Enhancing Education for Year 5 and 6 at Mapperley Plains Primary School

1. Wednesday 4th September Welcome to Meet The Teacher Year 5 and 6

2. Classes • Mrs Jennings Willow Class • Miss Cross- Oak Class • Mrs Battison (Mon-Wed)- Ash Class • Miss Hill (Thurs- Fri)- Ash Class • Teaching Assistants: Mrs Shaw, Mrs Sturtivant, Mrs Maddison

3. Curriculum developments at Mapperley Plains Primary School • We are currently in the process of reviewing the content of our curriculum to ensure there is a much greater emphasis on the ‘powerful knowledge’ that children need in order to not only truly understand concepts, but also to enable them to apply the knowledge, offer informed explanations, make links and spot patterns. Crucially, it will also provide them with the essential foundations for the next part of their educational journey and beyond. • Whilst we continue to use the National Curriculum as our framework, we will not limit our curriculum content to the knowledge, skills and concepts covered within it. Rather, to ensure every pupil understands there is no limit to their potential, we are raising our expectations by increasing the depth and breadth of children’s understanding. • We are currently in the process of looking at each subject and identifying the essential knowledge that we feel is the children’s entitlement – and then deciding how best to teach it. We aim to expose the children to content, which is deeper than we have taught before. • To help meet this challenge, we are producing ‘Knowledge Organisers’ which are ‘go-to’ documents outlining the essential knowledge that teachers will be covering across a unit of work; including dates, key vocabulary, definitions and other contextual or technical information.

4. Maths Groups The children are split into year groups for maths. Y5 – Miss Cross and Mrs Battison /Miss Hill Y6 – Mrs Jennings and Mrs Napier

5. Times Tables. • The National Curriculum states that by the end of Y4 all children are expected to learn their times tables up to 12 x 12. • Times Tables Rockstars will continue to be practised in both year 5 and 6. • The children will practise in school but practise at home is also essential.

6. Reading • Children can choose from fiction or non-fiction books borrowed from the schoolor bring in their own books from home. They must return school books as soon as they have finished. • On a Monday our literacy lesson is has a reading focus. • On a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we will have a half an hour reading comprehension lesson • Reading at home needs to be recorded in diaries and signed. These will be checked weekly and a star given for children who have read 5 or more times at home.

7. Spelling • We will be following the ‘No Nonsense’ spelling scheme this year in which all the spelling have been taken from the New National Curriculum- word list for year 5/6. • Each week we have a spelling test on a Monday and a new list is also given on the same day. • These spellings will be recorded in diaries. • We promote the look, cover, write and check method.

8. Big Writing • Big Writing has proved very successful and gives children the opportunity to write extended independent pieces of work. • Big Writing usually happens at the end of a unit of writing- working out about every fortnight. • Childrens Big Writes will be marked by the class teacher and will go towards their teacher assessments. • Children do have the opportunity to edit and up level their writing within the Big Write process.

9. Handwriting • Handwriting is a key focus at Mapperley Plains, we will be teaching the skill of handwriting in class and will expect to see this in the children’s work. We would appreciate any extra help with this at home! • Handwriting is discretely taught in classes as well as practised regularly across the curriculum  • Staff at Mapperley are encouraged to use neat, joined-up cursive writing for tasks including marking, when writing on the board and on displays. • Opportunities for linking phonics and spelling are used • Additional handwriting sessions are given to those children whose letter formation, joining or speed, require improvement • Children write in pencil until handwriting is considered good enough to be issued with a ‘pen licence’

10. Assessment • The children will be assessed in reading, SPaG, writing and maths at the end of each half term. • This is to inform how we support the children in the following term.

11. Homework • Weekly Spellings • Weekly Maths • Weekly English/Topic homework in home learning books • To consolidate skills which have been taught in class • Sometimes this might be research based homework • This will be recorded in their diaries

12. Extra support • Teaching assistants are timetabled to provide extra support in the classroom through differentiated activities. • Parent helpers – if you are interested, please see your child’s teacher. • For any children who do not complete their school work or homework in the given time or to the expected standard, they will be asked to go to “Catch up club” at morning break time.

13. House Points • The whole school have been split into houses – Byron, Hood, Boot and Lawrence. • Throughout the year, the children will have opportunities to win points for their house.

14. Class Rewards • Each child has a star card where they will collect stamps for positive behaviour and good work. • 10 stamps = a personal reward and 10 house points

15. Class Sanctions • We have a ladder system in the classroom. All children begin the day at the top of the ladder on “ready to learn”. • If throughout the day they are not showing positive learning behaviours they move down the ladder which could result in indoor supervision.

16. Being Organised! • Please ensure uniforms, including P.E kits, are labelled. • P.E is taught on various days so please ensure full P.E kits are in school during the week. • Please check and sign diaries each week • Notes for staff in diary-make sure your child tells the teacher! • Working towards independence- My Mum/Dad forgot… is not accepted as an excuse.

17. Start of the school day • Children should arrive at school for the start of the school day at 8:50am. They should not arrive at school early as no supervision is provided. • If you wish to speak to your child's teacher please make an appointment with the office or we will be around at the end of a day on the bridge or at the door beside Clover class.

18. Experiences & Extra curricular activities • We try to organise a visit/visitor each half-term to enrich the curriculum • Residential trip to PGL (18th-20th September) • Historian visiting in the Autumn term. • visitors throughout the year. • A variety of sports clubs throughout the year.