Welcome to Year 6

Year Six is the last year of primary school and the year in which children sit their KS2 SATs. We ensure that children are fully prepared for these so that they can show their learning throughout primary school. However, this is not the most important job that we have in Year Six!

This year is designed to equip our children with the life skills that they will need to make a successful transition  to high school and beyond. We ensure that the children are critical thinkers with the resilience to find solutions to the problems that they encounter. By the end of Year Six, we encourage children to be independent in completing their home learning and to take responsibility for their own organisation.

The class teachers at Somers Park are Mrs Clements in 6AC, and in 6JB, Mrs Black. The Teaching Assistants are Mrs Gough, Miss Chandler and Mrs Cook. Mrs Lineham covers PPA time in 6AC. 

Homework Expectations

Children are expected to read for 20 minutes, five times a week, and to complete their Reading Records independently with parents just signing them once a week before they are handed in on Mondays. Reading Records are checked every day in class. Whilst children can (and should) read independently in Year 6, it is still beneficial and enjoyable for them to read to you and for you to read to them! We encourage children to read a range of texts including fiction stories, non-fiction books and newspapers amongst other things. Children should read books that they enjoy and we recommend lots to them over the year.

Spellings are handed out each ​Monday; the following ​Monday the children will write some dictated sentences in class using some of those words. They will not be given a mark. Children should bring in their Spelling book each ​Monday. We want children to use the correct spellings in their work, not just know them for a test, so practising little and often is far better than cramming the night before! Each child has a login in for Spelling Bee which is on the Literacy Shed website: this is on a sticker in their Reading Record. A separate letter and guide for this has been sent out, explaining the games that they can play to support their recall.

Vocabulary, punctuation and grammar practice books are handed out at the beginning of the year. Children are given specific pages to complete in a schedule on the inside cover of the workbook which are then marked in class each Thursday. The teachers choose topics that align with the learning that week or areas that need practising to support the children to embed a particular skill.

Arithmetic practice books are handed out at the beginning of the year. Children are given specific pages to complete in a schedule on the inside cover of the workbook which are then marked in class each Wednesday. These cover a variety of topics that the children have been learning about in school; learning key facts to increase their fluency and to practise their mental arithmetic.

Children still have access to the Times Tables RockStars website and app which they can use to consolidate what they have learned as the year progresses. There are lots of useful areas to explore dependent on what your child's needs are, whether that is learning a specific times table or increasing their recall speed of division facts. Please contact your child’s teacher if you need a copy of their username and password.

PE

PE takes place in Year 6 on Mondays and Fridays with each class having an indoor and an outdoor session. Please keep your child's PE kit in school all week as lesson days can be subject to change depending on the availability of the hall and equipment. If you wish them to be taken home to be washed, please do so at the weekend or during the holidays and return them the next day that your child is in school. School PE kit is essential (with optional school PE hoodies) and well-fitted trainers are an important part of this. Children are not permitted to take part in the absence of these. For one half-term each year, each class will have Forest School that replaces the outdoor PE session. Parents will be contacted by School App message in advance to confirm what they need to have in school for that. Please note that in the Autumn Term, children must have a gum shield and shin pads for hockey sessions.

Using the Daily Mile track, we will undertake a mile run on two days other than PE days. Children need their trainers in school every day as a result. It is an all weather track so we can hopefully do it all year round unless the British weather defeats us! Children may change into their PE t-shirt if they wish and may also keep roll-on deodorant in their PE bag to use.