Younger Team

Team Leaders
Mrs Neale and Mrs Rowland

Year 1/2 pastoral teachers
Mrs Cranmer/Ms Dobson, Miss Hills, Miss Earl

Additional staff supporting Younger Team
Mrs Peach, Mr Axford, Mrs Butler, Mrs Nijjar, Mrs Burke, Miss Stone.

Spelling
Spelling is taught in Years 1 and 2 using a mixture of phonics and other methods. Additional detailed guidance on supporting your child to learn spelling lists is given in a guide for parents/carers. The children have weekly spelling quizzes and new words are sent home as part of home learning. The children keep them for a week to practise ready for the spelling quiz. Extra lists of spellings that are specific to each year group will also be sent home during the year.

PE
Your child’s PE kit must be in school every day with each item named. Children need to have shorts (not baggy) and a red T-shirt, as well as a pair of trainers. A sweatshirt and joggers are needed for outside PE during the winter if it is cold. Trainers are also used when running the mile or additional outdoor activities. PE will usually be on Monday and Thursday.

Parental Help
We always welcome parents who wish to come in to help, whether this is on a regular basis or just occasionally for special days and projects – please contact your child’s main teacher(s).

The School Day
Doors open at 8:40am. The morning session runs from 8:45-12:00. Lunch is between 12:00-1:00pm. Afternoons are 1:00-3:15.

Arrival & Registration
On arrival, children put their things away and then go to their registration groups. This is a time to talk to friends, read a book or complete a morning activity. Sometimes children can continue with learning activities set by teachers.
The children will stay in their own pastoral groups for registration.

Pastoral Lead Teacher
Throughout the week the children will be taught by different teachers in the team, making use of individual teacher’s expertise. However, your child will have one main teacher (or pair if a job-share) that oversees his/her progress and development across a year. This will be the teacher you will see at parents meetings and be your main point of contact.

Learning groups
In Years 1 and 2 learning groups are determined by the activity and vary in number and size. The children can be grouped by age and/or ability depending on the curriculum area. These can be within a single pastoral group, across the team (including Foundation Stage) or in year groups.

Snacks and Water
Younger Team children have a short break at a flexible time in the morning. A healthy fruit or vegetable snack is currently provided for all children, although parents may prefer to send their own. Please see your parent information pack for the list of healthy snacks but please remember not to send anything with nuts. The children are encouraged to drink water throughout the day. A lack of water is a major cause of fatigue. Drinking water re-hydrates the brain, promoting healthy and more alert and awake children. For this reason, the children need to bring in a named water bottle which they have access to throughout the day. Please remember to check the children have them at the end of the day. Book bags and water bottles do not go well together! Please can the bottles be put in a plastic bag in the book bag just in case of spillages on books.

Home Learning
Home learning encompasses any activity pupils are asked to do outside of school. This could be reading every day, learning spellings for the weekly quiz, maths on occasions or a topical research project once a term. Home learning does not necessarily need to be written. It could be creating a piece of art, baking cakes, designing a structure, playing games or something else entirely!

Jolly Phonics and Letters and Sounds
Jolly Phonics and Letters and Sounds are schemes we use flexibly in school, that provide a systematic way of learning phonemes, using a multi-sensory approach. Foundation Stage follow a plan to introduce sounds which Year 1 and Year 2 follow on from, linking sounds for reading and spelling. This is taught throughout the week and reinforced with the weekly spellings that are sent home. The booklet given to each child in Foundation Stage with Jolly Phonics sounds and actions is still useful to support learning at home.

Reading
The use of reading schemes will differ according to each child’s needs. This may vary and change through the year. Children are encouraged to take home books to promote a love of reading. ‘Spot books’ support reading through all stages of the school’s reading schemes. We normally send home two reading scheme books and the children choose two corresponding spot books independently. Reading scheme books are changed by staff weekly. However, children have the opportunity to change spot books daily and share books with their peers.

Library
Children have the opportunity to visit one of our school libraries at least once a fortnight to choose books. We value parental help to facilitate this. Please contact your child’s teacher if this is an area that you think you could help with.