Autumn Term Welcome Meeting Year 3

Year 3 staff: Year 3 Monkey Puzzle: Miss Prank – teacher all week Mrs James – TA all week PPA staff: Mrs Holman (MP) Mrs Spring (MP) Year 3 Chestnut Mrs Day – teacher on Monday and Tuesday Mrs Bartlam – teacher on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Mrs Clarke – TA all week PPA staff: Ms Clarke

What the children will be learning this year:

All our subjects are part of the National Curriculum and are planned by all of the class teachers in your child’s year group. The curriculum overview details the topics covered over the year and is on the website. More detailed information about year group expectations can be found on the website under Curriculum.

Main topics Autumn term – Journeys through Europe (comparing weather and place) Spring term – The local area including rivers and the water cycle Summer term –Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron age Please let us know if you have any special interest/knowledge in these areas and would like to come and talk to us!

Mastery What does it mean?

Maths Mastery The idea behind mastery is that all children need a deep understanding of the mathematics they are learning so that: future learning is built on solid foundations; there is no need for separate catch-up programmes; attainment is raised for all children The national curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics reason mathematically can solve problems The current national curriculum document says: “The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace…Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.”

Maths Mastery Teaching for mastery keeps the class working together on the same topic, whilst at the same time addressing the need for all pupils to master the curriculum and, for some, to gain greater depth of proficiency and understanding. Challenge is provided by going deeper rather than accelerating into new content. More time is spent on teaching topics to allow for depth and sufficient practice. Carefully crafted lessons provide a scaffolded, conceptual journey, encouraging pupils to reason and develop mathematical thinking. Achieving mastery is not just being able to memorise key facts and procedures and answer test questions accurately and quickly. It means being able to use one’s knowledge appropriately, flexibly and creatively and to apply it in new and unfamiliar situations. The mastery approach includes a belief that all pupils are capable of understanding and doing mathematics, given sufficient time. With good teaching, appropriate resources, effort and a ‘can do’ attitude all children can achieve in and enjoy maths. The mastery curriculum is one set of mathematical concepts and big ideas for all. All pupils need access to these concepts and ideas and to the rich connections between them. There is no such thing as ‘special needs mathematics’ or ‘gifted and talented mathematics’. Mathematics, its key ideas and building blocks, are important for everyone.

Maths Fluency Children will take part in daily sessions (up to 15 minutes a day), rehearsing core facts from their curriculum, covering key areas which require increased practice. Regular rehearsal allows children to access the maths curriculum more confidently and easily. Time is provided to allow them to assimilate facts that they have learnt and see these applied in a range of contexts. Over each half term the areas and question types stay constant but increase in complexity, gradually allowing the children to become more secure and confident.

Mastery in English For each year group, the Mastery English curriculum is built around high quality, whole-class texts which the class spend a half term exploring and enjoying. The texts are carefully chosen to link with other areas of the curriculum, particularly humanities. A typical learning sequence includes: A hook to fully engage and interest the children Responding to reading activities to allow immersion in and exploration of the text Capturing ideas which include drama and talk to support understanding and develop vocabulary Possibilities for contextualised teaching of grammar Sentence games to develop creativity, vocabulary, language and grammar A range of writing tasks including extended writing Opportunities to evaluate, edit and re-draft

Spellings There is more emphasis on spelling and grammar in the current curriculum. We are following a spelling programme across KS2: ‘Read Write Inc. Spelling’ which is a 15-minutes-a-day programme covering all the spelling requirements of the National Curriculum. It uses a proven approach underpinned by phonics. This means that spelling activities will happen daily and children will be tested regularly. Parents will be informed of the spelling rules and patterns.

Words to learn Homework books will also have their spellings in and will look like :- Children will be assessed on their ability to apply spelling skills in their written work.

Science This year we are continuing to use an exciting scheme called Empiribox It is based on fun, practical activities, demonstrations and investigations The children will learn about areas of Physics, Chemistry and Biology on a four year programme

Enrichment activities for the year All visits organised by the school are important for your child's learning and development. They may not necessarily be a trip outside of the school, but could be a ‘day of enrichment’ provided within the school. Autumn Term French café Spring Term Visit around local area Summer Term Celtic harmony camp Pet week Please make sure you: Return permission slips on time Offer to come and help if you can!

Reading at home Bengeo Primary School places a lot of importance on reading, both at school and at home Children are given many opportunities for reading and talking about books at school. We expect them to read at home and out loud to an adult as well as discussing the text Please fill in their reading record

Homework In Year 3 we expect daily reading and book discussion (recorded in reading records) One week is a maths focus and one is an english focus based on class learning. Holiday homework – all research based and optional Homework helps to develop essential skills such as time management, organisation, task completion as well as responsibility. It also contributes to the mastery of key skills and knowledge

PE PE days – MP: Indoor PE – Monday; Outdoor PE – Wednesday (Mrs Holman) Chestnut: Outdoor PE – Monday; Indoor PE – Wednesday PE kit: navy blue shorts, white round-necked T-shirt, trainers for outdoor PE, tracksuit bottoms in cold weather. Bare feet for gymnastics/dance. Earrings must be taken out or covered with tape

Break Time Snacks As part of our Healthy School’s status, we are trying to promote healthy snacks at break time We have children in the School with severe allergies so we would appreciate your support by giving your child a healthy snack of fresh fruit or vegetables

Wet weather Please ensure children bring in coats every day as they will be expected to go out at playtimes, whatever the weather! If possible children should have plimsolls in school to wear in the classroom if the weather is wet and the ground muddy.

Attendance and punctuality

Thank you for coming! Our partnership is essential to your child's education. We value your help and support.