Dear Parents / Carers,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and a happy and healthy New Year. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the lovely presents I received from you all – it is greatly appreciated! I hope the children are excited for the busy Spring term ahead!

Below are some reminders and information for our class.  We try to keep to these routines every week but will occasionally change items to suit the needs of the children and any other additional events happening in school.  Have a read through our welcome letter and curriculum overview to see all the exciting things we have planned for the Spring term.  Attached below are also our curriculum knowledge organisers for the Spring term. 

On this page, you will find some useful information about the term ahead and any key messages that you need to be aware of.  If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see our class X feed and link to Google Classroom. We love to use X to share some of the excellent things going on in class and will use Google Classroom to support learning at home - spellings, homework and useful documents will be uploaded and made available on there.  

We have some really exciting things planned for this term. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, either via email, telephone or come and have a chat with me at the end of the day! I hope we can continue to work together to support the children in any way possible.

Kind regards,
Miss Fazakerley

Our Curriculum:

English

In English, the children will use a variety of different stimulus throughout the term to engage and inspire the children’s writing.  The children will begin the term looking at story The Lion & The Unicorn and cover a range of writing such as setting descriptions, historical stories, letters and poetry.  Children will also focus on spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Maths

In Maths, children will be studying lots of topics this term including Multiplication & Division, Length and Perimeter, Fractions and Decimals.  In Year 4, children are expected to know their times tables up to 12x12 ready for their multiplication check which will take place in June.  To help the children practise their times tables, they need to be using TTRS at least 3 times a week at home. Useful MTC links can also be found below.

Science

This term we will be learning all about States of Matter and Habitats.  Children will begin by learning all about the differences between solids, liquids and gases, classifying objects and identifying their properties. They will then explore in-depth how water changes state, exploring melting, freezing, condensing as well as a particular focus on evaporation.  Children will then learn how to recognise, group and classify vertebrates and invertebrates.  They will learn how to sort groups of animals in different ways using, Venn Diagrams, Carroll Diagrams and Classification Trees.

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Geography

How Has Warrington Changed?  In this topic, the children will take a look at the geography of Warrington – from the physical features to the manmade landmarks that are synonymous with Warrington. They will find out how the landscape has changed over time; how the city has grown and how the population has changed throughout the course of history.

History

Why Is RAF Burtonwood So Important to Warrington?  In this topic, the children will learn about WWII and the impact that it had on Warrington.  They will learn all about the American Base, why Warrington was chosen to house this and the impact it had on WWII.  Through a visit to RAF Burtonwood, the children will discover what it would have been like to live in wartime Warrington (Britain).

Reading:

Children are encouraged to read at home at least three times each week. Please note in the school planner when your child has read, the page number reached and any comment you may wish to make. School planners will be checked on a weekly basis, but planners should be in school each day so reading and any other notes can be recorded.
All children will complete a whole class guided read, focusing on different reading skills and activities each day. Whenever possible, children are also heard to read individually, so assessment continually takes place. It is therefore important that the children are encouraged to read their reading books (as well as any other reading materials) at home on a regular basis.
Please try to read with your child on a frequent basis; ten minutes a day makes such a difference. We always encourage children to read other material/books, not just their school reading books. The local libraries are also an excellent way to encourage and support reading for pleasure. These can also be noted in the reading section of the school planners.

Spellings:

Spellings will be posted on our Google Classroom page each Friday and the children will be tested the following Friday.
These will focus on either a particular spelling rule/pattern and will also include some words taken from the statutory word list. They will be taught and practised throughout the week in school also. The spelling rules and statutory words are for Years 3 and 4 so please don’t be alarmed if your child receives some of the same spelling words or the same rule that they previously had. This is intentional to ensure that they can apply them in their writing.
Weekly spellings will be available on Spellingframe.co.uk so the children can practice them online and play games.
 Please try to help your child to look at these words, pointing out any particular patterns that will help them to remember them. Many children find learning spellings very challenging so this should be low key and a fun few minutes.

PE:

Children will have Outdoor PE on a Tuesday and Indoor PE on a Thursday and should come to school in their PE kits on these days. PE kits should be their house colour t-shirt, black shorts/leggings/joggers and a black jacket/hoodie.
Please note that Beech Tree will not be going swimming during the Spring term. This will resume again in the Summer term.
Please remember to tie back long hair and wear no jewellery for safety reasons. 

Homework:

Homework will be set on a Friday and this should be completed by the following Thursday at 6pm. LbQ will be used to support the children with their homework.  Homework will consist of an activity linked to the unit of work they are covering in class, so they should be able to complete the activity independently. However, if your child feels they need some extra support to complete the activity they should ask in school asap.
Google Classroom will also be used to provide homework support and activities so please make sure you access our Google page regularly. Beech Tree class code is 3si6mltu.

Times Tables:

I would like to remind you that we will be having a big focus on times tables this year as the Year 4 children will be completing their Multiplication Times tables Check in June 2026. TTRS will continue again this year, to support the children’s learning and the children will all have their own individual login, which will be written in their school planners. Children should be practising their times tables frequently to ensure they are ready for the MTC.

Year 4 Residential:

Please be reminded that our residential to Tyn-Y-Felin, Anglesey, will take place on Wednesday 17th – Friday 19th June 2026. It promises to be an amazing trip packed full of exciting visits including nature walks, crabbing, rock pooling and canoeing! The PowerPoint from the meeting in Autumn term has now been posted on Google Classroom, but please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any other questions.

Some useful websites, resources and links: