Welcome to Year 1/2

Whale Class 

Our Year 1/2 Team

Teacher – Ms Davies

Learning Support Assistant - Miss Akram

Learning Support Assistant - Mrs Shafi

PPA Cover  – Mrs G. Bedford (Deputy Headteacher)

Welcome to class 1/2 at Pinders Primary School. Year 1/2 is a busy, exciting class filled with engaging and enjoyable learning experiences across all areas of the curriculum. Your child will be learning so many new things as well as growing and maturing both socially and academically. We aspire for all our children to be independent, inquisitive learners who will always try their best to be the best they can be. In our class we respect each other, are kind, considerate and good listeners.

Our Classroom - Whale Class

Each class at Pinders Primary School, is focussed around a book. The Year 1/2 classroom this year is called Whale Class and is focussed around the book 'The Snail and the Whale' by Julia Donaldson.

We have a wonderful reading corner which is themed with a magical feel, giving the children a safe, comfortable environment to enjoy a good book.

Ours School Values and Rules

This Year's Curriculum Topics and Educational Visits

Year 1/2 Topics and Educational Visits

All of KS1 follow the same curriculum topics, however the learning will be differentiated to meet the different curriculum expectations between Year 1 and Year 2.

Our topic themes are:

Autumn: Traditional Tales

Spring: Wonderful World

Summer: How Does Your Garden Grow?

In Year 1 and 2, we aim to provide the children with experience of a rich variety of environments which contribute to making learning enjoyable and that serve to extend and consolidate their learning.

Our educational visits 2023/4:

Autumn: This Greenmoon (Writing Link) and Wakefield Museum (History Link)

Spring: Sandle Castle (History Link)

Summer: Local Mosque and Church (RE Link)

Reading at Home

Reading books should be read at home EVERY day if possible. Can your child read the book independently? Can they read with pace and include expression? Can they answer different types of questions linked to our reading gems?

Help your child reach our reading target each week by listening to them read each day & signing their reading record. The target is to read at least 4 times !

Information for Parents

Check our Twitter page @PindersPrimary weekly for lots of photographs of our learning!

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

In the summer term of Year 1, your child will complete a phonics screening check. This is a statutory check which means children in Year 1 throughout the country will all be taking part in the check during the same week in June. The test contains 40 words which children will read aloud one-to-one with a teacher. The list of words is a combination of 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. It is a good indication of your child's reading progress and any child that does not pass the bench mark will be given extra support and a chance to resit the test in Year 2. Your child will receive daily phonics lessons and lots of practice of reading similar words/tests throughout the year. If you have any questions regarding the phonics screening check, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Bayliss. 

Key stage 1 national curriculum tests (SATs): information for parents

What happens when it’s SATs time?

Overview

During May, all 7 and 11 year olds take the end of Key Stage national tests (often called ‘SATs’). These tests are designed to check that children in all schools are making progress.

The law says:

• All children must take the national tests at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

• Testing must take place in May. Key Stage 1 children have the whole month to do the tests.

• 7-year-olds are tested on reading, writing, spelling and maths.

• Key Stage 1 teachers mark the tests themselves, with their marking checked by the authority’s moderators (Our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Bedford - is a previous  Local Authorities KS1 SATs moderator). This is to make sure that all results are absolutely fair.

To sum up

National tests are an important milestone in school life. They give useful information to your child’s teachers and to the government. But it’s important to get them in proportion. They are just one of the ways the school works out how well your child is doing. They shouldn’t be stressful, and in fact many children enjoy the change in routine, as long as they know they have your support and understanding.

Information leaflet and videos for parents about end of key stage assessments (often referred to as SATs) for 7 year olds - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-1-and-2-national-curriculum-tests-information-for-parents