Monksmead School

Welcome to Year 6

Teacher: Mrs Taplin
TA: Mrs Phillips, Ms Herrero

Welcome to Year 6!

I hope you have all had a fantastic summer break. It is so lovely to see the children back and to teach them once again! There are lots of exciting things happening over the next few months and we have a busy year ahead.

Please have a look at our class timetable below along with the KS2 long term plan which explains what learning will be covered across the entire year.

Walking home
If you would like your child to walk home on their own this year, I will need written permission from you either in the form of a letter or via email. If you would like them also to have a phone or other communication device for their own safety as they walk home on their own, they can put it in our class box as soon as they arrive at school in the morning. This box is then sent down to the school office where it is kept safe until the end of the school day.

Homework and Reading Records

Homework will be given out on a Wednesday and handed back in on a Monday morning along with signed reading records. It will usually consist of one piece of Maths work, one piece of English work and a spelling activity. As always, homework not handed in on time, or not completed to a satisfactory standard, will need to be completed at break or lunchtimes. The homework set is in addition to regular reading with an adult at home and children will receive 2 merit points if their reading record is signed three times.

Swimming at Haberdashers – This year, Haberdashers are kindly providing swimming sessions on Monday afternoons for Year 6. A coach will collect them at 1:30pm and return them at 3:10pm. The sessions will take place across the entire year however some Mondays are unavailable due to the school’s other commitments. A letter will be sent out shortly with the dates of the swimming sessions. Your child will need to bring in their swimming kit on those Mondays.

When swimming isn’t on, Year 6 will have PE on a Monday morning instead, as well as every Thursday afternoon. Please make sure your child has their named PE kit in school on both days. Each child will need a pair of trainers, a white t-shirt with the Monksmead logo, and blue or black shorts. As we transition into the winter months, children can wear tracksuit bottoms and a blue or black jumper over their t-shirts. Children should not wear any part of their school uniform for P.E., this includes tights. If a child is wearing tights, a pair of socks will be required for the P.E session.

Please make sure that your child has a named water bottle in school so that they can keep hydrated during the day. Due to hygiene reasons, it is difficult to provide cups for the children, so it is important they have their own water bottle.

Adult Support

In Year 6, we have Mrs Phillips assisting the class and Sam Herrero assisting on a 1:1 basis every morning. Mrs Phillips will also teach the class on Tuesday and Friday afternoons during PPA time. Mrs Curtis will be coming in one morning a week to carry out Maths interventions with groups of children.

SATs

As we have SATs for Y6 in May 2024, I will be assessing the children at the beginning of this term in order to monitor their individual progress. As we get closer to Christmas, the children will complete some further tests in order to measure their progress across the term.

Please bear in mind that the papers used are the 2017 SAT papers, which were designed to be administered towards the end of Year 6 rather than the beginning, and there is still a lot of learning to take place during this academic year. (While I have told the children this, I would appreciate your reinforcement, as I know that some children may be unhappy about their performance.)

It must be noted that it is impossible in normal circumstances to ensure rigorous test conditions. For example, in test conditions, children would be seated apart to ensure independence; some children would have the support of a prompt to maintain focus; some would have extra time; some would be in a smaller room with an invigilator; etc. None of this is possible within a normal day and with normal staffing levels but will be organised for the SATs tests in May 2024.

I hope this information answers a few questions you have. If you have any concerns or would like to know further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is important we all communicate and work together to ensure your child has the best possible experience at school.

Thank you,

Mrs Taplin

Autumn Term 2023