Croeso i Flwyddyn 5/6
🐿️ Welcome to the Squirrel Class 🐿️

Year 5/6 Expectations

In years 5 and 6, as the older children, there is an expectation that they will set the example to the rest of school, in terms of their appearance, behaviour and attitude towards school life. Each morning we expect the children to arrive at school on time, in full school uniform and organised for the day ahead. It now needs to become very much their responsibility (not yours!) to ensure that this is the case so, if you need to, take a step back and let them learn to organise themselves, even if it goes wrong to begin with!

The Year 5/6 curriculum is a very tightly packed one and the children will be encouraged to develop resilience and a Growth Mindset to reach their goals. Children are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and are expected to complete each piece of work to the best of their abilities organising it clearly, and in accordance with the expectations of the school’s policy for pace, presentation and performance.

As the older children in our school, children are expected to embrace their roles and responsibilities as ambassadors to their peers, by setting an excellent example in their behaviour and attitude to school life. Within the classroom and school the children have been awarded jobs and responsibilities, which they will be expected to complete autonomously and to the best of their abilities.

Here is some general information about our class.

Literacy, Language & Communication

Writing

During writing tasks, we expect pupils in year 5 and 6 to present work clearly and effectively in the cursive style that the school has adopted. Pupils should consider layout and overall presentation that is specific to the writing genre they are focussing on.

Reading

It is paramount that your child reads every day at home in order to develop fluency and understanding of a variety of text types. (30 minutes is recommended time) We encourage pupils to read a range of literature that are challenging, including texts linked to real life. Please listen to your child read every week, even if you deem them to be ‘fluent,’ as discussion about the text will help your child’s vocabulary to expand, and aid with developing their writing. Pupils will read in a focus group at least once a week and will complete a range of tasks to improve reading skills daily. Pupils will also be given their own logins to Oxford Reading Buddies, which allows the children access to a range of suitable books at their reading level. Oxford Reading Buddy is an online reading platform that allows children to read books at their own level, both at school and at home. After reading, children complete short quizzes to check their understanding and develop their reading skills. Teachers can track children’s reading and progress through the platform.

Spelling

Key Stage 2 pupils will follow the Superhero Spelling scheme - Superhero Spelling is a fun, structured approach to teaching spelling in school. Children learn spelling patterns and rules through a range of activities and regular practice, helping them to develop confidence and accuracy in their spelling.

Mathematics & Numeracy

In line with the new curriculum, pupils have been placed in a maths group that will enable them to develop their maths skills at a pace that is suitable to them. Pupils will often be allocated games and tasks via Seesaw and are expected to complete any homework set, including TTRockstars, on time. Encourage your child to rapidly recall multiplication facts to 12 x 12 at random, as well as, number bonds to multiples of 10’s, 100’s and 1000’s.  

ICT

Pupils in year 5 and 6 will be using HWB and Seesaw to complete tasks in and out of school. These platforms enable pupils to access assignments set by the class teacher and complete and submit their work.

Curriculum for Wales

Our topic this half-term is ‘What Lies Beneath.’

We are excited to explore the history of coal mining in Wales and the wider world. The children have generated questions and ideas for activities about what they would like to find out through the six key Areas of Learning.

During Literacy sessions, pupils will be developing their creative writing skills by producing a diary entry that imagines a day in the life of a Victorian child miner.

We are excited to visit Big Pit as part of our learning journey and also hope to visit the waterfront museum to learn more about mining in Wales.