: Blog items
Date: 29th Jan 2026 @ 7:00am
This week in Nursery, we discovered a very exciting story sack filled with wonder and delight… ‘The Gruffalo!’ From the moment it appeared, we knew it was something special and couldn’t wait to explore and play.
Together, the children helped to set up a ‘Gruffalo-themed’ Small World Play, thoughtfully using their knowledge and ideas to make it look just like the deep, dark woods. We loved watching their thinking hats in action as they discussed what the woods should look like and why. Using brown play-dough, we created our own Gruffalo characters and made preferred character headbands, practising our cutting skills along the way.
Our Funky Fingers area transformed into a muddy swamp, where children used the story characters to retell the tale, recalling what the Gruffalo looked like and who he met on his journey. We have enjoyed sharing the story in many different ways — from reading the book, acting out the characters, to rapping and tapping the story out in rhythm. The children’s confidence and imagination truly shone.
In Early Listening, our focus was on distinguishing between sounds. We played a variety of listening games, including Which is the Missing Sound? and Jumping Words, helping to develop careful listening and attention skills.
In Maths, we were introduced to ‘Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons’, which inspired us to explore the number four. We investigated different ways to make four, counted objects, and even went on a number four hunt. As Pete’s buttons kept dropping off, we had to work out how many were left — a fun and practical way to explore early subtraction. Alongside this, we explored shapes with four sides, talking about their properties and noticing how many sides and corners they have, helping us to deepen our understanding of number and shape through hands-on learning.
During PE, we revisited our gymnastics knowledge, recalling shapes we have learnt so far and combining them with different movements. Playing games such as ‘Mouse Tag’ and ‘Watch Out, Gruffalo’! brought lots of excitement and creative thinking as we shared ideas about how the different characters from the story might move, exploring their facial expressions too and using our faces and bodies together to bring the characters to life.
This week, we were also delighted to welcome some of our grown-ups into Nursery for our ‘Stay and Play’ sessions. The children thoroughly enjoyed showing mums and dads their favourite areas and activities. Thank you so much for making the time to come and be part of our special place — it truly means so much.
While discussing ‘The Gruffalo’, we learnt about Julia Donaldson, the author of this much-loved story and many others we enjoy. We talked about how her stories take us on journeys of wonder and imagination, helping to instill a lifelong love of reading, language, and storytelling through engaging, rhythmic, and sometimes “a bit scary” tales that are wonderful to share aloud.
We also explored the storyline more deeply, noticing how the mouse was clever and brave as he met different woodland creatures on his journey through the woods. This opened up meaningful conversations about times when we have been brave too, just like our SHINE friend Leo the lion.
We ended our week reflecting on kindness, with the children sharing thoughtful ideas about who we can show kindness to — family, friends, teachers, pets, all of God’s creatures, our equipment and property, and even ourselves.
Although we experienced some rainy days this week, we were not dismayed and now often call them ‘growing days’, knowing how important water is for the world around us. We were rewarded with glorious weather to finish the week, enjoying lots of outdoor fun and games together.
What a truly magical and meaningful week it has been!
As the weekend arrives, don't forget when out and about, to keep your eyes wide open— because you never know when you might need to watch out for that Gruffalo!
Warm wishes,
Mrs Grayson and the Nursery team
Date: 28th Jan 2026 @ 11:06am
Here is a snapshot of some of this week’s learning in Year 4…
In RE, we identified clues in artwork which suggest that Jesus has authority over others shown in the illustrations. We noticed that Jesus is often painted standing above or in front of others, dressed in white, and shown with a graceful and powerful pose.
In English, we wrote sentences including speech to show what the characters in our class novel Escape from Pompeii might be saying. We focused on using capital letters and correct punctuation and explored a range of alternatives to the word ‘said’. We also planned a diary entry to sequence the events of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Next week, we will include speech in our diary writing and continue to use fronted adverbials to sequence events.
In Maths, we learnt how to use the column multiplication method to multiply 2- and 3-digit numbers by a 1-digit number. We focused on setting out digits correctly and using our times table knowledge to support our calculations. Next week, we will learn the bus stop method for division.
Bench Dodgeball has been a class favourite this week. We love the new rule which allows us to catch the ball while standing on the bench to earn our place back on the team.
In Science, we investigated different circuits to identify whether they were complete or incomplete.
Continuing our focus on volcanoes, we explored how to use a range of tones to add texture and shadow to our drawings in Art and identified and labelled the different features of a volcano in Geography.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend!
Reminders:
- The Parent–Teacher meeting booking system is now live and will close on Tuesday 3rd February at 6pm.
Date: 27th Jan 2026 @ 5:40pm
Another Busy Week in Reception!
Thank you, Reception, for another fantastic week full of fun and learning. You continue to amaze us with your determination in Phonics, and the support you provide at home really does make such a difference — thank you, parents!
In RE this week, we continued to explore stories that Jesus would have heard and listened to. We focused on the story of Noah’s Ark, learning about its key messages. After listening carefully to the story, the children enjoyed creating their own rainbows to remind us of God’s promise.
We are very excited to begin our new topic all about Space! The children will be enjoying the story Beegu by Alexis Deacon. To introduce the theme, we discovered a mystery box filled with different resources to explore. The children asked lots of thoughtful questions and shared what they would like to learn about over the coming weeks.
In Maths, the children have been exploring different representations of the numbers 6, 7 and 8. They have been building on their learning by finding the numerals and matching them to quantities, as well as creating their own representations. You can support this at home by encouraging your child to explain their representations and match numerals to the correct amounts. The children were also introduced to the concept of ‘1 more’ with numbers up to 8. They are beginning to understand that as we count forwards, each number is one more than the last. We have been using stories, rhymes and ten frames to support this learning, helping children see how numbers increase and recognising the stable order of numbers.
In PE, we continued to practise basic shapes and began learning different types of rolls, including barrel and straight rolls, as well as rocking forwards and backwards into a standing position.
In Art this week, the children enjoyed creating child‑led collages using mixed media. They also used loose parts to create pieces of transient art, encouraging creativity, exploration and independent thinking.
Well done, Reception — we are so proud of all your hard work and enthusiasm for learning!
A Little Reminder
Please make sure your child has a warm coat that they can fasten themselves, hat, scarf, and gloves. Thank you for helping keep everyone warm and cosy!
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Molloy and Mrs Bevin
Date: 27th Jan 2026 @ 8:18am
In Maths, we have continued our multiplication and division topic. This week we have used arrays to represent multiplication calculations and repeated addition to support this. The children used cubes and whiteboards to show their arrays. We talked about some numbers appearing in more than one times table and also some numbers, for example 7 only appearing in the 1 and 7 times table. We also looked at dividing as grouping and sharing making sure that children understand that if we swap the numbers around they don't represent the same calculation.
In English, we edited our Dragon Machine stories checking for any errors and additional vocabulary that we could include. We have started the story Grandad's Camper and we looked at photos from the class and discussed key questions that we would ask to find out more information. Next week we will be continuing to read the story and completing activities focussing on extending our sentences.
In RE, we looked at the miracle of Jesus healing the blind man. We then wrote our own newspaper articles imagining that we were reporting on the event just after it had happened.
In Art, we used our textured paintings to create our own collages of the African savanna. The children thought about the colours that they could use to create their collage and we put them all together to evaluate our work.
In Science, we went outside and worked on understanding the concept of hibernation. The children were asked to hide their 2 conkers. They then completed a game called the owl and mouse. One person wore a blindfold and pretended to be the owl, the other person was the mouse and had to try and pick up a conker without the owl hearing them. At the end of the lesson the children were asked to find the 2 conkers that they had hidden or find any that they could see. Some children couldn't remember where they had put them or other children had taken them because they couldn't find their own. We linked this back to squirrels when they come out of hibernation and cannot always remember where they had hidden their food.
Well done for a lovely week of learning, have a lovely weekend!
Date: 23rd Jan 2026 @ 3:31pm
In English, we have been developing our understanding of speech sandwiches. The children practised writing speech–action–action–speech, making sure to include a range of interesting verbs and adverbs to bring their writing to life. We have also been exploring prefixes, learning how they change the meaning of words, and had great fun reinforcing this by playing charades.
In Maths, we have been building our confidence in multiplying by two‑digit numbers, working both with and without remainders. The children showed great resilience and problem‑solving skills as they tackled calculations.
During RE, we read the story of ‘The Young Rich Man’ and explored its meaning together. The children talked thoughtfully about what Jesus wanted the young man to change, focusing on how he was asked to give up his possessions and follow Jesus. We discussed whether the young man was able to do this and shared ideas about why it may have been difficult for him, such as being attached to his wealth or feeling worried about giving everything away. As part of the 'Week of Prayer for Christian Unity', Year 3 worked together to create a handprint heart, celebrating unity, togetherness and respect for one another.
We combined History and Art this week by creating our own Iron Age hill forts. The children used junk modelling techniques, carefully joining materials together and then labelling the different parts of their hill forts. This was a fantastic hands on way to explore Iron Age life and design.
In Science, we investigated materials that cast a shadow, observing how different objects block light and discussing why this happens.
Our PE lessons were full of energy as we played crab football, focusing on our teamwork and cooperation skills. The class also thoroughly enjoyed a special PE session led by LFC, which was a real highlight of the week.
We also enjoyed our first drumming session, where the children showed excellent listening skills and enthusiasm as they explored rhythm and beat together.
Finally, in Outdoor Learning, we went on a magic gold leaf hunt, exploring our environment and having fun with our friends.
Reminders
- Outdoor learning continues to be on a Tuesday.
- PE days are Wednesday and Thursday.
Date: 23rd Jan 2026 @ 10:19am
In Maths, we have introduced the topic of multiplication and division. Our focus this week has been understanding the multiplication symbol and what it means. We have worked hard on knowing how many groups we are representing and discussing that multiplying is commutative but that the question represents a different amount of groups if we swap the numbers over. Next week we will continue to use arrays and looking at strategies to support answering multiplication questions.
In English, we have finished our story of The Dragon Machine. Our final writing task was to use the story as a model to create a similar story with a different creature in a different setting. It has been a pleasure to read their stories and see some of the language from the story transferred into their own writing.
In RE, we have discussed miracles and looked at the Bible story of the Feeding of the 5000. We discussed the word miracle and what it means, we talked about some of the other miracles that Jesus performed. The children then retold the story of the Feeding of the 5000 using a storyboard to help them.
In Science and Outdoor Learning, we went outside to find worms! The children had an identification sheet with different worms on and we all tried to encourage the worms to the surface in different areas of the field by running and walking on the spot. Once we had found a worm we then used the identification chart to identify it from its features and discussed their microhabitat.
In Art, this week we used our skills from last week to create different textures on pieces of paper. Next week the children will be using the different colours and textures to create their own collage of the African savannah which links to their learning in Geography about Kenya.
Well done for another lovely week, have a lovely weekend.
Reminders:
- Parent-Teacher Meetings go live on 27th January at 6pm
Date: 22nd Jan 2026 @ 9:12pm
Year 5 have enjoyed yet another busy and exciting week full of learning, creativity and teamwork.
In English, we followed Arthur’s perilous journey across the sea. The children created detailed story maps, which helped them build their ideas and develop rich language. Using expanded noun phrases, adverbials of time and place, and relative clauses, the children worked hard to write vivid and descriptive accounts of Arthur’s journey. It was wonderful to see their imaginations come to life on the page.
In Maths, we moved on to the topic of measure. We began by exploring perimeter before progressing to area, tackling a range of engaging problems and puzzles along the way. Alongside this, the children have continued to practise their times tables, developing greater fluency and confidence.
Our RE learning focused on the parable of the mustard seed. The children reflected thoughtfully on what God’s kingdom means in everyday life and produced a beautiful display, writing about how we can work towards it through kindness, forgiveness, caring for our world and serving God.
As part of collective worship, we took part in the Week of Unity, learning about the importance of belonging and working together as one community, while celebrating that we are all unique. We took this learning outside, creating stunning ‘unity mandalas’ using natural materials. The children worked collaboratively, discussing teamwork and ensuring that everyone felt included.
In Science, we explored the life cycle of a plant, with a focus on germination. The children were fascinated to discover that some of our conkers had already begun to sprout, and they enjoyed observing the shoot bursting out of the shell first-hand.
During PE, with Ellen from the LFC Foundation, the theme was communication. The children took part in a range of activities that required different types of communication, highlighting how important listening, teamwork and clear messages are in sport and everyday life.
Finally, on Wednesday, we were visited by PCSO Alex, who spoke to the children about online safety. We learnt about keeping personal information private and creating secure passwords. The children were highly engaged and asked lots of thoughtful questions.
Another fantastic week in Year 5 – we are very proud of the children’s enthusiasm, teamwork and hard work!
Reminders for next week:
- Swimming continues up to half term, on Wednesday afternoons.
- PE with LFC Foundation on Thursdays.
- Homework is set via Mirodo on Fridays. This due back the following Wednesday.
- New spellings are put on Google Classroom each Friday.
Date: 22nd Jan 2026 @ 1:04pm
We can’t quite believe it’s Friday again – time really does fly when you’re having fun!
During Collective Worship this week, our focus was unity. We discussed how being united means working together, supporting one another and celebrating our differences. To reflect this message, the children created leaves and fruits to form a class tree. Each leaf and fruit included a message showing how, when we come together, we grow stronger just like a tree needs all its parts to thrive.
With a little help from some familiar friends from Sesame Street, we learnt all about Shabbat, the Jewish Day of Rest. We discovered that Shabbat takes place each week from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday and is a special time for rest, family and reflection. We also learnt about the story of creation from the Torah, where God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Using a flow map, we sequenced the events of Shabbat, including family meals, prayers at the synagogue and drinking from the Kiddush cup.
In Maths, we focused on using the grid method to multiply a one-digit number by two- and three-digit numbers. The children confidently connected this learning to their understanding of multiplying by 10 and 100 to support calculations with larger numbers.
Later in the week, we compared our own lives to the life of a Roman child. We explored the activities, games and jobs Roman children would have experienced and identified similarities and differences to our lives today. Using fronted adverbials, the children wrote a diary from the perspective of Tranio, outling what he did in his daily life as a Roman child.
In Geography, we learnt about how tectonic plates move and the impact this has on the Earth. This learning linked closely with Art, where the children illustrated volcanoes set within landscapes, carefully applying their understanding of shape, colour and detail.
The highlight of the week was our teddy bear picnic. The children had great fun building dens and creating cosy spaces to host their cuddly friends.
Year 4, you have worked your socks off this week. We are incredibly proud of you and hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Reminders:
- Parent-Teacher Meetings go live on 27th January at 6pm
Date: 21st Jan 2026 @ 6:55pm
It has been another week of wonderful learning, curiosity, and excitement!
Continuing with our ‘Winter’ theme, our focus this week has been 'penguins', and what a joy they have been to explore.
We began by learning all about what penguins look like, naming their features, discovering what they like to eat, and finding out where they live. To bring our learning to life, we made penguin biscuits, carefully creating white bellies, adding raisins for eyes, dates for flippers, blueberries for feet, and even a little sweet treat for their beaks. They looked (and tasted!) fantastic.
Penguins have been present across all of our learning areas. In water play, we became penguins ourselves, diving for fish and splashing with purpose. During Funky Fingers, we explored self-made snow and tiny frozen penguins, matching them to their breed while also trying to free penguins trapped under the ice — a great mix of problem-solving and fine motor fun.
Getting creative, we used corks to make printed penguins, with so much individuality shown as children used their knowledge to add crests and details. We also enjoyed moving like penguins, playing games where we followed instructions to ‘waddle’, ‘flap our flippers’, and ‘huddle’ together.
Waddling down to PE, our focus has been gymnastics. We are becoming increasingly confident in showing and understanding gymnastic terms such as pike, straddle, star, straight, and tuck. The children had enormous fun moving around the different stations and practicing their new skills.
In Early Listening, we explored body percussion and used claves to copy and tap out rhythms. In adding words — including some very amusing phrases — made this learning especially enjoyable.
In Maths, we delved deeper into the number three: how it is made, how to write it, and the many ways it can be represented. We even played a game where we had to throw three fish to the penguins in their ice holes, working out how many landed inside and how many landed outside — developing both mathematical thinking and throwing skills, all while having lots of fun!
We have shared a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books about penguins and used the internet to find out even more, supporting our thoughts and ideas.
On Thursday, we enjoyed a lovely visit from Caroline from church, who shared the Bible story ‘Jonah and the Whale’. This was a calm and meaningful moment in our busy week.
We have truly loved learning about penguins, and your children have been inspiring in their enthusiasm, curiosity, and thirst for learning.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Please remember that we are always here to support, inspire, and nurture developing minds to ‘Shine Brightly’.
Wishing you a weekend full of ‘huddles’, and we look forward to another exciting week ahead!
Warm wishes,
Mrs Grayson and the Nursery team
Date: 21st Jan 2026 @ 1:03pm
We’ve had another fantastic week of learning, exploring and creating in Reception!
As part of our ongoing theme, the children explored a range of Arctic animals. They have enjoyed learning new facts about how these animals survive in such freezing environments. We were very impressed by the children’s curiosity and the interesting questions they asked!
The children have continued to explore mass, building on their understanding of “heavier” and “lighter.” This week, we introduced the idea of balancing scales. The children experimented with placing different objects on each side and discovered that the scales are balanced when the objects have the same mass.
They loved investigating which items would balance and explaining why they thought this happened!
We also extended our work on capacity, revisiting the ideas of “full” and “empty” and exploring the space in between. The children used nonstandard units (like cups, spoons and small containers) to measure and compare how much different containers could hold. Lots of brilliant predicting and problemsolving took place!
On Thursday, we welcomed Caroline for another session of Godly Play. This week, she shared the story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the stories Jesus would have heard as a child. After listening, the children discussed what this story teaches us—such as being brave, listening carefully, and that everyone deserves a second chance.
In Art, the children explored how music can inspire movement, colour and marks. They listened to different pieces of music and used paint to express their ideas and feelings. We encouraged the children to notice how the music made them feel: “Now it’s slow and gentle… I feel very relaxed. This activity was all about the creative process, not the final picture. The children were beautifully absorbed in the experience, experimenting with colour, brushstrokes and rhythm. They produced some wonderfully expressive artwork!
Well done, Reception! It has been a week full of imagination, curiosity and fantastic learning. We can’t wait to see what next week brings!
A Little Reminder
Please make sure your child has a warm coat that they can fasten themselves, hat, scarf, and gloves during this cold snap. Thank you for helping keep everyone warm and cosy!
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Molloy and Mrs Bevin
Date: 20th Jan 2026 @ 12:43pm
What a lovely week it has been in Year 1! The children have continued to impress us with their enthusiasm, teamwork and positive attitudes towards learning. Each day has been full of great discussions, brilliant ideas and lots of happy moments.
In Maths, we explored number lines in more depth. We looked at how number lines can start and end at different points, and how they can move in different steps such as 1s, 2s and 10s. We also learned what estimating on a number line looks like and practised using halfway points to help us decide where other numbers might go. The children showed fantastic reasoning skills as they explained their thinking — it was wonderful to see their confidence grow.
In English, we focused on unpicking the character of the lion from The Lion Inside. We talked about how he is confident, strong and sometimes a little scary. The children completed a roll-on-the-wall activity to describe him, thinking carefully about the words they could use and what it really means to describe a character. Their vocabulary choices were thoughtful and detailed.
In History, we delved deeper into the story of the Titanic and looked closely at the different causes of the tragedy. We read several explanations of what might have happened all those years ago and worked in groups to discuss how valuable each explanation was. The children then fed back as a whole class and discussed which explanation they thought was the most likely and why. Their reasoning was impressive, definitely historians in the making!
In RE, we read the story of Jesus calming the storm and talked about how many of the stories we have learned show Jesus performing miracles. The children created their own pictures of the Bible story and wrote sentences to caption what was happening in each part. They worked beautifully and produced some lovely pieces.
Well done, Year 1, for another fantastic week full of curiosity, creativity and wonderful learning. Have a lovely weekend.
Date: 18th Jan 2026 @ 8:23pm
What a fantastic and busy week in the Year 6 classroom! Here is just a snapshot of our learning throughout the week…
In Maths, the children worked hard within their groups, showing great teamwork and resilience. There was a particular focus on volume and finding the mean, with pupils applying their understanding through a range of problem-solving and reasoning activities. Alongside this, the children began creating a vibrant revision guide and knowledge organiser for the topic of measurement, helping to consolidate key methods, vocabulary and concepts in preparation for future learning.
In English, back by popular demand, we revisited a Year 6 favourite which is exploring the lyrics of different songs as our comprehension focus. The genres we’ve tackled have been wonderfully varied, from folk music like ‘You Don’t Mess Around with Jim’, to heavy metal with ‘The Trooper’ and pop rock classics such as ‘Ironic’. This activity has been a fun way for the children to analyse language, meaning, and storytelling whilst, of course, singing along.
As part of Christian Unity Week, the children took part in a collaborative art project focused on the theme of unity. Each child contributed individual artwork which was brought together to create the word Unity, symbolising the importance of working together and celebrating our shared Christian values. This Trust-wide focus encouraged pupils to reflect on cooperation, belonging and the strength that comes from being united as one community.
In Geography, Year 6 have been learning all about the continent of Africa. We discovered that Africa is made up of 54 countries and explored many of their capital cities, developing our map skills and geographical knowledge along the way. We focused particularly on the countries of Northern Africa, where the children researched key geographical features and worked collaboratively to create informative presentations. This has helped them deepen their understanding of the continent’s diversity and importance.
A brilliant week of learning and fun and wishing you all an enjoyable weekend!
Reminders:
-Spellings have been shared on Google Classroom and the children will be tested next Friday (30th).
-Maths and English homework has been set as normal via either the SATs Companion platform or sent home in books. This is due to be completed on or before next Wednesday (28th).
Date: 16th Jan 2026 @ 3:32pm
What a fantastic week we’ve had in Year 5! The children have approached every challenge with enthusiasm, kindness and determination, and we couldn’t be more proud of them.
A real highlight of our week was completing the Bikeability course. The instructors were extremely impressed with how confidently the children demonstrated their cycling skills—both on the playground and out on the roads. Their focus, maturity and superb listening skills made the sessions a real pleasure. Well done, Year 5!
In English, we have been exploring the magical world of Norse mythology. The children wrote beautiful and imaginative poems inspired by mythical objects, settings, characters and animals. Their vocabulary choices were thoughtful and creative, and it was wonderful to see their confidence grow as poets.
Maths this week involved some hard work and perseverance as we tackled subtracting fractions. The children practised changing denominators, partitioning wholes and applying all these skills to a range of problem-solving activities. It was fantastic to see so many pupils showing resilience and using different strategies to support their understanding.
In RE, we looked closely at several Christian parables, including The Prodigal Son. Through thoughtful discussion, the children identified the Christian values these stories encourage—such as forgiveness, compassion and understanding.
Science was especially exciting this week! We dissected tulips to help us identify the different parts of a flower involved in pollination. We also learned about how both wind and insects can transfer pollen between plants. To test our knowledge, we ended the lesson with a lively Blooket quiz, which the children loved.
During PE, we enjoyed a brilliant session with Ellen from LFC, who led the children through a variety of fun team games. The focus of the lesson was resilience, and the children really rose to the challenge—encouraging each other, problem-solving and working brilliantly together.
In Geography, we explored the climate in Scandinavian countries and compared it with the climate here in the UK. Using their maths skills, the children created clear and accurate line graphs to compare temperature and precipitation across different countries. Their analytical skills were fantastic!
It’s been a busy, enjoyable and productive week. Well done, Year 5—keep up the brilliant work!
Reminders for next week:
- Homework has been set on Mirodo. This is due next Wednesday.
- The children have been practising their new spellings today. Please encourage them to continue this throughout next week, ready for the test on Friday.
- Online Safety talk on Wednesday afternoon. (After swimming)
- Outdoor learning on Thursday. Please bring warm, waterproof coats and wellies/old trainers.
Date: 15th Jan 2026 @ 7:36pm
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We would like to begin by celebrating just how amazing the children have been this week. They have truly, shone brightly, approaching each day with curiosity, kindness and enthusiasm. Their thoughtful ideas, teamwork and willingness to try new things have made our learning truly special, and we are so proud of them all.
This week, we have continued to explore our theme of ‘Winter’, noticing and talking about the changes we can see in the world around us. The children shared thoughtful observations about the colder weather, bare trees and frosty ground, linking beautifully with our focus story ‘Robin’s Winter Song’, by Suzanne Barton. Inspired by the book, we began learning more about birds and the challenges they face during winter. This led us to make our very own bird feeders. We talked about what birds need to survive, why winter can be a tricky time for them, and how we can help, showing wonderful care and empathy for living things.
In Maths, our focus has been on recognising the number three. The children enjoyed spotting patterns of three, identifying dots, and then moving on to counting and matching objects. This learning was supported through a variety of fun, interactive games, with the children showing growing confidence and enthusiasm.
During Early Listening, we explored rhythm and patterns. We began by creating simple patterns using claps and body movements, before moving on to using claves to tap out simple rhythms. The children listened carefully, copied patterns and took turns leading, showing great focus and enjoyment.
At Forest School, we worked alongside Reception to create snowmen. Although we didn’t have real snow, this sparked creativity and problem-solving as we used flour to outline our snowmen before exploring the outdoor environment to find natural materials to bring them to life. There was lots of discussion about what we could use, how it felt, and what worked best. Each group chose a name for their snowman and shared descriptive words, developing both language and teamwork skills.
Back in the classroom, we created a winter-themed ‘treasure tray’ filled with shiny objects and seasonal visuals. This became a wonderful talking point, encouraging curiosity, descriptive language and sustained discussion. Continuing our care for birds, we also made something tasty for ourselves — potato cakes! The children loved helping to prepare them, and even more so, eating them. With it being such a chilly week, we also enjoyed warming ourselves up with hot chocolate, which was very much appreciated alongside our freshly baked treats.
Our winter discussions naturally led us to talk about snow and snowflakes and how they are formed. The children were fascinated to learn that snowflakes have six points and proudly recalled this fact. Learning that no two snowflakes are the same gave us a lovely opportunity to link this to ourselves — talking about how we are all unique and different. The children enjoyed sharing what makes them special, the things they are good at and the skills they are proud of.
Outside, we used our resource knowledge mats to spot and identify birds in our garden area, carefully observing and comparing what we could see. We also explored ice, making our own by freezing water and discussing how it changes state.
We have also launched our ‘lending library’, sharing ideas about what it means to lend something, how to look after someone else’s property, and the importance of having cosy time together to enjoy books and all the learning they bring.
We would like to wish you all a very well-earned, restful weekend and thank you, as always, for your continued support. We look forward to more winter wonders and learning adventures next week.
Warm wishes,
Mrs Grayson and the Nursery Team
Polite reminder:-
Please could you ensure your child has labelled, warm winter woollies for outdoor play.
Date: 15th Jan 2026 @ 4:50pm
This week we stepped back in time and imagined ourselves living in the Stone Age, inspired by the story ‘Stone Age Boy’. We wrote diary entries describing what it might have been like to camp, hunt, and explore during that time. The children used brilliant descriptive language and really brought their Stone Age adventures to life.
In Maths, we explored what happens when we multiply numbers by 10. We used our place value knowledge to help us understand how digits shift to make numbers ten times bigger. We also compared different multiplication questions and explained our reasoning clearly.
In RE, we read the story of ‘Levi’ and reflected on what mattered to him before and after meeting Jesus. The children had thoughtful discussions about change, kindness, and making good choices.
Our value this week in collective worship was Serve. We linked this to the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and talked about how we can show service in our own lives through small, everyday actions.
After spending time in the Stone Age, we moved forward in history to explore the Bronze Age. We learned about new tools, materials, and how life began to change for early people.
In Outdoor learning, we created beautiful nature bracelets using leaves, petals, and other natural treasures we found outside. We had so much fun!
Our Science investigation focused on light and reflection. We tested different materials to see which ones reflected light and which ones didn’t. The children made great predictions and observations.
We ended the week with our very first drumming session! The children absolutely loved it and showed fantastic rhythm and enthusiasm. We can’t wait for the next one.
Reminders:
- PE days continue every Wednesday and Thursday
- Outdoor learning will be every Tuesday.
Date: 15th Jan 2026 @ 4:35pm
What a brilliant week we’ve had in class! The children have continued to show such enthusiasm, kindness and happy attitudes towards their learning. It’s been lovely to see them challenging themselves, supporting one another, and celebrating their successes together.
In Maths, we focused on numbers greater than 10, with lots of work on recognising, reading and writing numbers from 11–20. The children really enjoyed the different games we played to put their skills to the test — snakes and ladders was definitely the class favourite this week! It was wonderful to see them confidently identifying numbers, counting carefully and using their growing understanding of place value to help them succeed.
In English, we spent time unpicking the characters in The Lion Inside. We explored describing words and used these to build a clearer picture of both Mouse and Lion. The children did some fantastic roll on the wall work, describing how each character might feel on the inside and how they appear on the outside. Their ideas were thoughtful and imaginative, and it has been lovely to see their confidence with vocabulary growing.
History was another exciting part of our week as we delved deeper into the story of the Titanic. This time, we explored the different social classes on board and discussed why their experiences may have been very different. We also began to think about what it really means to be a historian. Working in teams, the children used sources of evidence from the past — including photographs and illustrations — to decide which facts were true or false. They approached this with such curiosity and teamwork, and it was fantastic to see them reasoning and justifying their ideas like real historians.
In Science, we continued exploring everyday materials, this time looking more carefully at their properties. The children discussed examples such as wood being tough and strong, and glass being transparent. They enjoyed identifying these materials in the classroom and talking about why each material is helpful for certain objects. Their observations were brilliant and showed how well they are beginning to understand the world around them.
In PSHE, we talked about what it means to have a goal. The children shared wonderful personal goals — from getting up and dressed in the morning, to earning a sticker, to trying their best in a game. We’ve also been thinking a lot about being more like Leo the Lion from our story: trying our best, even when things feel tricky, and not giving up when we make mistakes. I have been so proud to see the children practising this throughout the week, showing resilience and courage in their learning.
Overall, it has been a happy, busy and inspiring week. The children continue to amaze us with their enthusiasm and positivity — we can’t wait to see what next week brings.
Date: 14th Jan 2026 @ 4:40pm
What a busy and exciting week it has been! The children have continued to shine in all areas of their learning.
This week, we built on our understanding of ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ with numbers up to 5, including zero. The children explored how zero can be a starting point for counting, and that the number after zero is 1. We practised the stable order principle, understanding that the order of numbers does not change. Using a variety of manipulatives and real-life contexts, the children represented the ‘1 more’ and ‘1 less’ patterns as they counted forward and backward. We also deepened our understanding of composition to five and moved from perceptual subitising to conceptual subitising—seeing smaller sets within a larger set (e.g., seeing 2 and 3 within 5) without counting. This helps children recognise and combine quantities to understand the whole. In RE, the children explored a chatter-box and discovered our new theme: Stories Jesus Heard. They enjoyed looking at a Bible and sharing their favourite stories. It was wonderful to see their curiosity and enthusiasm during these discussions.
As part of our ‘Winter’ theme, the children have enjoyed listening to a range of stories, including 'A Thing Called Snow' and 'The Lights That Danced in the Night' by Yuval Zommer. We discussed the types of clothing we wear in winter and compared them to what we wear in summer. During Forest School, we teamed up with Nursery to create our own ‘snowmen’ using flour and natural materials!
In PE, the children worked on developing their balancing skills and explored some basic shapes as part of their gymnastics topic. Ask them at home—they’ll be excited to show you the gymnastics shapes they’ve learned!
A Little Reminder
Please make sure your child has a warm coat that they can fasten themselves, hat, scarf, and gloves during this cold snap. Thank you for helping keep everyone warm and cosy!
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Molloy and Mrs Bevin
Date: 14th Jan 2026 @ 12:12pm
![IMG_4396[1].JPG](/uploads/273/images/IMG_4396[1].JPG)
What a lovely week we have had in year 2.
In Maths, we have continued working on the topic of money. We have discussed different ways to make the same amounts, added coins and notes together and found change. Next week we will be problem solving using money and also starting our new topic of mutiplication and division.
In English, we have continued working on our Dragon Machine story. This week the children have created a leaflet on how to train a dragon and given advice about what to do if you find one. They have decided where a dragon might live and used adventurous adjectives to describe the setting. They have also designed their own machines based on the story and written about how their invention works.
In Science we have worked on the topic of living things and their habitats. We have discussed habitats and microhabitats and linked this to the microhabitats that we can find in our school grounds. The children then sketched their favourite microhabitat including the insects that they could find there.
In RE, we discussed the qualities that make a good friend. We looked at the story of Jesus blessing the children then looked at pieces of artwork that depict this scene. The children then wrote the qualities that they believe make a good friend.
In PE, we worked on the topic of fitness. We looked at walking, jogging and running and then completed a 3 minute run. Before we completed the run we discussed the best strategy for the run and if we would be running throughout or start to jog first then increase to running. Once we had finished we walked to help us to cool down before we completed stretches to make sure that we had fully cooled down.
We hope you have a lovely weekend,
The Year 2 Team
Date: 14th Jan 2026 @ 9:05am
We have had a fantastic start to the new year, with the first full school week of 2026 filled with enthusiasm, teamwork and a real buzz for learning!
In Maths, the children focused on further developing their understanding of area. Building on their knowledge of finding the area of rectangles, triangles and parallelograms, Year 6 extended their learning to include compound and rectilinear shapes. Pupils applied their reasoning skills to break more complex shapes into smaller, manageable parts, allowing them to calculate total area accurately and confidently. Our learning week also included a variety of games and knowledge quizzes to reinforce key concepts, build confidence and make our learning even more fun.
In RE, the children explored the symbols of the Eucharist and their significance within Christian worship. They made connections in their learning by creating an overview in which they drew each symbol and explained how it links to the church service. This activity encouraged pupils to reflect on meaning and symbolism, deepening their understanding of how the Eucharist is celebrated and why it is important to Christians.
In English this week, the children took part in a range of skimming and scanning games designed to boost reading speed, accuracy and confidence. They then explored a variety of narrative texts, applying their comprehension skills to deepen understanding of plot, character and language. Alongside this, pupils read non-fiction texts linked to their history learning on the Romans, making purposeful cross-curricular links and applying reading skills in different contexts.
Additionally, Year 6 began their new class novel, ‘Dare to Be You’ by Matthew Syed. This provided a great opportunity for pupils to reflect on themes of identity, resilience and celebrating what makes us unique.
Year 6 also part in a PE lesson led by the LFC Foundation. The session focused on multi-sports activities, keeping everyone active and engaged throughout. Children particularly enjoyed trying a new game called hand tennis, which brought lots of laughter, teamwork and great fun to the lesson.
Well done Year 6 for all of your hard work throughout this week and wishing you all a lovely and restful weekend!
Reminders:
-Spellings have been shared on Google Classroom and the children will be tested next Friday (23rd).
-Maths and English homework has been set via the SATs Companion platform (Mr McCabe's Group) and sent home in books (Mr Hirst's Group). This is due to be completed on or before next Wednesday (21st).
Date: 13th Jan 2026 @ 9:12am
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What a wonderful week in Year 4!
After recognising what authority looks like to us, this week we explored Jesus’ authority through a range of Bible stories. By reflecting on stories such as Jesus Calms the Storm, it became clear that Jesus has authority over both humanity and creation. In the stories, his authority is respected and admired by others, who hope he will use it to help them.
Our focus on volcanoes this term continues to spark huge interest! In English, we explored vocabulary connected to volcanoes, defining and illustrating words such as barren, tremors, eruption, and pumice to strengthen our understanding. We used conjunctions to form sentences describing the opening of Escape from Pompeii, avoiding overuse of the word “and.” We then created descriptive writing about what someone might see, hear, and smell in Pompeii, ready to compare our lives with Tranio, the Roman child, next week through a diary entry.
In Maths, we extended our work on multiplying by 10 to multiplying by 100, using place value counters to move digits on the grid. We also practised dividing by 10 and 100 by moving counters in the opposite direction and solved word problems using these methods. Next week, we will focus on written methods to multiply two- and three-digit numbers.
In PE, we played a defensive game of dodgeball, defending our castles and aiming at the opposition. We also had our first of four sessions with Ellen from the Liverpool Football Foundation, developing fitness and teamwork skills.
Guided Reading focused on the trailer for David Attenborough’s Our Planet. We practised finding key details, understanding vocabulary, and making inferences.
On Monday, we visited the Inspiration Train at Southport Station, exploring how trains operate past, present, and future, as well as the careers involved. We enjoyed STEM activities on board and loved taking home a Merseyrail teddy.
We were also fortunate to restart singing lessons this week with Liverpool Cathedral and look forward to their return next week.
Reminders:
- PE days continue every Thursday and Friday, with outdoor learning also taking place on Fridays.
Date: 9th Jan 2026 @ 8:20am
Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break.
In English, we began our exciting new focus book, ‘Stone Age Boy, and the children have really enjoyed stepping into the world of the Stone Age. We made predictions about what might happen in the story, created vivid setting descriptions, and practised using expanded noun phrases to make our writing more detailed and engaging.
In Maths, we have been working on multiplying and dividing by 8, using different strategies and activities to help us spot patterns and build confidence with the 8 times table. The children have shown great determination and are becoming much quicker and more accurate in their calculations.
In RE, we started our new topic exploring how Jesus has changed people’s lives and continues to do so today. We began by discussing what change means, sharing examples of changes we’ve experienced in our own lives, and thinking about why change is important for helping us grow and develop.
In Science, we started our new topic on light and explored different light sources, identifying which ones are natural and which are artificial. The children enjoyed sorting examples and discussing how light helps us in our everyday lives.
In PE, we played a range of team games designed to help us practise working together, communicating clearly, and supporting one another. The children showed fantastic teamwork and really embraced the challenge.
All children across the school are encouraged to read every day, both in and out of school. Additional recommended Reading at Home resources can be found here.
Reminders:
-PE days will be Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure your child comes into school in their PE kit with trainers on these days.
-Outdoor learning will be on a Tuesday so please make sure your child has a warm waterproof coat, winter woolies and old trainers or wellies.
Date: 8th Jan 2026 @ 9:56pm
Happy New Year Wishes and a Joyful Winter Welcome!
We hope you all enjoyed a magical, restful Christmas filled with special moments, and that Santa made a visit to every home! It has been such a joy to welcome the children back to school and begin the new term together. Despite the icy and slippery return, it was truly heart-warming to see smiling faces, hear excited chatter and witness friendships reuniting — a very special start to our time back together.
On our return, we were amazed to discover a very special gift left behind by Santa. Could you believe it? A box full of ‘star glasses’ for our much-loved ‘Rock and Roll Days of the Week’ song! We couldn’t quite believe it and were so grateful, showing our SHINE value, Enjoy and being just like our special SHINE friend Mo. The children were absolutely delighted.
As we shared our exciting news, we enjoyed recalling special moments from our time off and discussing the gifts Santa and family members had brought. The frosty weather provided the perfect link to our new topic, ‘Winter’. We expressed our thoughts and existing knowledge about the signs of winter and made connections with the other seasons we have already explored, noting differences and changes. We also discussed the adaptations needed, particularly in clothing and the weather, as well as visible seasonal differences.
The children have thoroughly enjoyed moving around the environment and engaging with the learning opportunities provided. Many children have been talking enthusiastically about snowmen and using their dough gift packs at home. After looking closely at a variety of snowman images, we fully explored creating our own. This then led to discussions about winter colours, with white and shades of blue and grey as our main focus.
In Early Listening, we revisited what it means to be a good listener and enjoyed playing games to demonstrate this, leading to lots of laughter and amusement. In Maths, we recapped our learning by joining in with counting games and number songs, finding and matching numbers to quantities, ordering numbers, and carefully considering different ways to record a number or quantity.
As we talked about the start of a new year, we linked our learning to the days of the week and began learning about the months that make up a year. Through sharing a variety of books, we discussed New Year resolutions and talked about our own personal thoughts, wishes and promises for the year 2026 ahead.
We are so excited for everything this new term has in store and feel incredibly lucky to be back together, sharing our learning, laughter and Monday to Friday adventures. Thank you, as always, for your continued support, encouragement and kindness — it truly means so much. We look forward to creating many more happy memories, special moments and learning experiences together in the weeks ahead.
All children across the school are encouraged to read every day, both in and out of school. Additional recommended Reading at Home resources can be found here.
Warm wishes,
Mrs Grayson and the Nursery Team
Polite reminder:-
Please could you ensure your child has labelled, warm winter woollies for outdoor play.
Dates for the Diary:-
Monday 12th January – Sibling photographs
Date: 8th Jan 2026 @ 9:34pm
Year 5 have had a wonderful start to the year, diving straight into our new and exciting topics with enthusiasm and curiosity.
In English, we were introduced to our new book, Arthur and the Golden Rope. We began by exploring the Norse Tree of Life and learning about gods and goddesses from Norse mythology. The children practised identifying and creating sentences that included a relative clause, using these to describe our hero, Arthur. We can’t wait to discover what happens next and work towards writing our very own myths over the coming weeks!
In Maths, we have been adding and subtracting fractions with denominators that are multiples of each other. This involved finding equivalent fractions and converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers. The children showed our school value of Hope by working hard and never giving up, even when the challenges were tricky.
In RE, we started our new unit, Jesus the Teacher. We reflected on the most important lessons we have learned in life so far—both inside and outside of school—and thought about how these shape who we are.
In Science, our topic is Living Things and Their Habitats. We began by investigating plant reproduction, looking at both sexual and asexual methods and discussing the differences between them.
In Spanish, we had lots of fun learning the names of different fruits and vegetables. The children practised new phonics sounds and applied them confidently in speaking activities.
Finally, in Geography, we explored Scandinavia! Using our map skills, we found out where these countries are in relation to the UK, identified their capital cities, and learned about the surrounding seas. We are really looking forward to discovering more about this beautiful part of the world.
A big thanks to the group of Year 5 children who met with Nikki from Learning Through Landscapes to proudly show her around our school. They were confident and enthusatic whilst learning how to use equipment to complete an environment and climate audit.
It’s been an amazing start, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the term brings!
Reminders for next week:
- Bikeability- Please ensure children bring their helmet and bike on their allocated day. (Messages were sent this week) Children are to wear PE kits and warm, waterproof coats, as they will be outside most of the day.
- Spellings have been set, to be tested next Friday.
- Homework is due by Wednesday.
- All children across the school are encouraged to read every day, both in and out of school. Additional recommended Reading at Home resources can be found here.
Date: 8th Jan 2026 @ 9:29pm
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2026!
It was wonderful to welcome our Year 6 children back to school, recharged and refreshed after the festive break spent with their loved ones. We certainly made the most of our first school week of 2026, diving straight back into learning and routines. It was lovely to be back together again as a class team, sharing updates and a real enthusiasm for the term ahead. Here are just a few of the things we got up to…
In RE this week, Year 6 began the new unit, 'How and Why Do Christians Celebrate the Eucharist?' The children worked in groups to explore a range of artistic interpretations of the Last Supper, including the BDBE Last Supper poster by artist Simon Smith, alongside famous artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Francis Newton Souza, Ana Martins, Sadao Watanabe, John August Swanson and Jesus Mafa. As the pupils studied the images, they listened carefully to Mark’s account of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12–26). Each group was given a different painting and quickly identified that all of the artworks were connected to the same Bible story. The children then looked closely to see if they could spot details in the artwork that matched what they had heard in the scripture, noticing similarities, differences and artistic choices. This led to thoughtful discussion as pupils shared what else they could see in the images and posed their own questions, helping them to reflect more deeply on the meaning and significance of the Eucharist.
In Maths this week, Mr McCabe’s group explored the area of parallelograms and triangles, using clear models and reasoning to apply their learning accurately. Meanwhile, Mr Hirst supported pupils with an arithmetic and fractions boost, revisiting key skills and providing valuable opportunities for recap and consolidation.
In English, the children revisited and consolidated key SPaG concepts through a range of recap and practice activities. Alongside this, pupils developed their reading skills by exploring non-fiction texts linked to their science learning about the heart and the circulatory system. This provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen their understanding of subject-specific vocabulary and make purposeful cross-curricular links.
To conclude our World War Two History topic, the children created a creative timeline showcasing the key events of the war. Using their own research to supplement class learning, pupils selected important moments and presented them in an engaging and thoughtful way. This activity helped to deepen their understanding of the sequence of events and allowed them to demonstrate both their historical knowledge and creativity.
A great school week to properly welcome in 2026. Enjoy your weekend everyone and see you all on Monday!
Reminders:
-Year 6 PE days for this half term are Thursday and Friday.
-Spellings have been shared on Google Classroom and the children will be tested next Friday (16th).
-Maths and English homework has been set via the SATs Companion platform (Mr McCabe's Group) and sent home in books (Mr Hirst's Group). This is due to be completed on or before next Wednesday (14th).
-For more information on what we will be learning about this term, please click here.
-All children across the school are encouraged to read every day, both in and out of school. Additional recommended Reading at Home resources can be found here.
Date: 8th Jan 2026 @ 7:43pm
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Happy New Year!
It was lovely to welcome everyone back on Tuesday, return to our learning and catch up with our friends.
In Maths, we introduced the topic of money. The children have been working with coins and notes to be able to recognise them and know how to make different amounts with the coins and notes that we have. If you have time this week, the children would enjoy looking at coins and notes at home. Next week we will continue with the topic of money and look at the concept of giving change when we buy items.
In English, we have introduced our new story called The Dragon Machine. The children made predictions about the story then we used the front cover and blurb to make further predictions. We spotted the dragons on the first few pages causing mischief and wrote about what they had been up to. Next week we will continue to read the story and see what happens to George who is the main character and is the only one who seems to be able to spot the dragons in the story.
In Art, we have started our new topic called colour splash focussing on colour mixing. This week we used the primary colours to make the secondary colours and discussed how the colour would change depending on the amount of each primary colour that we mixed together.
We have discussed our SHINE values and focussed on our value of Serve this week. We talked about the Bible story when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and what that symbolies. We then talked about how we can show the value of Serve within school.
Reminders
- PE days this half term are a Monday and Friday
- Sibling phographs are on Monday morning. If you would like your child to come to school in full uniform for the school photograph and bring their PE clothes that would be great.
- New reading bookbag days will be sent home today in a separate message and start from Monday.
- All children across the school are encouraged to read every day, both in and out of school. Additional recommended Reading at Home resources can be found here.