Welcome to the Upper Phase.

Welcome to the Upper Phase page – here you will find useful information about this part of the school and all about the exciting learning taking place.

Autumn Term Topic/Context for learning: Canary in the Coal Mine

This term year 3 and 4 pupils will be learning about Wales’ mining history. They will also learn about the school’s local mining history – Clyne Valley woods is a fantastic source of history which will be investigated by the pupils. The pupils will explore and consider the role of child miners and compare the rights of children today. The pupils will make use of different sources of history to make many comparisons between the lives of people in the 19^th century with their own. Pupils will get in roles and write a fictional diary as if they were child miners. A variety of Areas of Learning will be taught through this topic including dance, design technology, science as well aspects of health and well-being.

The pupils began the topic by visiting Big Pit in Pontypool. Pupils got to go down into the mines to see for themselves the sorts of conditions miners and the pit ponies would work in.

The pupils visited Clyne Woods to discover and learn about its mining history. A big thank you to the Clyne Valley Community Valley Project who took the pupils on a tour of our local woods.

Pupils having being exploring the diets of miners – they seemed to eat a lot of potatoes. So… the pupils planted their own. We’re excited to see them grow and eat them… eventually!

The pupils have been developing their acting skills whilst performing in the role of a 19th-century^th century miner.

Home Learning:

Within the upper phase, pupils will have weekly home learning which consists of reading, maths, and spelling.

Reading:

Pupils will be given a book each week to read. Daily reading is so important and can have a significant impact on the pupils’ learning (see picture below):

We ask parents/carers to read daily with their child for 20 minutes.

Online books will also be made available and can be accessed through Bug Club or Giglets. Please ask your child’s teacher for the login details and password if you do not have them. These online platforms have high-quality, engaging reading materials and many quizzes and games which assess your child’s understanding.

Maths:

Pupils will be provided with a maths home learning pack which they can work through throughout the term. Pupils are required to complete a page a week. The maths home learning packs are allocated following an introductory assessment. However, please speak with your child’s class teacher if you feel that your child is not on the correct pack.

Spelling:

Pupils will have weekly spelling tests and we ask pupils to learn these words at home throughout the week in preparation. There are many different fun ways to learn these spellings at home:

Additional Home Learning:

Pupils also have access to literacy and maths activities through their Bug Club account which they can complete if they wish.

There are many interactive activities for the pupils to complete which will help their understanding of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Maths Factor includes instructional videos and games which the pupils can play. These will be allocated to match the learning taking place in school. 

Here are our staff: