasing games, fitness and agility, basic gymnastic skills and nature themed games. The children will have the opportunity to learn a variety of different sports including basketball, football, volleyball and hockey, to name a few. The games will have a heavy pictorial element initially and the children will learn the basic skills needed to play these sports in a fun way without too many rules involved. Most importantly the children will practice a wide range of physical/coordination skills in order to have a strong base for their development and the movements during each lesson will be dynamic and varied.

Relaxation and play

At Flexi Hub we recognise the importance of providing a space for free time and relaxation where the children can play, sit quietly, read, or enjoy a snack. There is a small library and comfy area where the children can study, relax and play with the Flexi Hub toys and equipment.

Special occasions 

Often linked to our Project theme, we enjoy organising special occasions at Flexi Hub. We have enjoyed a community Egyptian banquet, a multi-cultural picnic, learning to make sushi and chapatis, a trip to RIBA in London for a workshop on the Bauhaus movement, a visit to Bristol Zoo to meet the animals and take part in an educational workshop, a climbing trip, a baking course with the local Hobbs bakery. We have also enjoyed talks from special guests including a local architect, visits from musicians and other inspiring people. 

Flexi Hub Sharing Day

At the end of each term the children’s hard work and effort does not go unnoticed, we celebrate all their accomplishments by inviting families and friends to Flexi Hub Sharing Days. The Sharing Day involves performances from poetry readings, songs, dances and shows, as well as displays of work around the room and delicious food and drink prepared by people from the Flexi Hub community. The teachers and the children write their own performances, as well as base them on well know themes, amongst these we have performed Annie the musical, a Christmas Pantomime and The Greatest Showman.

Visit us at Flexi Hub

You can arrange to come and visit us at Flexi Hub to see who we are and what we do for yourself, or attend one of our Sharing Days.

Picture Gallery

You can click on pictures below to open up a slide show.