Welcome to Nursery.

The nursery children have had a great start to the term and have settled in very well.
Children are busy independently exploring the learning areas, making friendships and learning the routine.

Our topic this term is called ‘Marvellous Me’. We will learn lots about ourselves and our families. So far we have created family trees, drew and painted self-portraits.

In the coming weeks we will explore functions of our five senses and feelings/emotions. Lastly, we will learn about healthy eating and discuss the food we like and dislike.

Each week the children will be learning a new nursery rhyme and will get an opportunity to take part in decorating a character using different materials to take home.

At the end of the term, the children will take home a nursery rhymes pack to practice. The fun nursery rhymes will support children’s communication and language development.

Please remember to send your child into nursery with a coat, a bag of spare clothes, a water bottle and please don’t forget to name the children’s belongings. Thank you.

Welcome to Reception!

The children have settled into school life brilliantly and have done a fantastic job learning how to independently access and explore the different areas of learning across our classroom.

We have loved sharing fantastic books together: Mr Big, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, and The Gruffalo. These stories have provided wonderful inspiration for our early writing skills:

• Mark Making: Building fine motor strength through drawing, tracing patterns, and messy play.
• Name Writing: Practising writing our own names with increasing independence.
• Initial Sounds: Tuning our ears to identify the very first sound we hear in everyday words.

In our Maths sessions, we have been getting hands-on with early number and visual skills:

• Subitising to 5: Learning to instantly recognise small amounts of items (up to 5) at a glance without having to count them one by one.
• Sorting and Classifying: Grouping objects by their colour and size to spot patterns and differences.

In our topic All About Our Families work, we have been focusing on our individual family structures. The children have loved talking about who lives in their home, sharing family stories, and celebrating what makes each of our families unique and special.

Hello and a warm welcome to Year 1!

The children have settled in fantastically and are little superstars! Year 1 can be a big jump from reception, however the children have amazed us with how resilient and hardworking they have been!

• Each week we will read and enjoy a different storybook, here are the ones for this half term:
• The Rainbow Fish
• Peace at Last
• Can’t You Sleep Little Bear?
• Handa’s Surprise
• Six Dinner Sid
• Tiddler

The children have now been in their Read, write Inc groups for a few weeks now and should have all been sent home with a reading book to share with you. They should be confident storytellers by the time this book goes home as they will have learnt all of the sounds in class that week and all of the words, ready to be able to use their fantastic storytelling voices to you at home- so please do encourage them to share their reading with you.

You can also log your child’s reading in their reading diaries. Please do not worry if you cannot write a comment when they read to you, a tick to say they have read is enough. Thank you in advance for your support, as reading at home really is so valuable in helping your child’s learning.

In maths we have been focusing on recognising the value of each digit under 10 and exploring the different ways to represent a number, also exploring how numbers can be made up of 2 parts. Each day we practice singing the months of the year and days lof the week, so please continue to sing along at home too! We will be moving on to exploring ways we can make 10 and looking at doubles and halves to 10 in the coming weeks.

We look forward to a fun and exciting year ahead! As always, if there is anything you are concerned about or need to discuss, please speak to your child’s teacher

Welcome back to all of the Year 2 children.

They have all settled in quickly and are enjoying their lessons.

In shared reading, we are enjoying reading Hansel & Gretel. The children are very eager to discover what happens next!

In maths, the children are working hard on place value, partitioning numbers and using dienes. In science, we are looking at plants and seasons, as well as the function of different parts of a plant. In topic, we are learning all about the history of food and comparing the foods we had in Britain 500 years ago compared to now.

We have issued the children with their reading diaries. Every child should have a Read Write Inc. book by the end of this week. Their spellings to be learned weekly are stuck into the back of their reading diaries.

A Fantastic Start!

Year 3 have made a brilliant start to the new term! The children have settled into their new classroom with huge smiles, enjoying the fresh environment while working hard to master our daily routines and expectations.

In our English lessons, we are diving into the world of poetry. Inspired by Grace Nichols’ vibrant poem ‘I am a Parrot’, the children are exploring expressive language and rich imagery to craft their own animal-inspired poems.

Welcome back to all of the Year 4 children, they have all settled in well and are enjoying the lessons.

The children are enjoying our new Shared Reading Book George’s Marvellous Medicine and they are looking forward to seeing what George’s new medicine will do to his Grandma! In Literacy we are focusing on the features of Poems.

In Science we are looking at Animals and their Habitats and how they have adapted to survive in their habitat. History for this term is Roman Britain and how the lives of the Celts were changed by the arrival of the Romans.

The orange reading diaries that are sent home weekly are for parents to acknowledge that their child has completed some independent reading. These must be returned every Friday for the teachers to check.

Welcome to the Year 5 children!

The children have settled into their new class with fantastic enthusiasm, and we are already diving headfirst into an exciting term of learning.

Our young historians have traveled back to Tudor times to uncover the dramatic reign of King Henry VIII. We are exploring what life was like in the 16th century, investigating Henry’s six wives, and examining how his decisions changed British history forever. Ask your child if they can recite the famous rhyme to remember the fate of the wives!

In Science, we have blasted off into our Earth and Space unit. The children are learning about the movement of the Earth, Moon, and other planets relative to the Sun in our solar system.

Year 6 pupils have settled in brilliantly this year!

Children are excited about their learning and are especially enjoying their swimming and PE lessons. A reminder to all parents children can not take part in PE with earrings in. Year 6 pupils have been focussing on mastering place value in maths and have shown excellence in their learning.

Year 6 pupils have trips to a local farm coming up at the end of September, please rember to log on to MCAS to sign your child up!

There are several open evenings happening at the local secondary schools this half term, a reminder to all parents/carers we reccomend you attend these with your child before registering them for their secondary school. The deadline to apply for secondary school placements is the end of October!

A warm welcome back to all of our returning families, and a special welcome to the new children who have joined our class!

We have had a wonderful start to the term, and it’s been lovely watching the children get to know one another.

Making the most of the nice weather, we have enjoyed plenty of messy play and activities in our outdoor area.

Shared Reading: We are currently reading ‘The Rainbow Fish’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, and the children will be taking part in lots of fun activities linked to these stories.

Topic & History: Reception is learning about Marvellous Me, while Year 1 explores Childhood and Year 2 delves into Food and Trade for history.

Please be sure to check Tapestry daily for regular updates and photos of your child’s learning journey.

Welcome back to our returning SEU2 children, and a very warm welcome to the new children who have joined us!

It has been such a positive and exciting start to the academic year, and we are incredibly proud of how well the children are settling into their new routines and building relationships with the adults and children around them.

We have already been very busy! The children have enjoyed exploring different textures through messy and sensory play, sharing stories including The Rainbow Fish and Dear Zoo, and getting creative with lots of colourful art activities.

We have also been supporting the children’s communication and interaction throughout the day using core boards, intensive interaction and plenty of opportunities for shared play and exploration.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year filled with learning, laughter, exploration and lots of special moments!

Welcome Back and Exciting New Life Skills!

What a brilliant start to the new year! The children have settled back into school routines smoothly and are loving the subtle changes to our timetable.

This term, we are launching weekly Life Skills sessions! We will be focusing on everyday independence, from making simple snacks (like icing buns, making sandwiches, and baking cakes) to practicing essential self-care routines. The children will be learning how to wash their hands thoroughly, wipe down tables after meals, and tackle tricky clothing fastenings like buttons and shoelaces.

Be sure to check Tapestry regularly to see pictures of all the fantastic learning taking place!

Integrating CAD in Pipers Vale Primary School Computing Curriculum

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is no longer a tool reserved exclusively for high school tech classes or professional engineers.

In the context of the primary school Computing curriculum, CAD serves as a powerful bridge between digital literacy, spatial reasoning, and creative problem-solving.

Why CAD in Primary Education?

Introducing CAD to primary students (ages 5–11) shifts their relationship with technology from passive consumption to active creation. It allows young learners to manipulate 3D spaces, experiment with geometry, and see their abstract ideas materialize.

Key Educational Benefits

● Spatial Reasoning: Developing the ability to visualize 3D objects from 2D perspectives is a critical foundational skill for STEM subjects.

● Cross-Curricular Links: CAD naturally integrates with Design and Technology (D&T), Mathematics (geometry, measurement, angles), and Art.

● The Power of Prototyping: Students learn that failure is just part of the design cycle. If a 3D model doesn’t fit together, they can iterate, modify, and try again.

Recommended Tool: Tinkercad. For primary schools, Autodesk Tinkercad remains the gold standard.

● It is free and browser-based (runs smoothly on Chromebooks, iPads, and older PCs).

● It features excellent “Classroom” management tools, allowing teachers to generate student accounts without requiring individual student emails.

Conclusion

Integrating CAD into the primary computing curriculum empowers students to become digital architects. By teaching them to navigate, manipulate, and create in a three-dimensional digital space, schools provide foundational skills that will benefit students far beyond the computing lab—fostering a generation of critical thinkers, engineers, and digital creators.