Year 6

Welcome to the Year 6 Class page.

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SPRING TERM 2026

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This exciting school year continues with more fun learning to be done and lots of preparation for the coming transition to new secondary schools. How exciting!

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As always, there are lots of adults who are always here to help us in our learning and experiences! These adults are:

Miss Dunkley (class teacher)

Miss Riley (teaching assistant on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday)

Mr Barrick (teaching assistant on Thursday and Friday)

Miss Ibbotson (class teacher on Wednesday afternoons) 

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During the first half of the Spring Term, our class topic is 'Extreme Earth' during which we shall learn about earthquakes and tsunamis. We shall identify earthquake zones around the world and faults within the earth’s crust, understanding how the movement of these tectonic plates and faults cause earthquakes and tsunamis. We shall consider the damage and effects of such natural disasters and how people prepare for them, survive and recover from them. We will understand the Richter and Mercalli scales, reflect on real-life disasters and write newspaper articles about earthquake disaster in English. In our topic work, we will create information posters, safety leaflets and encyclopaedia entries as 'expert' seismologists to showcase our learning.

Our whole class novel this half term will be (when we have completed ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’)

'Swimming Against the Storm' by Jess Butterworth. Eliza has lived her whole life in a small fishing village,

growing up alongside turtles, pelicans and porpoises. But now, with sea levels rising and a tropical storm

approaching, her home is at risk of being swept away…

This book will support children’s learning about natural disasters and the fight for survival, as well as providing

pre-learning and understanding about climate change, our class topic in the second half of the Spring Term.

Our class novels so far this school year have been thought-provoking and the pupils have loved having them read

on a daily basis. We recommend that our pupils have their own copy of the books to read along with us. It makes

the whole reading experience richer!

We are really looking forward to this half term and continuing on our learning journey!

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Home Learning

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Home Learning in Year 6 is simple and minimal, enabling pupils to work hard and with enthusiasm during school hours and allowing them to relax and focus on their wellbeing and outside interests when at home.

Our focus in Home Learning is to supplement the learning being done in lessons and to prepare our children for the forthcoming SAT tests in May 2026 and their transition to secondary schools, when the volume of home learning will increase.

Home Learning tasks will be primarily shared on the class Google Classroom and are updated weekly. All children can independently log into this on devices from home to access their home learning. Some tasks may also be set on Purple Mash and explicit links and instructions will make it clear where to find the tasks. Should pupils be unable to access Google Classroom, paper copies of the home learning will be made available.

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​​Home learning will usually include:

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Spellings - These include a set of spellings to be practised every week plus weekly spellings following spelling patterns. Your child will bring home their spellings on paper and links to practices, quizzes, games and tests can be found weekly on Google Classroom. This will supplement the spellings and patterns which will also be taught in lessons each day.

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Reading - Our children are given time to read for pleasure for 20 minutes most day in school. This ensure our pupils maintain and improve their reading speed, fluency and prosody (use of expression and intonation) and are exposed to a range of reading materials. Children are encouraged to read at home wherever they can to build their independent love of reading. Pupils may access current and engaging reading material - both fiction and non-fiction - from the bookshelves in our classroom and library. They may also bring in and read books from home.

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Times Tables - Every child in Year 6 has bespoke times tables set which they can practice online via Times Tables Rockstars. Each child has his/her own login details and the website can also be accessed via Google Classroom. TTR is a fun way to practice, test and improve their recall and mastery of times tables and their related division facts - a skill which is crucial if they are to access the Year 6 Maths curriculum with accuracy.

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Other - In Year 6, we believe that our pupils should work to the best of their ability in lessons and that time out of school is to pursue their hobbies and other activities. However, every now and again, pupils will also be encouraged to complete short activities which will help them to revise their learning done in class, especially in the run-up to the SAT tests. This could include completing grammar activities on Purple Mash or answering Maths questions for example. Expectations and instructions will be made clear via Google Classroom.

Whilst home learning in Year 6 for most of the year is manageable and minimal, additional home learning will be given in the second half of the Summer Term (once the SAT tests have been completed) to prepare children for the volume of home work and the expectations around this once they transition to their secondary schools. 

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SATs Tests

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This year, the end of Key Stage 2 SATs week takes place from Monday 11th May to Thursday 14th May (inclusive) 2026.

Throughout Year 6, we help our pupils learn, revise and consolidate the knowledge they will require to complete these tests to the best of their ability.

A SATs Parents Meeting will be held in the Spring Term 2026 to answer any questions you may have, identify how we support all pupils for this and to impart key information.

Please make arrangements to speak with Miss Dunkley if you have any questions about the national test week.

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What does a day in Year 6 look like?

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Every day, the pupils will be engaged in a range of activities following the Year 6 Long Term plan which covers all aspects of the Year 6 National Curriculum, taught and supported by the adults who work in the class. To see what the class timetable looks like on a 'normal' day, please click on the Timetable link for the appropriate term at the bottom of this page.

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Below is some additional information regarding the learning our children will do during the school week.

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Bonjour!

In line with the primary curriculum, our pupils will continue to learn French, building on what they have already learned in Year 5 and previously. Learning another language is very exciting and pupils can look forward to developing their ablilities to communicate in a foreign language - fantastique! This is taught by Miss Ibbotson.

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PE and Games

PE sessions will be taught on Thursday afternoons.

Please make sure all children come to school on these days wearing the correct PE kit (white t-shirt, black bottoms and appropriate footwear). In colder weather, pupils may wear black leggings or jogging trousers and a school jumper or PE hoodie (school purple/teal ones please). 

For health and safety reasons, children wearing earrings will be required to remove them for safe-keeping if they are able or should have them covered with tape.

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Spellings

Pupils will currently be taught spellings during the school day on a weekly basis. Initially, we will be ensuring all pupils have a secure grasp of the Year 3, 4 and 5 spelling lists (or other differentiated spellings as required per individual child), before moving on to learning the Year 6 spelling patterns and related words. Spelling patterns and words will be introduced on a Friday for a test the following Friday. Pupils will spend time learning these during the week in school and are expected to supplement this learning with practice at home via Google Classroom or using the paper sheets provided. The skills, strategies and journaling methods they use will be invaluable for helping them to spell unfamiliar words in their writing, with greater accuracy.  Please support your child in learning their spellings each week.

 

Times Tables

Pupils will be encouraged to learn the full set of times tables (to 12 x 12 and beyond) by heart and will be engaged in a range of tasks to improve speed of recall and accuracy throughout the school week. Individual times tables will be set to learn (according to the progress they are making) as part of their Home Learning, using Times Tables Rockstars to access a range of practices, games and tests.

 

Reading

All of our pupils are given time to read books from a carefully selected library of books which form our class reading spine that is both age and ability appropriate. Time is set aside for them to read for pleasure for 20 minutes each day and our children are encouraged to find time at home to continue their reading. They are encouraged to develop a love for reading and to become motivated, responsible readers!