Lower School

Welcome to Lower School

Welcome to Lower school for Years 1 & 2. The classes are called Lime, Ash and Fir. Mrs Palmer, Mrs Coleman and Miss Finn are your Lower School teachers and will support children with their development and learning across the whole curriculum.

Meet the Team

Mrs Vanessa Palmer
Lime Class Teacher
Mrs Sarah Coleman
Ash Classs Teacher
Miss Annie Finn
Fir Class Teacher
Mrs Amanda Oliver
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Rubina Sandarni
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Lucy Perrin
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Amanda Bates
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Erica Stone
Teaching Assistant

Our week in Lower School

We have maths, English and Phonics every morning with foundation subjects in the afternoons. Our termly or half-termly topics are driven by key questions in either history or geography. Further information on these and other subjects covered can be found on the termly overview.

Developing the skill to decode written words is one of the most important steps a child in Lower School will take. The children will follow the Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics scheme and the reading books they bring home will match closely to their phonic ability. The RWI scheme works on a three-day cycle so the days they receive RWI books will vary.

In addition to developing their decoding skills it is also important for children to read for pleasure so in addition they can take home other books from our ‘Reading for pleasure’ book box. These books are not matched to your child’s phonics level, these are for you to share together. You may need to read the words in the book for your child or your child may be able to read the words themselves however, please do not try to force them to read the words. These books are a chance for your child to develop their comprehension skills based on the text and illustrations.

We would recommend asking your child some questions to develop their comprehension skills. We refer to these as VIPERS questions (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequence).

We ask that children read or are read to daily for at least 10 minutes.

Children will be assessed regularly in reading (decoding ability, fluency and sight reading) in order for them to make good progress. Those children who finish the RWI scheme will join a reading comprehension group.

Maths and spelling homework is set every Friday, to be handed in by the following Wednesday.

Useful skills for Lower School

It will be really helpful if your child is able to dress themselves independently, including doing buttons up on shirts and zips on coats. It they cannot tie their own shoes laces, please ensure they come to school with shoes and a Velcro strap until they are able to do this independently. Please make sure all belongings are clearly labelled so if lost, they can be returned quickly. Children in Lower School often participate in the mile and so will need a pair of trainers in school for every day. PE will take place on Thursday.

Additional Information

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