Welcome to Year 2!

We are a class of 21 children. Our teacher is Miss Savage and our teaching assistant is Mrs Askew.

Mr Barnes teaches us every Wednesday morning and Mrs Sanderson every Wednesday afternoon.

If you require any further information or queries, please contact me via Class Dojo or using my email: l.savage@distington-comm.cumbria.sch.uk.

Key Information:

• Our PE days are every Wednesday and Thursday. 
• Homework will be given out every Friday and it is to be returned the following Friday. Our homework will consist of one piece of maths and one piece of spellings/ phonics. All tasks are linked to our classroom work.
• Read five times a week to gain your Strive for Five target.

Take a look at our Spring newsletter below for a brief taster of what we expect throughout the Spring term and a brief overview of the curriculum.

You can also take a look at our Autumn newsletter attached below.

Take a look at our Curriculum Map below- this highlights the key topics/ texts we will be exploring throughout each of the terms. 

Strive for Five!

In Year 2, we are all 'Reading Rockets'. We aim to read at least 5 times per week and are rewarded for our efforts with raffle tickets. These are entered into a weekly draw and children can win some brilliant prizes! 

Your child will bring home 2 reading books. One banded levelled book and one Accelerated Reading book. Accelerated Reading books are used to help develop your child's comprehension skills and your child will sit regular (informal) online 'tests' to assess their understanding of the story. 

SATs in Year 2

At the end of Year 2, children take SATs in:
 

• Reading
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling, or GPS (optional paper, schools can decide whether to use it)
• Maths

These will take place in May 2023.

Key Stage 1 reading

The reading test for Year 2 pupils is made up of two separate papers:
 

• Paper 1 consists of a selection of texts totalling 400 to 700 words, with questions interspersed
• Paper 2 comprises a reading booklet of a selection of passages totalling 800 to 1100 words. Children will write their answers in a separate booklet

Each paper is worth 50 per cent of the marks, and should take around 30 minutes, but children are not strictly timed, as the tests are not intended to assess children’s ability to work at speed. The texts in the reading papers cover a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and get progressively more difficult towards the end of the test.

Teachers have the option to stop the test at any point that they feel is appropriate for a particular child.

Key stage 1 grammar, spelling and punctuation 

Children taking Key Stage 1 SATs may also sit two separate papers in grammar, spelling and punctuation:

• Paper 1: a 20-word spelling test taking approximately 15 minutes and worth 20 marks.
• Paper 2: a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test, in two sections of around 10 minutes each (with a break between, if necessary), worth 20 marks. This will involve a mixture of selecting the right answers e.g. through multiple choice, and writing short answers.

Key Stage 1 maths

The Key Stage 1 maths test is made up of two papers:
 

• Paper 1: arithmetic, worth 25 marks and taking around 15 minutes.
• Paper 2: mathematical fluency, problem-solving and reasoning, worth 35 marks and taking 35 minutes, with a break if necessary. There are a variety of question types: multiple choice, matching, true / false, constrained (e.g. completing a chart or table; drawing a shape) and less constrained (e.g. where children have to show or explain their method).

Children are not allowed to use any tools such as calculators or number lines.

Teacher assessments are used to build up a picture of your child’s learning and achievements. In addition, your child will receive an overall result saying whether they have achieved the required standard in the tests (your child's actual results won't be communicated to you unless you ask for them). 

We will be holding a Parent's Meeting to discuss the deliverance of our KS1 SATs and how you can support your child further, closer to the time.