Curriculum Update
Summer Term 2025
Head Teacher Message
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to spring term 2025. The time has flown since children started their new classes in September! This Spring term will fly even faster no doubt as the evenings become lighter and the daffodils start to poke through putting a smile on everyone’s face.
As Head teacher of your school, I continue to be so proud of all of the children and the way they have started back since returning from the Christmas break. Their resilience and adaptability remain outstanding.
This was picked up on and noticed in abundance during the schools Ofsted Inspection on the 22nd and 23rd of October. The HMI Ofsted Inspector was blown away of what he described to us as ‘school is an oasis of calm’ for all children at Beech Grove.
“Pupils at Beech Grove are proud of their school, welcoming visitors with exemplary manners and conduct. They understand the school’s ‘next-door neighbour’ principles and the school’s five golden rules well. Pupils consistently show high levels of respect to adults and to one another. They are happy and safe. Highly trained staff put pupils’ needs first in all they do. Pupils thrive in the warm and nurturing environment that the school fosters.” Ofsted 2024/25. What a fantastic first paragraph of the Ofsted Report to read. I’m sure you’ll all agree.
This term we hope to pick up where we left off before Christmas with our children achieving good progress within their core subject areas, due to the tremendous hard-working attitude of themselves and the dedicated staff team here at school.
“Leaders have created a culture of high expectations for pupils’ achievement. Pupils meet these expectations… Behaviour across school is of a high standard. Well-trained staff create a purposeful learning atmosphere. Pupils’ learning is not disrupted by others. ”Ofsted 2024/25.
Children’s classroom and corridor manners remain amazing which continues to maintain a lovely, positive and caring atmosphere around school. The schools “Next Door Neighbour Qualities” of Respect, Tolerance and Kindness are certainly being upheld. The children take great pride in this in and around school and it is wonderful to see. Please keep having a bit of fun at home and test the children regularly on what it takes in school (and the community) to be a good “Next Door Neighbour”!
This term we will also be hoping for some lovely spring sunshine so that children can make full use of our Secret Garden in lesson time and maybe plant some wonderful spring flowers for us all to enjoy (even the ducks!!!). I always think that spring flowers with their vibrant colours and freshness cheer everyone up from the gloom of the long, dark and wet winter months. They are a sign that lighter nights and warmer weather is on its way! (fingers crossed)
Our teachers have lots of interesting activities planned for this term and hope that you will enjoy hearing what children have been working on at consultation meetings/phone conversations, and will support them with their homework and reading outside of school.
Please, please, please x10000 keep encouraging your child to read at home. Reading is the key to everything! The children are showing such a passion and love of reading in school, we hope you will continue this with them at home.
We also hope that every effort is made by you for every child to attend school regularly. It is so important for your child’s development. We can’t continue to stress this enough. (95% and above is GOOD attendance). As a school we need to bet better on the first and last day of terms. Far too many children have these particular days off.
In addition to this being ON TIME every day for school is absolutely vital so that your child does not miss any of their learning. It can be really upsetting and frustrating for children if they come into a lesson that is part way through and they’ve missed vital teacher input and modelling. It can cause them great distress and being left with a feeling of not understanding what is expected of them.
Its really pleasing to see that our ‘lates’ are reducing and that you are all working really hard to support school on this issue. Well done everyone. Keep up the great efforts. Let’s have all the children in on time every day!
Here’s to a really positive Spring term!
John Dixon
Our work for this term
English
In English, we will be looking at the development of narrative writing, and extending our understanding of non-fiction writing in different genres. We will be concentrating on using dialogue and the appropriate punctuation.
Reading
Please keep supporting your child in reading and recording their reading three times a week. This really makes a difference in your child’s success in reading and writing in school. If your child is in Read, Write, Inc it is vital that they read and return their books.
Spelling
Every child has access to our online spelling scheme of work. Your child has been set spelling tasks, individualised to their own needs.
Please allow your child to access Spelling Shed at least once a week.
Mathematics
This term we are developing our knowledge of decimals, and then moving into money, time, shape and statistics. Every week we will have a separate lesson on our times tables to support our recall of our times tables facts.
ALL Year 4 pupils will be sitting the National Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) after half term. This is a very important marker for your child’s progress. Please ensure they spend as much time as possible on Times Tables Rockstars and their maths homework.
Times tables
In Year 4, every child takes a times table test this term. We aim to support them to know all of the multiplication and related division facts to 12 x 12 by the end of Y4.
To support this, it would fantastic of your child could use this at home.
Please allow your child to access TT Rockstars at least twice a week.
www.ttrockstars.com
Please contact your child’s teacher if you need any of your child’s codes reissuing.
Science
We will be developing children’s knowledge of the properties of materials. Children will learn the properties of solids, liquids and gases. We will also be delving into the lives of animals living in some of the harshest habitats on the Earth, and how their environment can cause them problems.
Topic
Misty Mountain Sierra
We will discover how these giants are formed, as a fold or a block, a dome or a plateau. We will follow the water cycle’s course from peak to valley and meet the exceptional people who live in mountain regions.
Blue Abyss
We will be looking at all things ‘under the sea’! We will be looking at the creatures who live in the marine environment, pollution and how we can help rare creatures survive.
Homework
Much of our homework is now set on our online platforms. We encourage your child to visit Seesaw regularly. This is our home learning platform where you and your child should be able to access all of our homework and talk with their teachers regularly.
Seesaw can be downloaded from Apple and Android App Stores, and can be accessed at:
PSHE
We are looking at relationships between friends and how to solve problems if they occur. We will also be looking at how we change as we grow older, and what makes us unique.
PE
Your child does need to bring PE kit, and they will be outside for most of the time. Please can you ensure that they wear either trainers or sensible shoes on their PE day.
Y4D: Tuesday
Y4P: Tuesday
Dates for your Diary
Summer Term: Monday 28th April 2025 – Monday 21st July 2025
Half Term: Monday 26th May 2025 – Friday 30th May 2025
May Day: Monday 5th May 2025