Welcome to Year 2 (KS1 S)

Teacher: Miss Shakeshaft      Teaching Assistant: Mrs Bennett

Welcome to the final year of the infants, how exciting!

Welcome to the Autumn Term!

In Year 2 we expect the children to respect each other, to have a positive attitude towards their learning and most importantly, to have fun!

English -  English lessons take place every day and are interlinked with our weekly topic, guided reading and grammar lessons. In Year 2, we explore a range of different text types; including fiction, non-fiction and poetry, we will be writing for a range of purposes. We will be focusing on our consistent use of capital letters and full stops, and choosing exciting vocabulary.

During the Autumn term, we will be reading a range of texts related to our first art topic ‘Colour Chaos’ and our Geography topic ‘Sensational Safari – Kenya’. We will explore texts such as Colour Monster, Mixed, The Ugly Five and Poems About Animals.  

Reading – Reading takes place every day in school in a variety of ways: whole-class guided reading sessions, individual reading, subject lessons and our daily home time story session. With daily guided reading sessions that focus on a weekly text, our pupils are able to explore a wide range of text types throughout the academic year. The children will develop their reading speed, expression abilities and general comprehension skills through a range of retrieval, vocabulary and inference-based activities. All of the fundamental reading skills are of high priority, but ensuring your child enjoys reading is the main thing that matters! #ReadingRocks

Please read with your child at home as often as you can. We have multiple incentives and rewards in school for those children that are able to read 3+ times a week at home. You can use your child’s reading diary as a method of communication with us about how your child is reading at home. The linked ‘Reading at Home’ sheet is full of ideas of activities and questions that you can ask your child when reading at home. If you would like any help with this, please ask a member of our team. Your child will read with an adult twice a week in school and these sessions will be written into your child's reading diary.

If you need any recommendations, please ask. Lovereading4kids.co.uk is a wonderful website for recommendations, but we have a vast selection in school. Remember, comprehension and an appreciation of what you have read is of equal importance to speed and fluency. It is so important that each and every child has an enjoyment of reading. There is a book for everyone! If you're not sure what your child should be reading next, please come and ask.

Maths –  Children engage with daily mathematic lessons and added challenges. Each morning the children complete a '5 a day' fluency sheet to consolidate and refresh their skills / previous learning. In Year 2, we consolidate our knowledge of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables alongside their corresponding division facts. Please encourage your child to log on to their TT Rockstars account where they can rehearse their 2, 5 and 10 times tables facts.

During this half-term the focus will be place value, before moving on to explore addition & subtraction! Maths homework will be sent out on a Friday and will need to be returned by the following Friday morning. Please pop in to see a member of staff if you would like to ask about how to support your child at home.

Science – Science lessons take place every Monday afternoon. The children will be learning about Animals Including Humans. We will be conducting our own experiments, exploring food chains and studying different animals habitats.

Autumn Foundation Subject Topics:

Geography – Sensational Safari
History – The Gun Powder Plot
Art – Colour Chaos
Design & Technology – Moving Pictures
Computing – Online Safety & Coding
Music – Hands, heart, feet & Christmas
RE – Kindess & Christianity
PSHE – Being Me & Celebrating Differences

P.E - Physical education lessons are every FRIDAY afternoon, so please do not forget to bring the correct kit, ready for this day. Your child’s kit should include a white T-Shirt, black shorts and a pair of black pumps. Each kit should be clearly labelled and kept securely in a labelled P.E. bag, so that any misplaced items can be returned quickly. Please have a pair of track pants and something warmer available, as we will go outside as often as possible.

 Reminders:

  • Bring a fresh bottle of water every day. 
  • Bring reading book and record every day.
  • PE lessons are every Friday afternoon. Please have your kit in school, it can remain on your peg during the half-term.
  • Read to an adult at home, at least 3 times a week - please record any reading sessions in your child's reding record book. 
  • Toast and milk can be ordered for the half-term on ParentPay. If you are unsure on how to use ParentPay, please contact the school office. 
  • Spellings are handed out every Friday and tested the following Friday morning.

Reading Eggs and Purple Mash will host extra weekly activities, please ask for any login details if you are unsure. We encourage the children to also login into TTRockstars at home to increase their general times table fluency. Of course, any additional research or work is richly encouraged and will only benefit your child's progress throughout the year.


If you have any questions or queries, please contact the school office to arrange an appointment or speak to us during drop-off and pick-up times! Our door is always open.

Thank you for your continued support.

Miss Shakeshaft & Year 2 Team :)