Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, regrettably we are unable to invite parents into school for a tour of Berkswich CE primary and nursery. We understand that choosing the right setting for your child is one of the most important decisions that you will make in your child’s learning journey. With this in mind, we hope to provide you with a range of opportunities to allow you to gain an insight into life as part of our special Berkswich community and the chance to ask questions. We certainly welcome the opportunity to support and reassure you as you organise your child’s first steps into Nursery and Reception. We are offering virtual meetings to provide an opportunity for new parents to meet our headteacher, EYFS leader and teaching staff. This will provide a great opportunity for you to ask questions and find out about our community and learning at Berkswich CE. Your child is a vital part of this process, and so we welcome them to join in with the meeting.
Reception slots
Tuesday 17th November 9am – 10:30am
Tuesday 1st December 3:30- 5:30pm
Tuesday 8th December 9am – 10:30am
Nursery slots
Tuesday 19th January 9am– 10:30am
Tuesday 2nd February 3:30—5:30pm
Tuesday 9th March 9am—10:30 am
To book your ten-minute virtual meeting on one of the following days please call the school office on 01785 337360 or send an email to office@berkswich.staffs.sch.uk
Please visit our admissions page to take a closer look at our Nursery and Reception classes, as well as our admissions arrangements. Thank you.
Pupils should be taught to:
At this stage, there should be no need for further direct teaching of word-reading skills for almost all pupils. If pupils are struggling or failing in this, the reasons for this should be investigated. It is imperative that pupils are taught to read during their last two years at primary school if they enter year 5 not being able to do so.
Pupils should be encouraged to work out any unfamiliar word. They should focus on all the letters in a word so that they do not, for example, read ‘invitation’ for ‘imitation’ simply because they might be more familiar with the first word. Accurate reading of individual words, which might be key to the meaning of a sentence or paragraph, improves comprehension.
When teachers are reading with or to pupils, attention should be paid to new vocabulary – both a word’s meaning(s) and its correct pronunciation.
Pupils should be taught to:
Even though pupils can now read independently, reading aloud to them should include whole books so that they meet books and authors that they might not choose to read themselves.
The knowledge and skills that pupils need in order to comprehend are very similar at different ages. Pupils should continue to apply what they have already learnt to more complex writing.
Pupils should be taught to recognise themes in what they read, such as loss or heroism. They should have opportunities to compare characters, consider different accounts of the same event and discuss viewpoints (both of authors and of fictional characters), within a text and across more than 1 text.
They should continue to learn the conventions of different types of writing, such as the use of the first person in writing diaries and autobiographies.
Pupils should be taught the technical and other terms needed for discussing what they hear and read, such as metaphor, simile, analogy, imagery, style and effect.
In using reference books, pupils need to know what information they need to look for before they begin and need to understand the task. They should be shown how to use contents pages and indexes to locate information.
The skills of information retrieval that are taught should be applied, for example in reading history, geography and science textbooks, and in contexts where pupils are genuinely motivated to find out information [for example, reading information leaflets before a gallery or museum visit or reading a theatre programme or review]. Teachers should consider making use of any library services and expertise to support this.
Pupils should have guidance about and feedback on the quality of their explanations and contributions to discussions.
Pupils should be shown how to compare characters, settings, themes and other aspects of what they read.
Pupils should be taught to:
As in earlier years, pupils should continue to be taught to understand and apply the concepts of word structure so that they can draw on their knowledge of morphology and etymology to spell correctly.
Pupils should be taught to:
Pupils should continue to practise handwriting and be encouraged to increase the speed of it, so that problems with forming letters do not get in the way of their writing down what they want to say. They should be clear about what standard of handwriting is appropriate for a particular task, for example, quick notes or a final handwritten version. They should also be taught to use an unjoined style, for example, for labelling a diagram or data, writing an email address, or for algebra, and capital letters, for example, for filling in a form.
Pupils should be taught to:
Pupils should understand, through being shown, the skills and processes essential for writing: that is, thinking aloud to generate ideas, drafting, and rereading to check that the meaning is clear.
Pupils should be taught to:
Pupils should continue to add to their knowledge of linguistic terms, including those to describe grammar, so that they can discuss their writing and reading.