Welcome to Silver Birch.

We are a class of 13 year 5 students aged 9-10 and 5 year 6 students aged 10-11

This class is taught by Mrs Cox and is supported on Tuesday-Thursday mornings by Mrs Walker.

We get so much done in every week.!               Here is our weekly timetable.

Home learning.

Home learning will be set every Wednesday. Most of our home learning is now in high quality booklets that we have carefully chosen to support our curriculum and your child will have written the page that they need to complete in their homework diary. Please support your child to complete their home learning with care. This is a fantastic opportunity for your child to get some 1:1 support for learning and spend quality time with you.

Each week you can expect:

Reading: 10 minutes daily. A parent or adult reader should sign the homework diary each time they hear their child read. Your child may be reading very fluently by the time they reach Silver Birch. Comprehension is now their main focus so please have conversations about plot, characters and meaning. 

Maths: A set page in the booklet every week.

Reading comprehension: A page in the booklet every week.

Grammar: A page in the booklet most but not all weeks.

Your child may be given homework on paper instead of in the booklet and this may be given to support an area for development or to meet their specific needs. This will not be in addition to the work set above but will replace it.

PE in term 1

Tuesday:  in school with class teacher: uniform PE kit needed. Please note we may still be outdoors in colder weather.

Thursday: Swimming. Please bring your swimming kit.

Exercise is so vital for all children and supports both their physical and mental health. Most PE activities can be adapted if a child has injuries or is not feeling their best rather than them missing a whole session. Please let Mrs Cox know if this is the case.

SATS

If your child is in year 6, they will be sitting the standardised tests known as SATS in Summer term 1. These tests exhibit the learning your child has achieved at Checkendon and prepare their secondary schools to meet their needs.  We want all of our children to meet their fullest potential and we work hard to ensure that teaching, assessment and intervention is tailored to their needs. 

What can you do?

Please keep reading with your child and discussing their reading. This will help them to develop reading speed and to understand more of what they read. It will develop their vocabulary and help them to read between the lines.

Ensure that your child is doing and handing in their homework. Homework is a powerful way of consolidating the learning that they have done in class and helps to embed new knowledge into their long-term memory.

Make sure that your child's attendance is as high as it can be. This ensures they are having all of their targeted support and are not missing sequenced learning steps. 

Listen to your child and be sympathetic if they want to speak about concerns. Talk to Mrs Cox if you feel there is undue distress or worry. Encourage your child to try their best but remind them of all of the wonderful things they are and can do.

What shouldn't you do?

Please do not download and use past SATS papers. We usually use these in schools as progress indicators and to identify gaps. If children have seen these at home, we will not get an accurate picture of their current understanding.

Please do not offer large rewards or sanctions linked to SATS performance. Help your child to complete set learning and praise their effort.  They can only do their very best and no child wants to do poorly. Large rewards and sanctions (though usually well meant) can increase worry and inhibit success.

Some helpful links:

Children's mental health advice: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-health-development/child-mental-health