A big welcome to year 5 and 6 at St Paul's.
Year 5 at St Paul's is an exciting start to Upper Key Stage Two, focusing on high aspirations and a broad curriculum to prepare students for their final primary year.
Year 6 is the incredible celebration of the end of your child’s learning journey in Primary School and is therefore hugely important, both academically and emotionally. In a challenging year, which paves the pathway to an exciting transition to Secondary School, we promote high expectations, providing an ambitious curriculum.
Year 6 pupils are offered the opportunity to be a Buddy - this involves them committing to supporting teachers/ adults around school with any jobs that need doing at lunchtimes. Year 6 pupils are also Playground Pals, where they are paired up with a Reception child to support them in their learning, for a short session each week. Year 6s are also offered the opportunity to attend Ghyll Head for a 3-day residential trip in The Lake District: pupils have the opportunity to hike, canoe, zip line, work in teams and build their independence during this trip.
Both Year 5 and Year 6 pupils are offered opportunities to attend competitions in a range of sports throughout the year. In a creative and stimulating environment, expert visitors, themed days and out-of-school workshops are offered to our pupils throughout the year.
Foundation Subjects
Our foundation subjects are taught through a 2-year cycle, linking to a History of Geography topic each term. Music is taught weekly, on a Monday, by peripatetic teachers, these lessons include guitars, African drumming and steel pans on a termly rotation. In addition to this, pupils have weekly Mandarin lessons with Ms Deng. We also celebrate Chinese New Year.
Zones of Regulation
In Year 5/6, we encourage our pupils to identify the zone they are in and support them in techniques to regulate their emotions. We have a calm corner in each classroom and a shared Year 5/6 calm zone to support our pupils with this. Each classroom also has a Voice Box where pupils are encouraged to share and reflect upon their experienced thoughts and feelings. Each class has reflection time where we reflect on our collective worship and respond to a question.
Homework and Supporting your Child at Home
In Year 5/6 pupils receive one piece of Maths homework and one piece of English homework each Thursday. The homework is set on Google Classroom and pupils complete their work in their homework book. Homework books are expected back in school on Monday, but if this is forgotten they are given a reminder to bring it in on Tuesday. Any homework that is not completed on a Tuesday is then completed during Tuesday break time. Homework is usually set based on what the pupils have been learning during the recent weeks, or a consolidation of their overall learning, such as comprehension or reasoning questions. We expect pupils to spend no longer than 20 minutes per piece of homework.
Reading is a hugely important part of Year 5/6 and is completed in many ways. Pupils have an independent reading book, either from the relevant book band they are on, or from the Year 5 or 6 reading scheme. We encourage pupils to read this book to grown-ups at home or independently for at least 10 minutes, three times a week. We also have Guided Reading in our English classes - for 30 minutes each day - where children read and answer questions based on a different short extract each week.
If you wish to support your child with their learning at home, we strongly encourage lots of reading - both of their reading books from school - and books that capture their interest. Lots of dialogue around what your child is reading is really useful too. Times table knowledge is really important to underpin the rest of their learning in Maths in Year 5/6, so practising times tables at home is also really useful. Pupils receive 10 spellings weekly. Whilst we do practise these spellings in English classes, we also encourage pupils to practise them at home. Spelling lists are shared with the children in class and put on Google Classroom.
PE Kits
Pupils in Year 5/6 have two PE sessions weekly, one indoor and one outdoor. The focus in these PE lessons change termly/ half termly as do the hall and outdoor slots. We encourage pupils to bring in a PE kit with suitable trainers at the beginning of the half term and keep this in school so it is available for their PE lessons. This can be taken home each half term to be washed. PE kits are not to be worn as school uniform, we expect pupils to change into their kit for their lesson and change back into their uniform after the lesson.
Behaviour and Relationship Policy
Our policy is centred around three simple statements which support a whole school consistent approach.
- Be ready
- Be respectful
- Be safe
These apply to pupils, parents, staff and governors.
Recognition and rewards to celebrate:
- House point system: There will be four houses and pupils will earn points for their house by showing they can be ready, respectful and safe.
- Recognition board: Each classroom will have a recognition board. On the board will be a specific class goal to support meeting the agreed expectations. If a child is recognised for working towards the class goal, their name will be placed on the board. The class goal will be changed regularly.
- Postcard home: Children who are working above and beyond in meeting the agreed expectations will receive a postcard sent by a member of staff.
- Headteachers weekly celebration assembly. A child from each class will be selected to be recognised and be awarded a certificate detailing how they have worked towards the agreed expectations.
Boundaries and response: ‘Behaviour is a form of communication’
- We will have clear boundaries and expectations around behaviour.
- We are aiming for an empathetic and restorative approach. This will give children time to think and reflect.
Attendance
School starts at 8:55am and finishes at 3:25pm
Regular school attendance brings enormous benefits to individual pupils, their families, schools and the community as a whole. Without regular attendance, levels of attainment suffer and opportunities are missed to obtain maximum benefit from education. It's not just the academic learning that is impacted on, self esteem, sense of belonging can be impacted. Poor attendance impacts on all children whatever their age. Persistent absence and lateness will affect a child‛s achievement and progress in school. It is important to set the expectation of good attendance right from the beginning of school so children grow up with ‘good habits‛. If your child is absent from school you must inform the school, by telephone, e-mail or by School Spider, giving a reason for the absence.
Communication
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