Willow Class

Important Information

Curriculum

We follow the National curriculum and incorporate all subject areas using a topic based approach. Our class topics are carefully planned based on the children's interests. This ensures that the children receive broad, balanced and engaging curriculum. 

 English

We have recently adopted Pathways to Write  - 'The Literacy company', which is proven methodology built around units of work which develop vocabulary, reading and writing skills through the mastery approach.  The units provide clear detailed lesson plans and resources, linked to high-quality texts to ensure engaging and purposeful writing opportunities.

RWI

Children in Willow Class follow our RWI scheme. Here the children are grouped according to their reading ability and receive tailored support in order to develop their decoding and comprehension skills. We greatly value these sessions as reading underpins everything. If you could listen to your child read as often as possible this would greatly help.  

Spellings

Children in Year 2 follow the Spelling Shed scheme and are given spellings linked to the unit they are currently working on and supported activities to support embedding these spellings.   All children are supported with common exception words to practise throughout the week.

Maths

Our school follows White Rose Maths. Through this scheme the children are exposed to key mathematical terminology and have the opportunity to develop their problem solving and reasoning skills.

P.E.

Our P.E. sessions are taught by the amazing Jack Procter!  P.E. is on a Tuesday afternoon.

Assessment

Throughout the year, children are formally and informally assessed. Whether this is through questioning, writing tasks or reading. Or through specific assessment papers. Formal assessments are as stated below.

 Year 1 Phonics Screening Check

The Year 1 phonics screening check is not a formal test, but a way for teachers to ensure that children are making sufficient progress with their phonics skills to read words and that they are on track to become fluent readers who can enjoy reading for pleasure and for learning. This assessment typically takes place in June.

KS1 SATS

At the end of Year 2, children are required to take KS1 SATs. There are 3 papers in total, English, Maths and Reading. SATs are used to reflect the level your child is working at. We generally try to keep the testing procedure informal – the papers are not strictly timed, and are usually taken in a normal classroom situation to keep the pressure off children. 

For more information on KS1 SATS, check out this website. https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/primary-school-assessment-tests/ks1-sats/