Mrs HV
Teacher
My most memorable read as a child was a book called Mr Meddle's Mischief by Enid Blyton. Perhaps I was taken in by the thought of mischief! Mr Meddle is a pixie who can't get anything right. He's always meddling in other people's business and making dreadful muddles. From then on I went to read many of her books but my favourite was the series of The Magic Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair. I loved these stories so much I would read them over and over again. They whisked me off to wonderful places of elves, gnomes, talking trees and so many other wonderful things.
Miss Freight
HLTA/TIS practitioner
I love to read. I can remember reading many books as a child and one of my favourites was called The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, a fantasy style book by C S Lewis. This the first book in a series and they have been turned into films.
Four children, Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter are sent to a friends house in the country to escape from the bombings. During a game of hide and seek the adventure begins as they go through the wardrobe and enter the frozen land of Narnia. Many characters appear throughout the story, such as Aslan, Jadis the White Witch, Mr Tumnus, a fawn and the beavers. The children bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the evil witch's spell. This leads to a battle....well I won't tell you the end in case you choose to read it.
I loved this book and have read the series many times, I have also watched the films.
Weaved into the story are a variety of morals such as the fight of good against evil, forgiveness and courage. I hope you read this book and enjoy it as much as I did.
Mr Trigell
Support staff
My favourite children's book is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson because I love to read it to the children in my class. It is always one of their favourites and they love to listen to the story and look at the illustrations.
'Coming to England ' by Floella Benjamin
The Vikings
Autumn 1
Welcome back everyone, we hope you have all had a fabulous summer!
Please read on to find out about all the exciting things we have planned for the first half term of the new academic year.
Our literacy unit for this half term focuses on the book Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura. This will tie in nicely with our history topic where we will explore the fascinating journey of Britain’s early civilisations. Children will develop their spoken language through listening and responding, building their vocabulary through articulating, and justifying their answers. They will participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations, and debates. For reading comprehension they will read for a range of purposes and use dictionaries to check the meaning of words and explain meanings of words in context. They will draw inferences from characters feelings, thoughts and motives and justify these with evidence. Children will make predictions from details stated and implied and identify the main ideas and summarise. They will also retrieve and record information from non-fiction books and texts. Children will plan their writing by discussing the structure, vocab and grammar of similar writing and recording their ideas. In narratives, they will create settings, characters, and plot. They will use headings and sub-headings to aid presentation and group related ideas into paragraphs. Children will learn to edit their writing and propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency. They will proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.
In Maths this half term both year 3 and 4 will be working on the White Rose Maths Units, Place Value and Addition and Subtraction.
The year 3 place value unit shall focus on representing numbers and partitioning numbers to 100 and 1000, finding 1, 10 or 100 more or less than a given number, ordering, estimating, and comparing numbers to a 1000 and counting in 50’s. For addition and subtraction children will focus on applying their knowledge of number bonds within 10 when adding and subtracting 1s, 10s and 100s which cross boundaries. Children will be introduced to more formal approaches of recording such as using the column method for adding and subtracting 2- and 3-digit numbers.
Year 4 place value will focus on representing numbers and partitioning numbers to 1000 and 10,000, finding 1, 10, 100, 1000 more or less than a given number, ordering, estimating, and comparing numbers to a 10,000 and rounding to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000. They will also investigate Roman numerals. For addition and subtraction children will add and subtract 1s, 10s, 100s and 1,000s, adding and subtracting up to two 4-digit numbers involving more than one exchange checking the strategies they have used.
This term in science, our focus is on Living Things and Their Environments. Children will develop their understanding of the natural world by exploring how living things are classified and how they interact with their surroundings. By the end of the unit, children will be able to name and explain the seven characteristics of living things (movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, and nutrition – MRS GREN). They will recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways based on their features and characteristics. Children will identify and classify vertebrates and invertebrates. They will use classification keys to group, identify, and name a range of living things in their local and wider environment. Children will understand how environmental changes, both positive and negative, can impact living things. They will be able to identify some of the dangers to endangered species and understand how human actions can affect biodiversity. This topic encourages observation, curiosity, and care for the natural world, helping children become more aware of the role they play in protecting the environment.
Our RE unit this term is Creation where children will explore key stories from the Bible and reflect on how these teachings influence the lives and actions of Christians today. The unit encourages children to make connections between religious beliefs and real-life behaviour, while also developing empathy, reflection, and moral understanding.
Over the course of the unit, we will explore the following key questions:
- How does the calling of the first disciples link to how Christians behave today?
Children will learn how Jesus invited ordinary people to follow him and consider how this story continues to influence Christians in their daily lives and actions. - How do Jesus’ actions inspire Christians today?
We will examine examples from the Gospels that show how Jesus treated others, and how Christians use his example as a guide for compassion, kindness, and service. - What behaviours do Christians learn through the parables of the Bible?
Through exploring selected parables, children will discover how stories Jesus told teach important moral lessons and encourage positive behaviour. - What might a believer learn from a religious story?
This lesson looks more broadly at the messages behind religious stories and how these messages guide believers in making choices and understanding the world. - What would a Christian do to live as Jesus would want them to?
Children will reflect on how Christians try to follow Jesus’ teachings in practical ways – including helping others, caring for the environment, and standing up for justice. - How does a church leader live and work in the way Jesus wanted? This final lesson looks at the role of church leaders and how they aim to follow Jesus’ example in guiding, serving, and supporting their community.
This half term, our history focus will be exploring how life changed over time from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, and into the Iron Age.
Children will develop their chronological understanding of British, local, and world history, learning to identify connections, contrasts, and trends across different periods. They will also improve their ability to use historical terms accurately, and to think like historians by using evidence from a range of sources to ask questions and build informed responses. Questions We Will Explore:
- Could you survive in the Stone Age?
Investigating what life was like for early humans – food, shelter, tools, and daily challenges. - Why are findings at Skara Brae so significant?
Learning about this remarkable Neolithic site and what it tells us about early settlements. - What did copper mining mean to the people of the Bronze Age?
Exploring how the discovery of metal changed tools, trade, and daily life. - How has evidence from Stonehenge given us different answers about the past?
Examining why this ancient monument still puzzles historians and archaeologists today. - How and why were hillforts developed in the Iron Age?
Understanding the importance of defence, community, and technology in later prehistoric Britain.
This half term in Geography, we are learning how to be map-reading experts! We will explore how to find places using maps, atlases, symbols, compass points, and grid references. We will learn how to use the 8 points of a compass to give directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). We will know how to read and use 4-digit and 6-digit grid references to find exact places on a map. We will be able to recognise and understand symbols and keys on diverse types of maps – including Ordnance Survey (OS) maps. We will be able to use an atlas to locate countries and places in Europe and North and South America.
In ICT, our focus for this half term shall be learning how to stay safe online and how to communicate effectively and responsibly using the internet. We will learn what makes a safe password and how to keep it private, why it is important not to share your password with others. We will be able to tell if something we read online is true or false and how to spot ‘spoof’ websites and why they exist. We will create our own spoof webpage to understand misinformation online. We will learn what age restriction symbols look like and what they mean (including PEGI ratings). We will understand that these restrictions are there to keep us safe and know where to go for help if we see or experience something upsetting or inappropriate online. This topic helps us become safe, smart, and respectful digital citizens!
This half term, in music we will explore R&B music through the Charanga unit Let Your Spirit Fly. Children will listen to and sing ballads in the soulful R&B style, learn about key instruments like keyboard, drums, bass, and saxophone, and practise singing melisma’s—where multiple notes are sung on one syllable. They will also develop their skills in working together in ensembles and choirs, contributing confidently to the group’s musical sound. Children will learn about melody and harmony in music. They will know that a melody (or a tune) is a group of notes played one after another. They will learn in music, 'melody' contrasts with 'harmony' and that harmony means notes which are played at the same time, like chords. Composers often think of a melody and then add harmony to it. In this unit, children will explore the voices that sing the melodies and the instruments used within the music to create the harmonies.
In PHSE this half term we will follow the Jigsaw unit Being in My World. Year 3 will focus on exploring different career paths and the skills needed to get a job. Year 4 will focus on friendships and what makes a good friendship, developing their understanding of what respect is and why is it important to be respectful.
Children will use Languagenut for our French lessons this term. Year 3 will focus on greetings, classroom instructions and numbers 1-10. Year 4 will continue to practise their existing French language skills. They will learn the days of the week, numbers 20-30 and how to tell the time.
This half term in art, children will explore drawing and painting with the exciting outcome of creating their own cave paintings. They will use sketchbooks to gather ideas and experiment with textures, reflections, and movement through different marks and lines. Students will develop their skills in mixing colours confidently, selecting appropriate media, and progressing from drawing to painting. They will also learn to work in the style of Stone Age artists, bringing ancient art to life.
This term, in PE children will explore how physical exercise affects their bodies. They will learn to perform exercises that strengthen the upper body and core muscles. Over six lessons, students will practice circuit training, compare their performance over time, and work on reaching personal fitness goals. This unit helps children understand the benefits of exercise while building strength, endurance, and self-motivation.