Year 4 Teaching Team
Miss Walker (Class Teacher) Mrs Tubman (HLTA)
We would like to warmly welcome you and your child to Year 4. This is a really special year in their primary school journey – a year where children begin to find their independence, discover what they are capable of and develop a strong sense of belonging within their class and our wider school community.
In Year 4, we encourage children to take greater ownership of their learning and become increasingly responsible for themselves. Whether it is organising their belongings, making choices about their learning, using resources independently or recognising when they need support, we want every child to develop the confidence to think, “I can do this.” At the same time, we want our classroom to be somewhere every child feels safe, valued and knows that they belong.
Throughout the year, we will support and challenge the children as they grow academically, socially and personally. There will be many exciting opportunities both inside and outside the classroom, with practical experiences, investigations, creativity and opportunities to work collaboratively alongside more traditional classroom learning.
Each day, children will take part in maths and English learning, alongside regular reading and spelling. Across the week, they will also experience Computing, Religious Education, PE, Science, French and our wider curriculum subjects. Our curriculum aims to build children's knowledge while encouraging curiosity, creativity and a genuine enthusiasm for learning.
Reading at home continues to play an important role in Year 4. We ask that children read regularly at home for approximately 10 minutes and that this is recorded in their reading diary. As children become more independent readers, we encourage them to talk about what they have read, discuss unfamiliar vocabulary and share their opinions about books.
Another particularly important part of Year 4 is multiplication. Throughout the year, children will work towards the statutory Multiplication Tables Check (MTC). We will build their knowledge gradually through regular practice, targeted support and engaging activities, helping every child make progress from their individual starting point. Children will also be encouraged to practise at home using Times Tables Rock Stars and multiplication check activities.
Most importantly, Year 4 is about growth. We want children to leave us at the end of the year not only with greater knowledge, but as more independent, resilient and confident learners who are proud of themselves, support one another and know that they are an important part of our Year 4 family.
We are really looking forward to getting to know both you and your children and sharing all of their achievements throughout the year.
You will find our curriculum overviews below, outlining some of the exciting learning that awaits the children in Year 4.
Year 4 Learning in Action
Mastering Number – Beginning Our Multiplication Journey
Multiplication is a key focus in Year 4, and pupils will begin the year by developing their confidence, accuracy and fluency with multiplication facts.
At the start of the year, pupils will revisit and strengthen the multiplication knowledge they have developed previously, before gradually building towards confidently recalling all multiplication tables up to 12 × 12. Through regular practice, games, songs, interactive activities and targeted support, children will develop both their understanding and speed of recall.
Throughout Year 4, pupils will work towards the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), with our Going for Gold approach encouraging every child to make progress from their own starting point and become a confident mathematician.
At the beginning of the year, every child will receive their own Times Tables Rock Stars login details. A copy will be sent home so that children can continue practising their multiplication facts outside of school, while another copy will be kept in their classroom drawer, ensuring they always have access to their login details when they need them. This allows children to take increasing ownership of their multiplication practice both at school and at home.
Regular access to Times Tables Rock Stars will form an important part of our multiplication journey, giving children an engaging way to practise, improve their recall speed and see their own progress as they work towards becoming Year 4 multiplication champions!
English – Oliver and the Seawigs
Year 4 will begin their English learning with the imaginative story Oliver and the Seawigs. This exciting text will provide opportunities for pupils to explore characters, settings and adventurous vocabulary while developing their skills as increasingly confident and independent writers.
At the beginning of the year, we will spend time getting to know each child as a writer. We will look carefully at their spelling knowledge, identifying the words and spelling patterns they already know and where they may need additional support. Children will be encouraged to use their phonics knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words, while also developing their knowledge of the spelling rules and common exception words expected within Key Stage 2. This will allow us to identify individual starting points and provide targeted spelling support where needed.
As children progress through Year 4, we want them to take greater ownership of their writing. They will be encouraged to make ambitious vocabulary choices, reread their work and develop the editing and proofreading skills expected in Year 4. Dictionaries, thesauruses, spelling resources and classroom working walls will be readily available so that children learn to use these resources independently rather than immediately relying on an adult.
Reading and comprehension will also form an important part of our English learning. Children will complete a weekly comprehension activity, developing key reading skills such as retrieving information, exploring vocabulary, making predictions, summarising and using evidence from a text to support their answers. As the year progresses, children will be encouraged to explain their thinking in greater depth and become increasingly confident when tackling unfamiliar texts independently.
Our English homework will link closely to the learning taking place in the classroom. Activities will provide opportunities for children to revisit, practise and consolidate the skills, vocabulary, spelling patterns or concepts they are currently exploring in English. This will help children make meaningful connections between their learning at school and at home.
The imaginative world of Oliver and the Seawigs provides an exciting starting point for all of this learning, giving children plenty of opportunities to be adventurous with language, develop their own ideas and begin discovering their individual voice as a writer.
History – Viking Britain
Our first History topic in Year 4 will be Viking Britain, where pupils will begin exploring who the Vikings were, where they came from and why they travelled to and eventually settled in Britain.
Rather than simply learning a collection of facts, children will be encouraged to think and work like historians. They will explore different sources of historical evidence, examine artefacts and images, ask questions and consider what the evidence can – and sometimes cannot – tell us about the past.
Throughout the topic, pupils will investigate different aspects of Viking life and consider some of the bigger historical questions surrounding the period. They will explore Viking journeys and settlements, everyday life, beliefs and the impact the Vikings had on Britain. Children will also begin to recognise that our understanding of the Vikings has changed over time and consider whether the traditional image of Vikings simply as fierce raiders tells the whole story.
Learning will be brought to life through practical, creative and investigative activities, giving children opportunities to examine evidence, solve historical mysteries, take part in discussions and debates, use maps and timelines and present their findings in different ways.
Through our Viking Britain topic, we want children to develop a genuine curiosity about the past, becoming confident in asking questions, examining evidence and forming their own historically informed conclusions.
Religious Education – Growing in Faith and Understanding