The Hedgehogs class is made up of children from nursery, reception and KS1.

The class teacher is Mrs Cross.

The nursery and reception children in Hedgehogs learn partly through whole group discussion, affectionately known to our children as 'carpet time' and small group practical activities. We follow the Early Years Curriculum which is very active and play based and believe strongly in following the children's interests and outdoor learning. Children learn in small groups working with adults and also through child-initiated activities inside and outside. Alongside these activities, children also get involved with 'Woodland walks', Outdoor learning and Forest school throughout the year. 'Dough gym' (to encourage fine motor development) 'music and movement', 'Show and Tell' and PE sessions.

Hedgehogs class has a mix of Years 1 and 2 children. We follow the Key Stage 1 curriculum and have plenty of opportunity for active learning through child-initiated investigation and exploration, using our outdoor space as much as possible. The class teacher is Mrs Cross. Every week, Mr Barlow teaches the children basic computer skills such as simple algorithms and programming. Mr Hopkinson also teaches Hedgehogs Forest School sessions. Forest School uses the natural resources in our woodland. With this, the children's interests are used to stimulate imaginative, creative and investigative activities and take safe risks. Children can saw wood, whittle sticks, help to light fires to cook on, leap into puddles, climb trees and build shelters. 

Every morning we follow a systematic phonics programme. As well as this, we enjoy texts in our whole class reading sessions, which help us to develop our VIPERS skills. Our writing sessions are influenced by the outdoors. We use hook lessons to draw out exciting ideas and through this we can then decide the genre of writing we would like to focus on for the next writing cycle. Key writing skills are then taught over a number of days and result in wonderful, independent pieces of work to be proud of.

Followed by Maths. This terms maths can be found on our class page. We will use our creative and imaginative skills to support the recognition of the skill required.

Each term we have a topic. Where we plan lots of exciting educational visits. This can also be found on our class page. Our Topic planning cross-links with science, art and design.

We love being in Hedghogs !                                                       It is an amazing place to be!

Foxes class is the upper end of the school and currently includes a mix of children from Years 4, 5 and 6. The class teacher is Mrs Richardson and supported by Mrs Fayers. Mr Barlow teaches Computing and Mr Hopkinson teaches PE as well as leads our Forest School sessions.

Children in this class have opportunities during the school year to be involved in activities with children from other local schools, compete in sporting tournaments, attend activities run by the high school and attend educational visits linked to a range of aspects of the school curriculum.

The children in Key Stage 2 focus on the development of previously learnt skills so that they are able to apply knowledge and understanding to a range of situations. We enjoy taking our learning outdoors and seek real life opportunities for learning where possible. 

Our writing, reading and maths sessions are taken outdoors at every opportunity. We believe in immersing children in real life scenarios to help them understand the purpose behind their learning and so that when opportunities in the wider world arise, they will feel well-equipped to deal with them. 

We are reading a range of stories themed around the Rainforest this term as a class and are really understanding the different layers and how plants and animals show adaptation. As well as this, we are enjoying a range of topic-based texts in our whole class reading sessions which explore a range of genres and challenge us to develop our VIPERS skills.

We have introduced a new writing strategy in Foxes, where we aim to inspire creative writing, using our outdoor environment and build the use of key grammar and punctuation skills through breaking up a piece of writing into manageable chunks and modelling good examples before the children are able to get imaginative and creative by composing their own pieces of writing.

In Science this half term we are studying |Animals including humans. We are using the opportunity to get practical, learning how our circulatory system works and making an interesting blood smoothie. 

Our Geography topic this term is Rainforest! We are delving into The Amazon and studying layers, climate and deforestation, as well as discovering native people and tribes. Our amazing visit to Kew Gardens has inspired us to discover more interesting facts, helping us to stretch our imagination and creative skills to design a new undiscovered plant.

We are a small class but we benefit from this by knowing that we all have a voice and we have the power to lead our own learning. We work collaboratively and show respect to those around us. It is great to be part of Foxes!