Year Six Curriculum NewsletterSpring 2025
Joy Excellence Service
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
Song of Solomon 2:11-12
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
ln our RE lessons this term, the children's learning will focus on three central themes. The first of those is 'Local church', where we will be studying the Bible, considering John’s Gospel and making links between scripture and Christian beliefs. The second theme of 'Eucharist', looks at unity and how the Eucharist enables people to live in communion with Christ and each other. Finally, the topic of 'Lent and Easter' will focus on death and life and celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection. The children will learn more about the Easter Triduum.
RSHE
We will be covering a range of topics in our RSHE lessons this term. These include looking at our gifts and talents, girls and boys bodies, spots and sleep, body image, 'funny' feelings, emotional changes and what we see online. The children will learn about the physical changes that boys and girls experience during puberty. They will learn how to respect their bodies as gifts from God by looking after them appropriately. We will discuss the pressures faced by young people. These issues will be investigated in a range of different ways including class discussions, written work and practical activities. The children will have the opportunity to reflect, discuss and ask questions in a safe and trusted environment.
ENGLISH
In our English lessons we will be writing in a range of different genres including persuasive pieces, an informal letter and narratives. Our shared text in the spring term will be ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar and we will use this text to support our narrative writing. The children will also be developing their comprehension, grammar and punctuation skills using a variety of texts and extracts. During this term, a grammar and punctuation booster will be available to all children. The children are encouraged to read as widely as they possibly can as this will have a very positive impact on both their comprehension and written work.
MATHS
Within our maths lessons, the children will have the opportunity to refine their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills, as we learn about shape, ratio and algebra. There will also be a focus on area, perimeter, volume and statistics. ln addition, the children will continue to enhance their arithmetic and mental maths skills.
During this term, maths booster sessions are available to all children.
SCIENCE
During the first half of the spring term, we will be learning about living things and their habitats. The children will investigate how living things can be classified based on their characteristics. The children will also learn about microorganisms and how some can be helpful and others harmful. We will research Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist and consider the impact his work has had on our lives. After half term, our lessons will focus on electricity. The children will learn how to both draw and create a circuit and they will explore the effect on the circuit as they change it or add to it.
GEOGRAPHY
We will be learning about earth movement and tectonic plates in geography this term. The children will learn how our current balance of ocean and land evolved over time. They will also learn about continents and how they continue to drift and the consequences of this. We will then move on to look at settlements. The children will describe how a settlement is influenced by geographical features.
Pupils will be able to document how Staines has been a settlement since Saxon times and describe how land use has changed and developed over time.
ART/DT
In Art we will be focusing on the key skill, 'drawing'. The children will learn to make artistic choices regarding the use of line, shape, patterns, colour, tone and space. They will also learn to use different techniques for different purposes within their own work, demonstrating an understanding of what works well and why. There will be a focus on movement and the children will study art produced during the Renaissance. Our focus artist is Leonardo da Vinci. In DT lessons we will be learning about different mechanisms. We will research famous designers and inventors to inform our designs and plan accordingly.
MUSIC
Within our music lessons, the children will focus on 'A New Year Carol' by Benjamin Britten. The children will learn to listen and appraise the music and identify the structure, mood, instruments and the story told through the song. The children will create and share their own performances based on this song, using a range of instruments. ln the second half of term, the focus musical piece will be 'You've got a friend' by Carole King. The children will have the opportunity to improvise in response to the music, to play instruments with and without supporting notation and compose their own song based on the same theme.
P.E.
Indoor PE, will be focusing on static balances, coordination and floor work. Our outdoor PE sessions in the first half of term will focus on the rules and skills of hockey. The children will learn how to receive and dribble a hockey ball under control and improve their understanding of how to create space to receive a ball. This will be followed in the second half term by cross-country and football. The children will use ABC (agility, balance, coordination) techniques to keep control of a ball.
MFL
In our Spanish lessons, the children will be continuing to learn how to describe different items of clothing in Spanish. They will be able to describe the colour of the item and ask and answer questions about it.
COMPUTING
Throughout this term in computing we will continue to work on online safety. The children will look at how to remix and sample music. This will be followed by looking at digital galleries, creating media and 3D modelling.
