Year 4
Dear Parents and Carers,
WELCOME BACK to Paulton Junior School
I do hope that you and the children have had a wonderful summer holiday. The Junior school reopens for all pupils on Monday 7th September at 8.30am.
As it is the start of a new academic year, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our families to Paulton Junior School and remind you of a few routines and expectations of the school from the first day.
Class Teachers
|
3B |
Mr Barge |
|
3HW |
Mrs Holmes Mrs Walker |
|
4R |
Miss Richards |
|
4BM |
Miss Burke Mrs Mallon |
|
5W |
Miss Walker |
|
5CG |
Mrs Curtis Mrs Goucher |
|
6S |
Mr Smith |
|
6PR |
Mrs Pearson Miss Russett |
|
PPA & French |
Mrs Truelove |
Our School Day
The school day starts at 8.30am and finishes at 3.00pm.
With agreement of the Infant school, the car park gates are shut during drop off and pick up times, to keep the site safe for pedestrians. The Junior school gate (by the Infant school) will be open from 8.20am.
It is expected that all children are brought to school and met by a parent or have a pre-arranged adult /childminder to collect them, especially in years 3-5. If your child attends Wrap Around Care, eg Footsteps- they will plan to collect the children by the front of school or year 3 classroom exit.
We do encourage families and pupils to walk to school; the main footpaths and entrance into school can get very busy; it is important that we try to alleviate congestion. Therefore, there are assigned entrances and exits into the school for each year group.
On arrival, children should make their way via the school grounds to their class.
Once the classroom fire exit doors are open by 8.30am, the children come into school independently. Teachers will be in their classrooms ready to meet and greet and teach. Registers are taken promptly, therefore it is important to be on time. Good attendance matters.
Entrances and drop off
Year 3 – 3B & 3HW using steps at the front of their classroom & school building
Year 4 – 4R - use the swimming pool gate or top corner gate, into the garden
4BR- use the main junior school gate
Year 5 – 5CG & 5W - use the main junior school gate or swimming pool gate
Year 6 - 6S & 6PR - use the swimming pool gate or use the top corner gate at front of school & walk along the garden path.
Pick Up at 3pm
Year 3 will exit via their fire exit doors and meet parents at the top of the steps, where they were dropped off.
Years 3, 4 and 5 will exit via the main junior school gate.
Year 6 will exit via the top corner gate at the front of school.
If you have any change or special arrangements with regards to pick up, please let the teacher know, or call the office staff.
We aim to use these entrances consistently so that children will become familiar with routines.
School lunches
From Monday 7th September, hot school lunches are available for any child. These meals must be pre-booked and ordered directly on School Grid by Thursday at midnight for the following week. These meals will be eaten in the hall and served from 12:00 pm.
If your child does not have an ordered school dinner, they will need to bring a packed lunch to school. You will need to provide a healthy & balanced packed lunch such as sandwiches, pasta, salads, yoghurts, and fruit.
Allergies
Please inform the school immediately, if your child has an allergy to anything or if your child needs specific medication eg an epi-pen. Make sure that your child brings their epi-pen to school everyday. Please supply a spare epi-pen to be kept at school for emergencies. Under statutory guidance updated for the 2026–2027 academic year (often referred to as Benedict’s Law), schools face strict legal requirements to implement dedicated allergy safety policies, staff training, and backup spare adrenaline auto-injectors. It is vital that you notify the school staff about any allergies and obtain a formal Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) or BSACI action plan from your GP or paediatrician.
Medication
If your child requires daily medication, you must inform the school office via phone or email (01761) 418137; also inform the class teacher. You will be required to go to the office and complete a form that gives permission and details of the times and dosage of the medication required.
Inhalers
Children will need to keep their inhaler in their school bag and be responsible for taking them on visits or to events. In each classroom there is a medical box and it is advised that the school keep an extra inhaler for your child in this box, for use in school. Please complete the form at the office if your child has to use an asthma inhaler and send a named and in-date inhaler to school to be kept in the medical box.
Healthy Snacks - NO NUT School
Children can bring a healthy snack such as fruit, cheese, bread sticks for a playtime snack and please make sure that there are NO NUTS in anything that they bring in.
All children must bring a named water bottle to school every day. This is for use during class time, break, lunchtime and PE lessons. NO fizzy or flavoured drinks. Thank you.
Mobile phones
Children are NOT allowed to bring their mobile phones/smart watches/ devices to school.
This approach aligns with the principles of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, which introduced statutory guidance requiring schools to have regard to government advice on mobile phone use in schools. The guidance states that schools should be mobile phone-free environments by default and supports schools in creating calm, safe, and supportive learning environments that promote children's welfare and wellbeing.
The Safeguarding document- Keeping Children Safe In Education 2026 and research states that mobile phones can be a distraction to learning, reduce opportunities for positive social interaction, and increase risks associated with online safety, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and peer pressure. By maintaining a mobile phone-free environment, we can help children develop healthy relationships, improve concentration, encourage active play, and support their emotional wellbeing.
School Uniform
All children are expected to wear the correct school uniform. Please ensure your child wears only black school shoes not ankle boots. Also, no black trousers or black skirts including a tube style.
On P.E days, the children will wear their P.E kit to school, including House T-shirt. Only school jumpers should be worn with navy or black shorts, skorts or leggings and trainers. Check the website for all PE days.
All details for the school uniform are available on the school website https://www.paultonjuniorschool.co.uk/page/?title=Uniform&pid=58
Website
Our school website has extra information about the school including the year group learning, events, governors etc. www.paultonjuniorschool.co.uk
Open Door Friday
Every Friday after school, you are invited to come into the classroom to share and look at your child’s work. Please meet your child at the end of the day and come into school.
Meet the Teachers
On Friday 11th September, you are invited to meet the teacher in your child’s classroom at 3.10pm. After school, please come along to find out about the class routines and expectations at Paulton Junior School.
Contact details
If you need to contact the school to inform us of a change of address, mobile number, please email Paulton_jun@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01761 418137. Likewise, if you need to let the school know of appointments or send a message, please use the email.
Teacher2Parents
We use Teachers2Parents messaging service to inform you by text or emails. Unfortunately, there have been a few technical issues over the holidays with the system & adding contacts and we aim to rectify this issue asap. We apologise if you did not get this information via email, but had to rely on a friend or the website.
Sports Coaches and extra-club offer
This year we will be working with Ignite Sport – Coach Tom Palacio will be teaching PE lessons and sports coaching at an after-school Sports Club on a Thursday from 10th September. The details of which will be sent out for you to sign up and pay directly with Ignite Sport.
Matt Analts will continue to teach basketball and PE lessons. He will be running his early morning/before school basketball club from Friday 18th September. The details will be sent to you to sign up and pay directly with Matt.
Active Development will provide a football after-school club on a Friday – more details will be sent to you later.
We are really looking forward to seeing the children on Monday morning at 8.30am and start the new school year. I look forward to updating you on any forthcoming events and the amazing learning opportunities your children will be involved with over the next year.
Kind Regards
Mrs Sally Rawlings
Headteacher
Lesson Resources
Expectations & Routines - Term 1
Routines - Term 1
Throughout Term 1, PE will be on Mondays (Gymnastics) and Thursdays for 4R and Friday for 4BM (Tag Rugby). Children will need to wear their full PE kit to school. This consists of: house T-shirt, dark shorts and/or jogging bottoms, trainers and school jumper.
Outdoor Learning will be on Fridays and children will need weather-appropriate gear in a named bag, on this day. The weather remains changeable so we advise keeping wellies and a waterproof coat in school. We advise that weather-appropriate gear remains in school for the duration of the term as we may take advantage of other opportunities for Outdoor Learning within our timetable.
Homework
Homework will be set on a Monday and completed by Friday. Children should complete their work neatly (using a pencil) in their orange Homework books. This will consist of a main task linked to English, Maths or Foundation subjects, as well as a spelling activity related to our weekly rule.
Reading is crucial to every child's progress across the entire curriculum and we expect that every child reads to an adult at home at least 3 times a week. Please record this in their blue Reading Record and ensure it is brought to school every day.
Please speak to your child’s class teacher if you have any questions.
Online Apps
Children’s log-ins can be found on the inside their Reading Records. If you are having problems with these websites, please let us know as soon as possible.
Times Table Rockstars – https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth
Nessy - https://id.nessy.com
Accelerated Reader (Book Quizzes) – https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/6699465
Medication
If your child requires daily medication, you must inform the school office via phone or email; also inform the class teacher. You will be required to complete a form that gives permission and details of the times and dosage of the medication required.
Inhalers: Children will need to keep their inhaler in their school bag and be responsible for taking them on visits or to events. In each classroom there is a medical box and it is advised that the school keep an extra inhaler for your child in this box, for use in school. Please inform the office if your child has to use an asthma inhaler so we can record it on the pupil record and send a named and in-date inhaler to school to be kept in the medical box.
Allergies: Please inform the school immediately, if your child has an allergy to anything or if your child needs specific medication e.g. an epi-pen. Make sure that your child brings their epi-pen to school every day. It should be kept in a named bag and labelled with the instructions attached. Please supply a spare epi-pen to be kept at school for emergencies.
Uniform and Kit
All children are expected to wear the correct school uniform, daily. Only black school shoes, no trainers or ankle boots.
On P.E days, the children will wear their P.E kit to school, including house T-shirt. Only school jumpers should be worn with navy or black shorts, skorts or leggings and trainers.
Please ensure children bring in suitable wet weather gear, including wellies and waterproofs, on Outdoor Learning days.
Clubs and Music Lessons
To sign up for music lessons, please see the links below:
Rocksteady – https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com/
Other Music Lessons – https://uksouthglos.speedadmin.dk/registration#/
Email: music@wema.org.uk
Term 1 Learning
What are we learning this term?
Maths
In Maths this term, Year 4 will begin by developing their understanding of place value, building on their knowledge of numbers to 1,000 and extending this to numbers up to 10,000. They will explore how numbers are represented and partitioned, use number lines, compare and order numbers, and develop their understanding of Roman numerals. Children will also learn to round numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1,000 and use their place value knowledge to identify numbers that are 1, 10, 100 or 1,000 more or less. We will then move on to addition and subtraction, where children will develop efficient written methods for adding and subtracting numbers up to four digits, including exchanging. They will also learn to estimate answers and use a range of strategies to check that their calculations are accurate.
Times Tables are an important part of our mathematical teaching and learning throughout the whole of Year 4. Please support times table learning and speedy recall of multiplication and division facts, at home. The statutory Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) takes place in June.
English
Within English this term, we will begin by revising some important spelling, punctuation and grammatical concepts. We will focus on our use of vocabulary and sentence structure to construct clear, varied and effective sentences. Later in the term, we will begin our fiction and non-fiction writing linked to The Barnabus Project, written by the Fan Brothers. This will involve developing our storytelling skills when writing a detailed re-tell of the story, focusing on our use of rich vocabulary and varied sentence structures to bring the events to life. After this, we will move on to our non-fiction writing focus for the term: instruction texts. We’ll be learning how to write clear and engaging instructions, making sure we include key features such as imperative (bossy) verbs, sequenced steps, time connectives and precise language.
In Guided Reading we will be exploring the wonderful world of Roald Dahl! We will read excerpts from many of his wonderful books including: Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda and Esio Trot. We will also look at non-fiction writing and poetry that link to these books.
Foundation Subjects
Science
This term, explores living things and their habitats. It teaches children how to recognise and categorise living organisms using scientific terms such as ‘vertebrates’ and ‘invertebrates’. Branch keys are introduced to help name organisms. We study habitats – both local and world-widen – learning that environments are subject to human and man-made changes with significant impact.
Computing
In Computing this term, Year 4 will develop their understanding of computer networks and the internet, including how the internet is kept secure and how the World Wide Web fits within it. They will explore how content is created and shared online, considering who owns digital content and what we can responsibly access, add and create. Children will also learn how to evaluate online information, thinking carefully about whether it is accurate, reliable and trustworthy, and consider the consequences of sharing false information.
Art
In Art this term, Year 4 will explore self-portraiture, taking inspiration from the distinctive styles of Wassily Kandinsky and Vincent van Gogh. They will experiment with colour, line, shape and artistic techniques before creating their own unique self-portraits, combining elements of the artists' styles with their own creative ideas.
Geography
In Geography this term, Year 4 will take a journey across North and South America, developing their understanding of geographical terminology such as continent, region, country, state and city. They will use maps, atlases and online resources to locate and research different cities, comparing their environments and identifying key geographical regions. To bring their learning together, children will create an illustrated and annotated map of the historic Route 66.
Music
In Music this term, Year 4 will explore symmetry as inspiration for musical composition, making links with their learning in Maths. Through listening, singing and performing a range of traditional and contemporary music, children will explore musical structure and patterns before using these ideas to compose and perform their own original pieces.
PE
Our focus in P.E. this term will be Gymnastics and Tag Rugby. Please ensure children wear full PE kit into school on these days.
PSHE
In PSHE this term, Year 4 will explore what it means to be a responsible member of a class and school community. They will think about inclusion, friendship, empathy and how their actions affect others, while developing their understanding of rights, responsibilities and democracy. Children will consider how their choices and participation can positively contribute to school life and will work together to create their shared Learning Charter.
R.E
RE focuses on how people express their understanding of God. We will be focusing on the symbols, artwork, poetry and dance that expresses people’s beliefs.
Outdoor learning
In our fantastic playscape, during Outdoor Learning lessons, we will be developing effective, collaborative work through activities such as scavenger hunts and sculpting natural colour wheels.
French
Finally, in French we will be reigniting our love of languages - speaking and listening, in particular. We will hold simple conversations with each other, through which we express details about ourselves and our families, for example.
Communication
If you wish to contact your child's class teacher, please do so via the school office or written note handed by your child to the class teacher. Please note: all absences must be reported to the school office directly.