Children arrive at 8:40am and access focused activities at the tables inside the classroom. These activities are carefully chosen to match children's needs and interests. At 9am we teach whole class phonics following the 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised' programme.
After this, children can access activities of their choice inside and outside the classroom. These activities are carefully planned to enhance learning across all areas of the curriculum. During this time, children might work independently, one-to-one with an adult or in a small group. During activity time, adults will also play alongside children to model activities, share new vocabulary and extend children’s learning. We then have a story or song before going out to play with the rest of the school.
After playtime, we have snack time, when we sit down together and share a story while having a piece of fruit and a drink of water. We then have another short input on the carpet. This could be Maths, English or Understanding the World. After this, children have another opportunity to apply and develop their skills by accessing activities in our environment or joining in with group work.
Lunch is at 11.50am - the Pearl class children are served first. There are staff on hand to support the children if needed, and to help them to their seats. After they have eaten their lunch, the children go outside for playtime along with Ruby class, and then the older children join them following their lunch.
We start the afternoon with a story and a short input on the carpet. This is followed by further child initiated activity time or group work. Depending on the day, children will often have a second short input in the afternoon. We may also take part in a PE session during the morning or afternoon sessions. In the afternoon, we also have daily handwriting sessions and weekly word aware sessions to develop our vocabulary. We finish our day with a song and a story ready for home time at 3.10pm.
SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD WITH READING
Although your child will be taught to read at school, you can have a huge impact on their journey to becoming a fluent reader by continuing their practice at home.
There are two types of reading book that your child will bring home:
- A reading practice book. This will be at the correct phonic stage for your child. They should be able to read this fluently and independently.
- A sharing book. Your child will not be able to read this on their own. This book is for you both to read and enjoy together.
In class, over 3 sessions, children will read a reading practice book matched to their current reading level. This will be in a small group. Once they have completed the 3 sessions, the book will be sent home with your child so that they can show you how well they are progressing with their reading and feel a sense of achievement. At home, we would like your child to read the book that they have been given at least three times, over the week, more often if possible. Each read should have a different focus, as follows:
- ‘Read 1’ decoding
- ‘Read 2’ prosody
- ‘Read 3’ comprehension.
At the back of each reading practice book, there is a set of prompts to support you with each of the three reading stages.
Please indicate each read in your child’s reading record (this could be a comment or just a tick) so that we know how well your child has done each time they have read it. Children will keep each reading practice book for a week to enable them to practice their reading and build fluency. If your child is reading their book with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.
In addition to their reading practice book, in order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure, we therefore also continue to send home a sharing book they have chosen for you to enjoy together. Please remember that you shouldn’t expect your child to read this alone. Read to or with them. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!
You can find out more about how to support your child to learn to read at
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Please always indicate each read in your child’s reading record (this could be a comment or just a tick). In order to encourage this and the children's independence, those children who successfully record five reads in a week will be rewarded with a raffle ticket. At the end of each term, a raffle ticket will be drawn and the Pearl Class child with the winning ticket will receive a book-related prize!
HOME AND SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
As well as regularly reading at home, the children in Pearl Class are provided with other learning opportunities at home which link to the learning in school, including bespoke personalised phonics support.
We encourage parents and carers to share 'Wow moments' that they have spotted their child doing outside of school too - please use the Pearl Class email below to send the details and any pictures or videos!
The school holds 'Open Classrooms' after school for all our parents and carers, at least once a term, to give everyone an informal opportunity to look around their child's classroom, admire the children's learning on display and look in their child's books - the dates of these will be made known via our school newsletters.
If you have any questions or information to share with us relating to your child's learning or settling in, then please email us at: pearl@alfriston.e-sussex.sch.uk. Emails are checked after school every day. If there is an urgent matter, please phone the school office.
