Year 2

Mr Little and Mrs Hillier teach in Squirrel Class and Miss Nixon teaches in Bat Class.

Year 2 Curriculum

Our children are taught in line with the expectations that are set out in the National Curriculum.  Subjects are taught with a clear progression and links are made with prior learning. 

The  Curriculum has been designed to ensure rigorous learning of knowledge but also to help teachers make all learning exciting, active and meaningful for children.Our curriculum engages children with their learning and gets them interested in the world around them. Our Curriculum takes a global approach by helping children to connect their learning to where they are living now as well as looking at the learning from the perspective of other people in other countries. The curriculum also emphasises the history and culture of Britain and promotes fundamental British values.

PE is taught by a specialist sports coach and Science, Music and Art are taught by specialist teachers.

The overviews for each subject can be found in the table below.

Subject	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
History	Explorers	Henry VIII	Great Fire of London	Great Fire of London	Why do we remember 5th November?	Why do we remember 5th November?
Geography	Places in the World		Different Landscapes	Villages, Towns and Cities	What is Kenya like?
R.E	Christianity	Festivals	Islam	Islam	Why are some things special?	Christianity
Science	Materials	Humans	Materials	Plants	Animals	Living things and their environment
Computing	Year 2 e-safety	Re-capping algorithms (Bluebots)	Creating digital designs (Pages app)	Programming - Scratch Stories	Publishing Writing (Pages app)	Programming - Advanced Scratch! (Scratch Jr)
Art	Art appreciation	Drawing	Painting	Collage	Sculpture	Text Art
DT	Design a ship		Bridge building	Cook with vegetables	Design and make a beach toy
Music	Recorders	Recorders	Recorders	Recorders	Recorders	Recorders
PE	Gymnastics	Games	Dance	Games	Gymnastics	Athletics
PSHE	Relationships	Being me in my world	Celebrating difference	Dreams and goals	Healthy Me	Changing Me

Mathematics

We use an innovative, focused programme of work, which teaches children mathematical concepts practically first, before moving on to pictorial representations and finally the abstract recording. This is based on the Singapore Maths approach to teaching and aligns well with the focus in the National Curriculum on ‘mastery’.

The key features of our approach to Maths are:

• Emphasis on problem solving and comprehension, allowing pupils to relate what they learn and to connect knowledge.
• Careful scaffolding of core concepts through:
  • visualisation, as a platform for comprehension;
  • mental strategies, to develop decision making abilities;
  • pattern recognition, to support the ability to make connections and generalise.
• Emphasis on the foundations for learning and not on the content itself so pupils learn to think mathematically as opposed to merely reciting formulas or procedures.

English

Lessons in English are planned carefully to help children continually develop and improve their skills in speaking and listening,  reading and  writing.

Reading
We believe that reading is the gateway to learning but should always be pleasurable and fun. Every day starts with reading across the school.  We aim to give children a concrete set of skills to decode and understand text but also enable them to develop a lifelong love of books. At the start of Year 2  most children in Year Two follow our Read Write Inc programme and take part in a daily phonics session. The focus is on children learning different combinations of letters that can make the same sound (e.g. /ay/ /ai/ /a_e/ in play, rain, game) or how the same spelling can be for different sounds (e.g. /oo/ in book and moon). This enables them to read more complicated vocabulary and also to spell words accurately. Mid-way through year 2, most children will move off of our phonics programme  and reading lessons will focus on comprehension skills, using inference and deduction.  Children who are not confident in de-coding will be supported to develop these skills in a 1:1 or in small groups. 

It is essential that you read with your child at home every day. Your child will be given a reading book which is pitched at their specific level.  In addition to this they can select one or more free choice books each week. There is a library in each class room stocked with a range of  books to offer the children a wide range of personal choice alongside the books selected by adults for them. 

Writing

 We teach children writing  starting with exploring a wide range of high-quality texts. Children are exposed to different genres, with a focus on exploring a range of models of excellence. The children then use these models to guide the creating and drafting process. In every lesson, there is a high focus on speaking and articulating their ideas. Every sequence of English lessons begins with an immersion stage to help develop creativity, engage the children with the new learning for the week and support them to become more confident with the focused text for that week. The rest of the week is spent in preparing the children for an extended piece of writing, through a range of activities and planning techniques. It is important to note that we not only develop a real enjoyment of writing in English lessons but in all subjects across the curriculum. We expect the highest standards of writing every time a child writes in any subject.

The teaching of grammar and punctuation is embedded in our writing process although sometimes additional grammar lessons may take place. Spellings are given out each week so that children build up their knowledge of spelling rules and can use these with confidence in their writing.

Handwriting
Handwriting lessons take place two or three times each week focusing on letter height, formation and the flow of writing.  We follow a strctured approach to handwriting using the Morrells approach.  We believe that this promotes flow and speed, and supports spelling as the children develop as writers.

 

SATs

The Key Stage 1 SATs happen at the end of the school year (usually in June). The best thing you can do at home to support your child is to read with them every day, complete any home learning and  ensure that your child is in school, and on time, everyday.