It’s the last day of January – what a busy month it’s been. If you celebrated the lunar new year, then a belated Happy New Year to you (and check out what zodiac animal you are!).
National storytelling week
National Storytelling Week starts tomorrow. It’s an annual event that celebrates stories and storytelling – it’s the perfect opportunity for families to share the joy of stories together. Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication, fostering empathy and imagination in ways that resonate deeply with children. Whether through traditional folk tales, family anecdotes, or made-up adventures, storytelling helps children develop a love of language and encourages their natural curiosity about the world.
Join the at home by making storytelling part of your family routine. You can celebrate at home by reading a favourite book aloud with your child, recreating your own family stories and adventures or even acting out a tale together with props and costumes. Bedtime is a great time to bring stories to life, especially if you encourage your child to add their own twists to the tale. You could also explore audiobooks or visit your local library to find collections of folktales from around the world to share.
We know that children are more likely to enjoy reading if:
- someone reads to them regularly
- they find time to read
- they have books at home and at school
- they know a trusted person who can help them find the right books
- we make reading fun for them
- they are given a choice in what they read
Talking of reading…
World Book Day
World Book Day is on Thursday 06 March is another wonderful event that complements National Storytelling Week.
This year, we aren’t inviting children to dress up. (We alternate this each year.) Instead, we’ll mark the day in school with a host of fun and engaging reading-related activities. Amongst other things, we’ll hear teachers read aloud their favourite stories, spend time in other classes reading with different children and explore new authors and books. And remember to keep an eye out for a competition where you can win book vouchers!
National curriculum assessments
Primary school pupils in England take part in various assessments…
- Reception baseline assessment: within the first 6 weeks of entering reception
- Early Years Foundation Stage profile assessment: between April and June of the academic year in which they turn 5 (usually the Reception year)
- Phonics Screening Check: in June of Year 1
- Key Stage 1 tests: optional, these are at the end of Year 2
- Multiplication Tables Check: in June of Year 4
- Key Stage 2 tests (known as SATs): in May of Year 6
The government has updated its guides for parents about the different assessments.
Park up with respect
Getting to school by foot, scooter or bike is the happiest and healthiest. We know sometimes people might need to use their car – but if you do, please remember to park carefully. Check out this advice from Leeds City Council.
Finally, across the year we’ve been spotlighting the impact of a week away from school for a term-time holiday. This week, it’s the turn of Maths…
If your child was absent for five days in a row…
Daily maths lessons build learning in sequences of small steps. If your child misses five days of school, they’ll miss a large part of the sequence.
Our Maths curriculum is divided into blocks of learning (eg place value, fractions, length) that often last a week or two. If it’s the beginning of a new sequence that your child misses, it makes it much harder to understand the learning in the following weeks. If it’s the middle part of a sequence that your child misses, this means there will be gaps in their knowledge and skills. Either way, five days of absence means your child might well struggle to catch up or keep up.
Five days of absence would also mean your child misses the regular practice of calculation procedures and of recalling number facts and times tables times tables – all vital in developing fluency and confidence in Maths.
Have a happy and healthy weekend.