Class 2
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
Louisa May Alcott
Welcome to the wonderful world of Class 2! In our class, we are encouraged to explore new things, we embrace our curious minds, and we feel empowered to be ourselves.
Our class ethos is built around mutual respect and kindness towards one another. We build a culture of acceptance and inclusion where we strive for every child to feel excited about coming to school in a morning. In Class 2, we embrace mistakes as opportunities to learn. During this crucial stage in a child’s development, we not only believe that securing our skills in core lessons is important, but we also focus on the personal development of the individual child. We provide a safe space for children to express their feelings, knowing they will have the full support of the adults in school.
In Key Stage 1, even though the children begin their formal learning, every opportunity is taken to ensure the learning is practical and relevant to the children’s interests. Lessons are reactive to how well the children understand their learning each day, which ensures no child is left behind.
Year One children are guided and fully supported through the transition period from Foundation Stage into Year One. This is achieved through transition mornings and a full week dedicated to Investors in Pupils. Investors in Pupils focuses on creating mutually agreed rules and values as a class and deciding on jobs to enrol in as part of their learning journey. Class 2’s jobs include bookcase monitors to ensure our books are respected, and eco-monitors to ensure we are mindful of our impact on the environment.
Year Two pupils take a step further in their learning journey during this time as, at the end of the year, they take government-based tests. The results of these assessments are shared externally, and the outcome of the results indicate any areas we need to address in order to support the children as they move forward in their learning journey.
Our curriculum is delivered in an exciting way where we endeavour to incorporate active learning to develop children’s fine and gross motor skills. Year One study Read, Write Inc in the mornings where we use ‘Fred Frog’ as a character to stimulate children’s phonetic knowledge. Year 2 study Literacy and GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) through texts and activities related to topic and other enriching texts. Children have reading logs which go home daily for parents to hear the children read. In mathematics, learning is very practical and involves lots of equipment such as Numicon and Base 10. We focus on fluency as well as the key problem solving and reasoning skills to secure children’s understanding.
After lunch, we have ‘Topic afternoons’ twice a week where the children can ‘choose’ their learning. Even though we have specific afternoons to focus on our topic, we integrate our topic into other subjects. We have P.E twice a week and participate in sports tournaments throughout the year. Science is taught through practical activities where children are able to make their own scientific enquiries. We are fortunate enough to be able to use our superb locality to go on ‘welly walks’ where we explore our surroundings and observe seasonal change.
Finally, we appreciate the value that an excellent home-school relationship can bring to a child’s development. We provide regular updates on Class 2 life, and share guidance on how learning can be supported at home.
Teacher: Mrs C Dodding
Teaching Assistant: Mrs J Grindle
