Year 6

Welcome to Year Six

Welcome to our Year 6 page. This is a very important year, as your child will shortly take the end of Key Stage 2 tests in May, and prepare for their transition to secondary school. Our expectations of pupils are extremely high and we foster an attitude of maturity and independence. This involves the children taking responsibility for their own equipment and ensuring that they always carry their school planner with them, something which will be important in secondary school. The pace of work in year 6 is very different to the other year groups in the school; it is faster and more intense. We often practise working under timed conditions in preparation for the KS2 tests.

Attendance & Punctuality

Attending school regularly and punctually are important habits that will help your child in their future working life. School doors open at 8:30 a.m. and we ask that all children arrive before the register is taken at 8:45 a.m.

Teaching & Learning

In most curriculum areas, children will be taught within whole class groups, supported where appropriate by the different adults in the year group. In maths, we may occasionally split into smaller groups across the year group in order to target the work and the pace more accurately to the needs of the children. Groups are assessed on a regular basis in order to ensure we are meeting the needs of all children.

Maths

Mental maths skills are a significant part of the curriculum and tests, and children will be required to learn all multiplication tables up to 12 x 12 at home. It is vital that they are confident with instant recall of multiplication tables and their related division facts, as this is the basis for all year 6 maths work. Telling the time is another essential skill that you can help them to learn. Many will already be able to tell the time but their understanding can be extended by looking at timetables for transport, cinemas, sporting events etc.

Reading

We encourage children to read for pleasure and allow regular opportunities to borrow books from our school library. We strongly recommend that children regularly read books at home; we expect children to read a variety of genres and to be heard to read aloud regularly at home. We would encourage parents to discuss texts that the children have read in order to develop their comprehension skills. A note of this should be recorded in children’s planners.

Recommended websites:

http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Books/Children

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/

Topic work

Autumn term

Spring term

Summer term

Water

World War 2

Global Trade

Crime and Punishment

The humanities and arts will be predominantly taught through a topic approach and cross curricular links will be made to other subjects areas such as English where appropriate.

P.E.

P.E. takes place on Mondays and Wednesdays and children should come to school wearing P.E. kits on those days. P.E. kits consists of a plain white/yellow/blue t-shirt, dark blue/black shorts, dark blue/black jogging pants, a long sleeved sweatshirt for outdoor lessons and pumps or trainers. Please note that only these items will be accepted as P.E. kit. All children are expected to participate in P.E. as part of the curriculum unless the class teacher has been informed in writing by the parent/carer that, due to medical reasons, the child cannot take part in the lesson. All children with long hair must have it tied back with a band for P.E. and no jewellery (including earrings) should be worn.

Homework

A range of homework activities are uploaded on google classrooms every half term. Each child has their own personal login which is in their planner for reference. We provide extra homework activities in maths and English on the run up to the SATs tests and will provide extra information on this in the Spring term.

If you wish to do a do a bit more, here are some recommended websites:

http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage (excellent for maths investigations & puzzles)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

Planners

Each child is given a planner at the start of the academic year. Please encourage your child to take responsibility for their planner and bring it into school every day. Notes in the planners are an effective means of communication between teachers and parents; therefore if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to write a note and remind your child to show it to their teacher. This will also be used as your child’s reading record. Please note that planners will not be checked by teachers unless children are changing their reading books, so any communication from home needs to be shown by the child.

Classroom & Equipment

School provides all the basic equipment needed for your child’s class work. These will be replaced when they are worn out, not lost. Please make sure your child’s personal property/clothing is labelled clearly. Children are able to bring a labelled screw-topped water bottle which can be kept in your child’s class throughout the day and taken home every night. The bottle should contain plain water unless there are special dietary requirements which need to be discussed with the class teacher. We politely request that children do not bring large pencil cases into class as they do not fit into their trays.