What an exciting day for Year 1! 🎉

Today, we joined readers from across the world to take part in an incredible reading challenge organised by the National Literacy Trust and the British Council.

Our children helped take on the challenge of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most people reading online in 12 hours! 🏆📖

Year 1 loved being part of such a special event, sharing in the joy of reading alongside thousands of other readers. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our love of books while showing the children that reading can connect people all around the world. 🌎❤️

We are so proud of how enthusiastically everyone joined in and how engaged they were throughout the challenge. Reading is such an important part of our learning, and it was wonderful to see the children enjoying books as part of a worldwide event.

Well done, Year 1! Fingers crossed we helped make history! 🤞🏆📚✨

Nursery children enjoyed an exciting adventure this week as they went on a bear hunt around the school! Inspired by our story We're Going on a Bear Hunt, the children followed clues and explored different areas inside the school in search of the bear's cave.

As they journeyed through corridors and classrooms, the children used their listening skills, teamwork and imagination to decide where the bear might be hiding. They eagerly searched high and low, looking carefully for signs that would lead them to the cave.

At last, the children discovered the bear's cave hidden inside the school! There was great excitement as they peeped inside to see if the bear was there. The children loved retelling parts of the story and acting out the adventure together.

It was a fantastic morning full of exploration, problem-solving and fun, and the children were very proud of themselves for finding the bear's cave! 🐻✨

What an exciting day for Year 2! 🎉 Today, we joined readers from across the world to take part in an incredible reading challenge organised by the National Literacy Trust and the British Council.

Our children helped take on the challenge of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most people reading online in 12 hours! 🏆📖

Year 2 loved being part of such a special event, sharing in the joy of reading alongside thousands of other readers. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our love of books while showing the children that reading can connect people all around the world. 🌎❤️

We are so proud of how enthusiastically everyone joined in. What an amazing memory for Year 2 to share!

Well done, Year 2. Fingers crossed we helped make history! 🤞🏆📚✨

Excitement filled the school as our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils took part in a very special event organised by the National Literacy Trust - a nationwide attempt to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title!

The children joined thousands of pupils from schools across the country to take part in this exciting challenge. The event celebrated the joy of reading and brought together children who share a love of books, stories and learning. There was a real buzz of anticipation as everyone prepared to contribute to what could become a record-breaking achievement.

Throughout the event, the children listened carefully, participated enthusiastically and represented our school brilliantly. It was fantastic to see so many pupils engaged and excited to be part of something bigger than themselves. They demonstrated excellent behaviour, teamwork and enthusiasm, showing our school values every step of the way.

As well as being part of a potential world record, the event highlighted the importance of literacy and reading for pleasure. The children discovered that reading can connect people across the country and inspire everyone to become confident, lifelong readers.

We are incredibly proud of all our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils for taking part and embracing this unique opportunity with such enthusiasm. Now we eagerly await the official results to find out whether the nationwide challenge has successfully achieved a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title!

Well done, Year 3 and Year 4. You've already made us proud, and being part of this memorable event is an achievement in itself! 📚🌟🏆

Year 1 have loved starting their Guided Reading journey this term. The children have enjoyed exploring a range of exciting books and are working hard to apply their phonics knowledge to their reading. It has been wonderful to see their confidence and enthusiasm for reading grow already! 📚✨

This week, the children have been enjoying the wonderful story Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. We explored the story in a variety of fun and hands-on ways that supported learning across different areas of development.

The children strengthened their fine motor skills by using tweezers to pick up and collect "worms" for the baby owls. They also enjoyed retelling the story using props, helping to develop their communication, language and storytelling skills as they remembered the characters and events.

Our creative activities included painting beautiful owls and practising gluing and sticking techniques to make collage owls using a range of materials. The children were very proud of their creations and loved sharing them with their friends.

It has been wonderful to see the children's imagination, creativity and confidence grow as they brought the story of Owl Babies to life! 🦉🍂✨

📰 Year 6 Begin Their News Report Writing Journey!

This week, Year 6 embarked on the first lesson of their exciting new writing unit, learning all about news articles.

To start our journey, we explored a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) news report together. As a class, we carefully examined the text and identified the key features that make an effective news article. Using highlighters, we located and discussed important elements such as the headline, byline, orientation, photograph, and caption. We also talked about the purpose of each feature and how they help to engage the reader and communicate information clearly.

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After our shared learning, the children applied their knowledge independently. Working both on their own and with a partner, they analysed a range of different news reports, searching for and identifying the features we had discussed. It was fantastic to see the children using their teamwork skills, explaining their thinking, and confidently spotting the structural elements within each text.

This lesson provided a strong foundation for the unit ahead, and Year 6 are already developing a keen eye for what makes a successful news report. We look forward to seeing these skills put into practice as the children begin crafting their own newspaper articles over the coming weeks!

📸 Keep an eye on our Year 6 page for updates as our young journalists continue their writing journey! 🗞️✨

This week in Reading into Writing, the children have been enjoying the wonderful story Handa’s Surprise. They have loved listening to and discussing the book, as well as exploring the different characters, animals, and fruits featured throughout the story.

To begin our learning, the children sequenced the events of the story, helping them to develop their understanding of what happens first, next, and at the end. They worked hard to recall key events and put them in the correct order.

Building on this, the children had a go at retelling the story in their own words. They focused on applying their early writing skills by using capital letters at the beginning of sentences, leaving finger spaces between words, and remembering to finish their sentences with full stops.

We have been very impressed with the children's enthusiasm and growing confidence in both reading and writing. Well done, everyone! 🌟

Today, Year 5 had the exciting opportunity to take part in a live online event hearing directly from NASA engineers Howard Hu and Branelle Rodriguez. This linked perfectly with our current learning in science, where we have been exploring the Solar System, the planets, and the evidence that helps us know the Earth is round.

The session also connected with our guided reading lessons. Recently, the children studied an interview with British astronaut Tim Peake, and they have been learning about the crew who will take part in the Artemis missions. During the event, the children learned more about the Orion spacecraft and the Artemis II mission, gaining an insight into the work of the engineers and teams who make human space exploration possible.

The event inspired curiosity, deepened the children's understanding of space travel, and helped them make meaningful links between their science and reading learning.

Acorns' topic this term is What Makes Me Me? To support our learning, we have been enjoying the sensory story All About Me. The children have engaged enthusiastically with the story through a multi-sensory approach, exploring a range of exciting resources using their senses. These activities have provided lots of opportunities for fun, while also helping to develop engagement in group activities, as well as improving focus, concentration and shared experiences with their peers.

Have a look at our learning!

Year 4 have made a fantastic start to our new Guided Reading approach and are thoroughly enjoying the experience. They have been focusing on getting to know the text in depth, exploring vocabulary, characters and key events to develop a deeper understanding. The children are also learning how to answer comprehension questions effectively, using evidence from the text to support their ideas and build confidence in their reading skills.

📚🎤 Year 6's First Prosody Session of the Year! 🎤📚

This week, Year 6 enjoyed their first prosody session of the year during Guided Reading, and it was a fantastic success! 🌟

Our focus was on using our voices effectively by projecting clearly, speaking with confidence, and reading with expression. Prosody helps us bring a story to life, making it more engaging for both the reader and the listener.

💻 To help us practise, we used a teleprompter to read along with part of a story that we have been exploring in class. This allowed us to concentrate on our fluency, pace, volume and expression while keeping up with the text.

👏 We were incredibly impressed with the effort shown by everyone. There was some excellent prosody on display, with pupils using clear voices, expressive reading and great confidence throughout the session.

⭐ It was a brilliant start to developing our reading skills this year, and we can't wait to see our confidence and fluency continue to grow in future sessions!

Year 4 Reading: Building Skills with Reading Eggs

In Year 4, pupils regularly use Reading Eggs to help develop their reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and confidence. The programme provides engaging reading activities, interactive lessons, and quizzes that support children as they become more fluent and independent readers. Reading Eggs is designed around the key elements of successful reading, including phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. 

Children enjoy working through activities at their own level, receiving instant feedback and rewards that help keep them motivated and engaged. The programme also includes a wide range of texts and comprehension tasks that encourage pupils to think carefully about what they read.

While Reading Eggs is a valuable tool in school, we encourage pupils to use it regularly at home as well. Even a short amount of practice can help strengthen reading skills and build confidence over time. Reading Eggs can be accessed on a range of devices, making it easy for children to continue their learning beyond the classroom.

We are delighted to see Year 4 pupils developing their reading skills and enjoying their Reading Eggs journey! 📚✨

🌟 Year 5 Take Over Day – A Brilliant Morning! 🌟

We had a wonderful experience during Take Over Day, when two fantastic Year 5 pupils took on the roles of teacher and teaching assistant in our Reading into Writing lesson.

Our Year 5 teacher confidently introduced a WAGOLL for a balanced argument, guiding the children to identify key features within the text. The class were fully engaged and showed great understanding as they picked out important elements together.

With great teamwork, the Year 5 teaching assistant supported throughout, helping the lesson run smoothly and ensuring everyone stayed on track.

The lesson continued with an engaging guided reading session focusing on prosody, using “Devon Cream Tea”. The “I say, you say” approach encouraged expressive reading, and the classroom was filled with enthusiastic voices.

It was a fabulous morning, and the children thoroughly enjoyed having them lead the class.

A huge thank you to our Year 5 teacher and teaching assistant—you were brilliant! 👏