Welcome to the Swallows class page. Year 4 is an important step in all pupils education.  We continue the transition towards upper Key Stage 2 and focus on developing and strengthening foundational skills such as handwriting, spelling and times tables whilst deepening pupils knowledge of vocabulary and comprehension by reading a wide range of texts.

Reading

At Cubert, we believe that reading is the gateway to all learning. Developing a deep-seated love for reading is a partnership between home and school. We encourage children to engage with text in all its forms from shared bedtime stories to fully independent reading   

Developing Skills through VIPERS

In Year 4, we move beyond simple decoding to focus on deeper comprehension. To help children explore the layers of a story or non-fiction text, we use the VIPERS framework. These six key areas help our pupils develop the essential skills needed to truly understand and interrogate what they read:

• Vocabulary: Discussing and clarifying the meaning of new words in context.
• Inference: Using "clues" in the text to understand how a character feels or why something is happening.
• Prediction: Using evidence from the text to suggest what might happen next.
• Explanation: Explaining how content is related or how it contributes to the meaning as a whole (e.g., Why did the author use that heading?).
• Retrieval: Finding and recording key facts or details from the page.
• Summarising: Identifying the main ideas from a passage or chapter in a few short sentences.

Supporting the Journey

By focusing on these skills at home, you are directly supporting your child’s progress in our school Literacy sessions. As the year progresses, texts will become increasingly complex and lengthy. Strengthening these VIPERS skills ensures our pupils have the confidence to tackle more challenging language and diverse themes, both in the classroom and in their independent reading.

TIMES TABLES

All Year 4 pupils are required to take the Mandatory Multiplication Test in July. This is a short online test of 25 questions completed on an iPad. By the end of Year 4, it is expected that children will know all their multiplication facts up to 12 × 12, both in order and out of order, as well as the related division facts.

At school, we teach times tables explicitly in lessons. This means children are taught strategies, patterns, and methods that help them understand and remember their multiplication facts, rather than relying only on rote learning. This approach benefits pupils because it strengthens their number sense, builds confidence, and makes it easier for them to apply their knowledge to other areas of maths.

We also use Times Tables Rock Stars, an excellent online resource that helps children practise regularly in a fun and engaging way. A further advantage is that the format of Times Tables Rock Stars is very similar to the actual test, so pupils are well prepared and feel confident when completing it.

Break times

Children may bring in a snack for morning break. We recommend the children bring in a bottle of water which is clearly labelled with their name.

HOMEWORK

Homework will be sent home on Friday and collected the following Wednesday. We set homework to give children the chance to practise what they have been learning in class. This extra practice helps to strengthen their memory, build confidence, and make it easier for them to apply their knowledge in different situations.

We encourage all children to complete their homework, but if any difficulties arise, please let me know before the hand-in date. I’ll always be happy to help and support your child so that homework remains a positive part of their learning.

Uniform

Please ensure your child brings their coat to school, especially during colder months as we will be taking part in various outdoor learning activities each week.  Please ensure all items of uniform are clearly labelled with your child's name. Longer than shoulder-length hair should be tied back and shoes should be black, flat, sensible, closed-toe shoes. Please see the Uniform policy for a more comprehensive list of requirement.  If you have any worries or questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

PE Kits

Please ensure that your child's PE kit is  in school at all times to enable us to be flexible with our timetable if the weather is too poor to be outside. Our scheduled PE days are Monday and Tuesday.  Please ensure that all items are clearly named so they can be easily located and returned to the correct child if they become lost or mixed up within the classroom.

 If you have any worries or concerns, please contact me through the office either in person or via email at hello@cubert.org.uk.

 Thank you for your contiued support.