It was great to welcome the children back to school and to year four this week. Whilst we are still encouraging plenty of hand-washing and ensuring lots of ventilation through the classroom, much of what we have missed during the pandemic has returned and school is getting back to normal. The children have really enjoyed going out to play without the barriers and bubbles! It’s also lovely to have the children working in groups rather than sitting in the rows of desks of the last eighteen months.
This week, we have learnt about strategies for learning and reflected on what our school mission statement and our golden rules mean to us. We’re looking forward to our full timetable in the week ahead and beginning swimming lessons on Thursday.
The children should each have brought home their school reading book today. I would encourage them to read this alongside their own choice of book from home/ the library/ the class library, etc. and invite them to use their reading record as diary of their reading. It would still be great if the children had the chance to read with someone at home and talk about the books they are enjoying too.
We will start our formal home learning via the Google Classroom next Friday.
It opens up endless worlds and helps us share and achieve our dreams. English knits everything we do together and gives us our voice. In our learning across the curriculum, we gain the confidence and skills to use our voice effectively: to share our ideas, to stand up for what is right and to achieve our goals and ambitions.
Reading
Learning to read is one of the most important things that we can do.
Reading unlocks new avenues of knowledge, fires our imaginations, enriches our vocabulary and helps us to understand and value the diversity of the world we live in.
There are two skills we need in learning to read: word reading and comprehension.
Skilled word reading involves swiftly recognising the printed words that we know, whilst rapidly working out how to say those words that are less familiar. To do this, we need to understand that the letters on the page are linked to sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics is so important in our early teaching of reading
Good comprehension brings together our knowledge of language and our knowledge of the world. Our teachers use their skills to help us develop comprehension skills through our shared reading, our reading lessons and through discussions of stories, poems and non-fiction.
We teach phonics and early reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. You can find out more about our approach to phonics and early reading here.
In key stage two, we teach reading every day. Our learning is rooted in high quality texts and shares the thematic approach of our learning in English. This supports children to become critical readers and encourages them to make comparisons and connections between the books that we explore each half term.
We think it is important to read widely across fiction and non-fiction. Collins Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is our reading scheme in foundation and year one, and Collins’ Big Cat is our core scheme as we explore and extend our reading preferences beyond phonics in year two and throughout key stage two.
Our reading scheme helps us to grow as fluent readers. Everyone has a reading book selected from the reading scheme. Our teachers choose the colour band of the book carefully to match the instructional level of reading. This is the level where we have the ‘right’ amount of challenge for developing and practising new reading strategies.
In tandem with our reading scheme, we choose our own books to read and share from our class and school libraries, from home and beyond. This gives us the chance to explore different story-worlds, topics and authors and to find out what kind of books we really love.
We know that reading for enjoyment is important. We know that there is a strong link between reading for pleasure, how well we do at school and our emotional well-being. The adults in our school read to us daily and this helps to spark our different interests and fuel our love of reading.
By the time we leave St Adrian’s, teachers make sure that we can read fluently and with confidence in any subject.
The teaching sequence for writing
Our teaching in English is rooted in our shared enjoyment of high quality texts.
Across each half-term, our English lessons are based on a wide range of significant and high quality children’s literature. The books we learn from are are chosen to engage, challenge and support us to become confident and informed writers.
We are taught new skills at the start of each year that reflect the expectations of the national curriculum. The cyclical approach of the teaching sequence for writing enables us to practise, secure and master these skills across the year and to build upon the foundational learning of previous year groups.
Children’s progress through the curriculum is summarised in the following documents.
Through shared reading, we are immersed in the world of the author. Through our talk and through shared writing, we learn to imitate the authors we read and to innovate with the ideas we encounter. As we grow in confidence, we use our ever-expanding writer’s tool-kit to invent, create, edit and author our own texts.
Our Strands Tracker tracks the development of our writer’s tool-kit across the key stages.
Intent
During this academic year, from September 2023 through to July 2024, we are reviewing our long-term plan for English to make stronger links with our learning in other areas of the curriculum. We will also be sharing some brilliant books as a whole school. The first of these is Oliver Jeffer’s ‘Here We Are.’
As we make these changes, the texts that we root our learning in may not correspond with those linked below.
Year 1
Click on each year group’s bookshelf to view our curriculum intent for each year group.
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Spelling
It is important to be able to spell quickly and accurately.
We learn to spell by knowing the link between letters and sounds and by understanding how words and spellings are structured.
We start teaching phonics in Nursery/Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. You can learn more about our approach to phonics teaching here.
Following phase 5, we use ‘No Nonsense Spelling’ which has been written to meet the spelling requirements of the national curriculum for year two through to year six.
Neat and fluent handwriting is an important part of sharing our ideas.
When we first learn to write, we learn to print our letters. Our learning in phonics helps us to learn the correct letter formation for each grapheme and make the link between the mnemonic of our phonics programme and the letter.
Once we have learnt to form each letter correctly, we begin to learn how to join digraphs. This is usually in Year 1.
In Year 2, we begin to learn to join all of our writing. We learn to join our letters using a script developed by Debbie Hepplewhite. This is a style with two main joins: a diagonal join, which starts on the line, and a washing-line (or smile) join.
By the time we reach the end of key stage two, we can write confidently and legibly in joined handwriting when writing at speed
You can find more about our handwriting style here.
Our Grammar Glossary details the grammatical concepts taught in each year group. You will see that new learning for each year is identified and sits alongside learning from previous classes.
French is introduced in Year 3 and studied weekly with a French specialist teacher until the children leave at the end of Year 6.
At St Adrian’s we endeavor to make lessons stimulating and enjoyable and build confidence through lots of praise. We aim to foster an interest in language learning by introducing children to the French language in an inclusive way that is accessible to all pupils.
We aim to develop children’s confidence in speaking in the target language by encouraging them to join in songs, rhymes stories and games, which enable them to practise the language in an enjoyable and non-threatening way.
We strive to help our pupils develop their awareness of cultural similarities and differences. We seek to lay the foundations for future language study by our pupils whilst supporting linguistic understanding of their first language.
Relationships Education has become statutory for all primary schools from the summer term of 2021. For all schools, Sex Education as part of the Science curriculum remains the same.
We will post important, relevant and up-to-date information on online safety and wellbeing here. As with all aspects of your child’s education, learning and wellbeing, close school/home relationship is the best way to support children, parents and carers. Navigating the internet so your family can benefit from all it has to offer, while protecting your young people, can be complicated and time-consuming. These resource should help. Please feedback with successes and particular issues so we can inform other parents and carers.
Could your family do with a “reset” on digital use? To start 2024 there are some New Year Digital Resolutions below….
HfL produces a termly newsletter to update parents and carers on current online safety issues. The latest edition will be published here.
The organisations below publish authoritative, relevant information on online safety and their websites are updated. Together with ChildLine, they are the first places to go to to if you have queries or worries about your child or young person online.
Internet Matters has some guides for parents around setting up devices at home, and enabling home broadband filtering for each specific provider. https://www.internetmatters.org/setupsafe/
There’s no denying that the way we use tech continues to evolve. Let’s pledge some New Year resolutions to take on tech with a new approach, where we’re in control and can enjoy the advantages it brings.
Resolution 1 – We will speak more kindly online
Words matter. Whether spoken out loud or posted online, what we say to each other has an impact. This resolution means that, as a family, you’ll avoid online conflict (like engaging in arguments on Facebook, saying mean things out of frustration while gaming, or criticising a stranger’s outfit on Instagram), and instead pledge to say kind or encouraging things whenever possible. You can use our ‘What Are Your Words Worth’ activity pack to find more information, ideas, and ways to explain to the whole family what this resolution is all about. Find it here.
Resolution 2 – We will have healthier screentime habits, including mobile phones
If your family rules got thrown out the window over Christmas, you’re certainly not alone! Now that the New Year is here, it’s time to get everyone back on track. A lot of New Year resolutions fail because the expectations aren’t reasonable, so keep any ideas for new screentime limits realistic. A good example would be to have a device-free dinner time including all mobile phones. Use our Family Screen Time activity pack to help the whole family make better screentime decisions all year round.
Resolution 3 – We will be cyber-secure
Being privacy and security aware is one of the greatest tools for creating a safer online experience for the whole family. This resolution could include doing things like creating better passwords, learning how to spot dodgy links and emails and keeping scam aware. To help you on your way, check out our Cyber Security Toolkit for children. You’ll find more helpful articles and ideas in our Online Safety section.
Resolution 4 – We will use tech together to learn and explore
What are your most visited sites, platforms, or apps? For most of us, the answer is probably a social media site but there’s also a whole online world full of interesting platforms that can help us learn new and exciting things. You could learn a new skill to try together, like making simple origami or learning a new language. Watch our video for more hints about learning a language online.
Resolution 5 – We will stay in the loop of safeguarding news and alerts
Through our Home Learning Hub, and Safer Schools App (available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store), you can use practical tools to help you stay in the know. You can also listen to our weekly Safeguarding Soundbytes podcast. It’s free, easy to access, and delivers the latest safeguarding news in a ‘byte sized’ way. You can also sign up to our Online Safeguarding Hub newsletter. For the young people in your care, we have recently launched the brand-new Online Safety Show. Find it on our Safeguarding Apps and on Teach Hub.
We have a dedicated group of students from Year 5 and 6 who are supporting the well-being of their peers and friends by positive problem solving and finding solutions.
This an important life skill which will support everyday life from now until adulthood.
ELECTRIC UMBRELLA WORKSHOP
As part of Children’s Mental Health Week, we invited Electric Umbrella in to entertain with an inspiring message – There’s no such thing as normal! is their motto. ‘ Sing like no one’s listening, dance like no one’s watching, give like no one’s giving and laugh like no one’s judging!’ We certainly did all of that! The group create amazing live music experiences with learning disabled people. In doing so, they help change the way the world looks at them – and others.
‘On Thursday, we were treated to a workshop called Electric Umbrella, it is about how people with disabilities come together and enjoy life.
There was lots of singing and dancing, it was a lot of fun. They made our teachers sing, dance, and have a fun time too.
They picked children to tell very funny jokes to make everyone laugh.
We were able to see how having a disability doesn’t mean you cannot have fun.’ By Jessica
‘My experience of Electric Umbrella was a beautiful moment. The funny thing was the lady asked who would like to sing but i thought she said who would like to pay the guitar so I put up my hand. Then I realised my mistake but my friends wanted me to sing like noone was listening. Then I sang like a proper singer. After I sang, I wanted to play the guitar an the small melody I played made everyone smile, I hope!
I hope Electric Umbrella will carry on making people happy and inspiring them and i hope i will see them once again as they have inspired me to sing my heart out and to never be shy and I have realised it does not matter who you are or what you look like. Anyone can achieve anything if they have the right approach and guidance to do what they want to do- practise makes progress! I hope Electric Umbrella will continue their legacy together making people happy and I wish them all the best!’ By Gabriel
We are proud to introduce the Caritas Ambassadors for 2024-2025. The children were blessed and welcomed into the service of our school in the Mercy Mass by Father Francis in September. We celebrated our Mercy Mass and reminded our school community about the importance of the Mercy Charism in our school.
The Chaplaincy Team will be taking part in the masses and liturgies throughout the school year.
Thank you children for your dedicated service.
Visits to Feed, our local Food Bank
Smile at Someone
This year, the Chaplaincy Team have visited Feed, the Food Bank in St Albans to find out more about this charity. As a result of this visit, they helped to organise our Harvest Appeal and a great deal of items were collected to support families in need in St Albans.
On Sunday 5th February, Racial Justice Sunday will take place. The Chaplaincy Team led our assembly thinking about what it means to be fair and just and how we should treat everyone with kindness. We talked about us all being part of the human race and we are all united! We also sang a lovely song called ‘ Children United’
It was great to meet so many of you at our ‘Meet the teacher’ meeting last week. Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it – I’ll look forward to getting to know you in September.
Last week, Mr Bedford wrote to your parents about returning to school in September. One of the things that he wrote about was the equipment we use in school. Mr Bedford said that for the equipment we use all of the time, like pens and pencils, we should try to keep our own items. He asked that, if possible, we bring our own pencil case to school.
It would be helpful if your pencil case included these items:
a pencil
a pencil sharpener (tub-style to catch sharpenings)
a rubber
a short (15cm) ruler
a glue stick
a set of colour pencils (12 colours should be fine)
a pair of children’s safety scissors
You will need to keep this pencil case in school and you will be able to leave it in your locker at the end of each day.
Don’t worry if you are not able to get a pencil case. We will do our best to ensure that our school equipment is not shared.
Have a lovely summer holiday and I am really looking forward to seeing you all back in school in September.
