Welcome to Year 2!
Staff: Mrs Jenks, Miss McKinstry and Mrs Smillie
In Year 2, the children are the eldest in Key Stage One and set a sterling example to the younger children in school. We constantly demonstrate our school values of “Respect, Ambition and Pride”. As the children embark on their final year of Key Stage 1, we encourage the children to become more independent, resilient learners.
In Year Two we have a broad and balanced curriculum, which is rich in creativity and based on the National Curriculum; which ensures that the children learn and develop skills appropriate for their year group. We work hard to develop our existing skills as well as learning lots of new and exciting skills. We are aware that children have missed learning due to Covid-19 which is why we also cover any missed learning objectives through our engaging, creative curriculum.
We plan as a Key Stage and work closely together and collaborate with planning to ensure progression. We study: The Great Fire of London, Grace Darling and Neil Armstrong in History. We also study maps, climates, UK Cities and Australia in Geography lessons along with other areas taken from the National Curriculum.
We understand that learning is a personal journey and unique for each individual child. Children are provided with support to develop the skills needed to meet their learning objectives. We scaffold learning to meet the needs of the child through the use of creative and interactive lessons. We ensure that we promote a love of learning, all lessons taught are engaging and challenging. Our daily WOW time provides children with the opportunity to “Show what they know!”, putting their retrieval skills into practice! We ensure that every child has plenty of opportunity to recap prior learning to ensure knowledge is embedded. Children are encouraged to do their own research at home alongside any of our topics and bring any relevant home learning into school to share with the class.
We have a reading rich curriculum and develop a passion for reading through regular reading opportunities. The children have access to the classroom library at all times and also visit the school library weekly. As teachers, we enjoy sharing enthralling texts that capture the imaginations of all children and adults alike! Children are encouraged to read as often as possible and to develop a love of books. Our exciting online reading scheme ‘Reading Eggs’ is a great way for children to engage with a large range of texts whilst providing opportunities to develop comprehension skills. In Year 2 we enjoy reading lots of different styles of texts throughout the year including Traction Man, Fantastic Mr Fox and traditional stories and stories from other cultures. We also read a range of non-fiction and poetry books. All our texts are carefully chosen to interest the children and stimulate writing. Reading regularly at home is very important to help children increase their fluency, understanding and enjoyment of a wide variety of texts. Please record any reading in their learning journals.
We ensure that verbal and written feedback is provided and is meaningful to the child. We use “live marking” to ensure that children are aware of the feedback and that it is purposeful to them. Children are given “Fix It” time to amend any mistakes and respond to feedback. Children are also provided with regular “Gold Star” challenges to give them the opportunity to apply their learning in a variety of different contexts.
Children are provided with Enrichment Experiences throughout the year which allows opportunities for children to explore the wider world around them. These experiences aim to show progressive skills from Nursery to Year 6. As a Beach School we ensure that the children have ample opportunities to visit the beach throughout the year, across all seasons.
Year Two is an important year and we ensure all lessons are always creative, engaging and challenging. Progress is regularly monitored. After discussions with you as the parents, intervention is put in place to support your child as needed. We are inclusive and are always here to support your child grow and enjoy every aspect of their learning. This year, statutory assessment tests (SATs) are no longer compulsory, but we will assess children against the same criteria. Homework is set each half term and the children will be set spellings each week.
During our Friday achievement assembly, our amazing achievements inside and outside of school are shared with the school, children are invited to bring in medals, trophies or certificates of their achievements and their photo gets proudly on the school newsletter. Children also have the opportunity to earn ‘Gems’ for good work and behaviour. When children achieve 100 Gems, they will receive a Bronze award badge. 200 gems will earn a Silver award and 300 gems for a Gold award.
How can I support my child’s learning at home?
We encourage children to continue their learning throughout their daily lives. Each week, children will be expected to read daily and practise their 2x, 5x and 10x times tables. Online learning platforms are often recommended for use at home. To encourage and engage the children in cross curricular challenges, subject specific half termly homework is also set; the children can choose the challenges that they wish to complete. The homework challenges are sent home the first week of each half term.
Finally, always keep an eye on the school Facebook page and classdojo for updated photos and information on our learning journey through Year Two! We look forward to supporting and encouraging your child’s amazing learning this year as well as being there for home support if needed.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs Jenks, Mrs Smillie and Mrs Irving
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Year 2 Curriculum Overview |
Links to Learning: