New Parents’ Curriculum Meeting September 2013

1. Girls have outperformed boys in reading at KS1, KS2 and KS3 every year since 1998 1 in 3 children do not own a book. I in 3 children never have a bedtime story. 62% of young boys would rather watch television than read a book. 1 in 6 people in the UK have the literacy level expected of an 11 year old. New Parents’ Curriculum Meeting September 2013

2. Fact! The role of parents during a child’s earliest years is the single biggest influence on their development. Reading for pleasure has been identified as the single most important factor for future success at school. Children who like reading are 5 times more likely to be above average readers.

3. Prime area of learning:Personal, Social & Emotional Development • Making relationships – with friends and adults in school. • Self-confidence and self- awareness. • Managing feelings and behaviour.

4. Prime area of learning: Physical development • Large movements and co-ordination – managing yourself in space. • Small movements to develop fine motor control e.g. sorting using fingers or plastic tweezers, using scissors, scrunching up paper. • Doing and undoing buttons, managing zips, putting on and taking off shoes and coats. • Health and self-care.

5. Prime area of learning:Communication and Language • Listening and attention. • Understanding. • Speaking.

6. Specific Areas: LiteracyHow we support mark making and early writing • Any mark on paper is an important first step. Can be squiggles, lines and pictures. • The next stage is to say what these marks mean to them. “This says ‘To Mummy’.” • Initial letters come next, to denote words as they write, at this stage you’ll spot a ‘m’ for mummy. As the children learn more about sounds they start to fill in some of the middle sounds and end sounds. • This gradually develops into short words, phrases and then simple sentences. • We give children opportunities inside and outside to develop this skill in a range of different ways – writing on whiteboards, paper, mini books, chalk boards and in sand. • We encourage children to “have a go” rather than worry about every single sound in a word.

7. How we teach PHONICS • Children are put into groups which suit their ability. • We teach phonics for 15 minutes Mon-Thurs with consolidation throughout the week and a handwriting session linked to phonics on a Friday. • Activities are varied and ensure children are active learners we try to take phonics outside from time to time. • Children will be taught letter sounds in a particular way, it is not alphabetical.

8. Reading • Textless texts! Children sometimes start with books with no words as this develops their speaking and listening skills – they should use the pictures to re-tell the story. You can ask them questions or tell them what you think might be happening. • First words. As children are introduced to letters in phonics they can begin to say the letter sounds and blend these sounds to make words e.g. c-a-t cat! • Making sense. We encourage children to use a range of strategies when reading – using picture clues, memory, repetition, sounding out words where possible and using the context of the sentence.

9. What should I say? • When you are sharing a story with your child see if they can answer questions about what is happening and more probing questions about the characters feelings and actions e.g. How would he feel when he lost his teddy? Why does it say that Mum shouted? What was your favourite part ofthe story?

10. How to help your child become a writer • Writing their name - Holding their pencil correctly and comfortably so they can control their writing. - Forming letters in the correct way. - Using a capital letter and then lower case letters. - Being able to say the letter sounds for the letters in their names. • Write to them! Notes, messages, warning signs, letters, cards, invitations, secrets and magic! Get them to write to the tooth fairy and Father Christmas. They always write back!

11. Mathematics • Numbers • Counting • Ordering • Mathematical language • Basic calculation ( + and -) • 2D and 3D shape recognition • Problem solving

12. How to help your child at home with maths • Count anything and everything!!! Number of cups needed, number of apples in a bowl, number of smarties left! • Practise writing numbers – number formation is tricky! • Look for shapes in your house, on the way to school or at the park – packaging is particularly good for 3D shapes.

13. How to help your child at home • Play shops at home with real coins. • Look at the time – show children what time you do things e.g. what time do they get up/go to bed/have lunch – work on the times to the hour and on the half hour at first. Throw in some fraction work for fun! • Talk about maths all around you everyday, measure, weigh, estimate, count, sort, group, divide and calculate.

14. Other ‘Specific’ areas of learning:Understanding of the World • Exploring outside – the world • Construction • Technology • People and communities -talking about their lives and the lives of their families

15. Expressive Arts and Design • Singing songs • Exploring instruments and creating sounds • Listening to music • Dancing • Being imaginative -role play • Drawing & painting, designing and making • Collage • Junk modelling

16. Keeping us informed… • Guess what I did at home…..

17. Topics and themes Dinosaurs, mud, water, worms, castles, dragons, princesses, monsters, aliens, cakes, sweets, diggers, paint, animals, holes, weather, noise, police, houses, superheroes, maps, spaghetti, flags, pets, hairdressers, space, farms, babies, bodies, words, books, flowers, journeys, bugs, words, pirates, more words, books, germs, books, countries and more books…..

18. Thank you and remember… Good quality home learning contributes more to children’s intellectual and social development than parental occupation, education or income. • Any questions?