Class Teacher: Miss C Boreham
Class Teachers: Mr D Langmore
Learning Support: Mrs L Robbins, Mrs E Broughton & Mrs A McKeown
We will update you about upcoming events each half term so keep an eye on the webpage. We will also send out letters closer to each date with further information when necessary.
Key dates for Autumn 1 are:
PE Days: Tuesday and Thursday
Our PE days will be on a Tuesday and Thursday for Autumn 1. Please ensure your child is wearing full PE kit – a white t-shirt or their house colour t-shirt, black leggings / skort / shorts / jogging bottoms, white socks and trainers (football kits and other tracksuits are not permitted).
Library Day: Thursday
The children will be given an opportunity to visit our school library once a week during which time they will be able to select a reading book for pleasure.
We will read daily in class and there will be opportunities for independent and paired reading throughout the week.
School Reading Book (Bug Club or Spot Book): Monday
The children will be able to change their school reading book once a week. We recommend re-reading books if they are finished before this time.
Longer texts, that require more than a week, can be kept until they need to be exchanged.
Celebration Assembly: Friday
As a school, we host our celebration assemblies on a Friday afternoon. Our ‘star of the week’ will receive a certificate in this assembly and their parents/adults are invited to join us. We also award a ‘star of the day’ certification every day to recognise and celebrate those children who have shown great enjoyment, perseverance and success – in line with our school values.
This half term we will be learning:
Subject | Topic name |
English | Darwin’s Dragons |
Maths | Place value / Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division |
Science | Evolution |
My Happy Mind | Meet your brain |
Geography | Improving the environment |
PSHE | My Healthy Self |
DT | Head coverings |
RE | River of life |
PE | Hockey and gymnastics |
Computing | Introduction to spreadsheets |
Music | Dynamics, pitch and texture |
Spanish | Clothes in Spanish |
Class story | Darwin’s Dragons |
At the start of Year 6, the children will focus on building and securing their understanding of place value and the four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Following the White Rose Maths scheme, pupils will develop their fluency with written and mental calculation strategies, apply their knowledge to reasoning and problem-solving tasks, and strengthen their understanding of number relationships. Establishing a secure foundation in these key areas will support learning across the rest of the Year 6 maths curriculum.
Alongside this, children will take part in daily arithmetic practice. These short, focused sessions are designed to improve accuracy, speed and confidence when working with number. Regular arithmetic practice helps pupils recall key number facts more efficiently, strengthens their calculation skills and frees up working memory so they can tackle more complex mathematical problems with greater confidence and success.
Our writing lessons this half term will be based around the exciting text Darwin’s Dragons by Lindsay Galvin. Using the novel as our stimulus, children will explore a range of writing genres and develop their skills through meaningful and engaging writing opportunities. This will include writing setting descriptions, character descriptions, diary entries and other pieces inspired by the text.
In reading lessons, there will be a strong focus on developing the key reading skills needed to become confident and thoughtful readers. Each day, children will focus on a different reading skill, such as retrieval, inference, vocabulary and summarising, before applying these skills at the end of the week in an unseen comprehension. This approach helps to build reading stamina, fluency and confidence when tackling unfamiliar texts.
To support links between reading and writing, we may study the same text over a number of weeks, or we may explore different texts across the week depending on the focus of our writing lessons. We have carefully selected a range of exciting and engaging texts that we hope will inspire a love of reading and capture the children’s imagination.
In Year 6, we are placing a greater emphasis on home learning to help children develop the independence, organisation and study habits needed for secondary school.
Each week, children will be set reading, spelling and maths homework. We will review this together every Friday, so it is important that homework is completed on time. Children who complete their homework each week will receive reward time.
To ensure all pupils can access their home learning, Mrs Higson will run a lunchtime Homework Club for children who would like a quiet place to work, need additional support or are unable to complete homework at home.
We also encourage daily reading for pleasure at home. Regular reading helps to develop vocabulary, comprehension, fluency and a lifelong love of books.
For more information about the Year 6 National Curriculum, please follow the link.