Year 5/6 Autumn 2025

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• In English, the text ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ by the acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo is taught, which is a story of an eleven year old boy (Michael) who gets washed up on an island on the eve of his 12th birthday and meets an old man by the name of Kensuke who has lived alone on the island for 40+ years. Pupils will compose a letter from Michael’s perspective and will also write a guide all about desert island survival. A video-based story called ‘Little Freak’ is then studied through the Literacy Shed, enabling pupils to see an emotional and thought-provoking genre. Pupils focus on writing a narrative of the story, incorporating dialogue and a flash-forward to the future. They also write a letter of persuasion from Little Freak’s perspective, using persuasive techniques. We also link our reading lessons to the text, where we use our DERRIC model to decode, explain word meaning, retrieve information to answer questions, interpret characters’ feelings and thoughts, review sections of the text and discuss why authors have used certain techniques in our choice lessons. Handwriting develops on from previous years, focusing on legible, cursive writing at speed. Finally, SPaG is a key focus with the revision and introduction of all verb forms (including perfect, progressive and passive) as well as the full programme of punctuation, including semi-colons and colons to demarcate clauses being introduced.    
   

• In Year 6 Maths, pupils work with numbers to and beyond 10,000,000, including powers of 10, use of number lines, comparing, ordering, rounding and reasoning from known facts. Negative numbers are also introduced both contextually and addition and subtraction of these. All four operations are then developed in Year 6 with factors, multiples, primes, squares and cubes being a focus as well as both mental and formal written methods, all building on prior knowledge, including the introduction of the long method for division by 2-digit numbers. Finally, understanding of fractions is developed through equivalences, comparisons but also all four operations with fractions, including improper fractions and mixed numbers, and conversions between fractions, decimals and percentages.
   

• In Year 5 Maths, Roman numerals to 1,000 are developed with place value focusing on numbers to 1,000,000. Powers of 10 are explored, encouraging pupils’ deeper understanding and manipulation of number as well as further comparisons, ordering and rounding of numbers. Addition and subtraction of numbers with more than four digits is developed with both mental and written strategies as well as multiple methods for checking accuracy. Multiples, factors, prime numbers, squares and cubes are introduced as well as multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 to develop deeper understanding of the connections between digits. Fractions are then explored further in Autumn term in Year 5, focusing on equivalences, converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers and adding and subtracting fractions. Finally, a unit on multiplication and division is taught, where short and long methods of multiplication, plus short division are considered.
   

• In Science, two units are studied during the first term: ‘The Earth and Space’ plus ‘Forces’. In the second half term, learning concentrates on ‘Living things in their habitats’ and ‘Electricity’. Furthermore, pupils explore through practical investigations, making predictions, selecting materials, recording results and drawing conclusions for themselves based on these enquiries.
   

• Our Irresistible Learning topic this term is entitled, ‘Eurovision’ and encompasses our historical and geographical learning. In History, pupils learn all about Ancient Greece and their influence on the Western World. In Geography, pupils look at our continent, Europe, in a lot of detail. A specific case study focuses on the human and physical features of Iceland.
   

• In PE this term, pupils will explore hockey, basketball, badminton and yoga, with some of the lessons being taught by our Soccer 2000 coaches and some being taught by Miss Walker.
   

• In Art, we will be looking at collage and printing as well as undertaking a unit all about how to draw focusing on perspective.
   

• Computing focuses on Computer Systems and Networks, learning about sharing information, and Creating Media, where we use 3D modelling.   
   

• In PSHE (Jigsaw), we are covering the topic “Being Me in My World” where pupils have the opportunity to reflect on their journey so far and their final year ahead in primary school before comparing this to children globally. We then move on to “Celebrating Differences” where pupils explore the concept of normality in a diverse world and understand power dynamics. We use the Project Evolve program to deliver lessons on online safety, focusing this term on units entitled, ‘self-image and identity’, ‘managing online information’ and ‘online bullying’.
   

• DT this term has a focus on textiles and pupils will design and make a waistcoat. DT follows the design, plan, make, and evaluate process.
   

• In Music, learning focuses around ‘Living on a Prayer’ by Bon Jovi and a subsequent unit called ‘Classroom Jazz’. Pupils will be given the opportunity to listen to and appraise the songs, considering their own likes and preferences as well as compare to other, similar songs with a focus on not only the music and instruments but also the lyrics. Pupils will learn to sing the songs and play instruments including the glockenspiels.
   

• In Spanish, key learning includes phonics and sounds, and the topic of dates, including birthdays and months.
   

• In RE, we will be exploring the Five Pillars of Islam and considering the key question, ‘How and when do Christians pray?’
   

• Our Dovecotes oracy curriculum is based around speaking and listening and we are integrating discussion opportunities and talk tactics into all other curricular areas, as well as into homework opportunities across this academic year. Reading at home is the main tool for learning development at home in Year 5/6 alongside the “thunk” discussions and IL topic “big questions” that get delivered to you via text. Furthermore, all pupils have access to a Times Tables Rock Stars account, which they can access from home to help them learn and recall their times tables.