Year 2 Curriculum

Class Teacher – Ms M Bowen and Mrs Godfrey

Teaching Assistant

  • – Miss R Foster
  • – Miss N Stacey

We hope you had a lovely summer holiday and are returning well-rested and excited for the year ahead.  However, we know lots of you may be feeling a bit apprehensive about what to expect and that is completely normal.  Just make sure that if anything is worrying you, come and see one of the adults in Year 2 and we will do our best to help you.  As a reminder, the staff in Year 2 are Ms Bowen (teacher on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), Mrs Godfrey (teacher on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday).

  • Our Learning

In Maths we are starting with numbers and place value and moving onto addition, subtraction and shapes.  We are also going to be learning and getting really quick at recalling our 2, 5 and 10 times tables this year, so if you could support this at home that would be great. In English we are kicking off with our Grandad’s Island unit followed by The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs and moving onto Mrs Noah’s Pockets. We are going to be learning about sturdiness in DT too, by making a chair for Baby Bear. In our Geography unit we will be using the question, ‘Would you prefer to live in a hot or a cold place?’ and using atlases to find features and locations on maps. If any of you have visited a hot or cold place and would like to share any of your pictures or photographs, please feel free to bring them in over the next couple of weeks. In History we will be finding out about how school was different in the past and identifying similarities and differences. We will be using timelines and old photographs to develop an understanding of schools and classrooms from 100 years ago. We will be celebrating our school’s 60th birthday too! These are just the highlights so please do have a look at our curriculum map on the school website to see what we are learning in more detail.

PE

Our P.E. days are every Monday and Wednesday.  Children need to come to school wearing their P.E. kit (white t-shirt, navy or black shorts or tracksuit and trainers). They will stay in these clothes all day so there is no need to bring a change of clothes.

Coats

Please ensure that your child brings a coat every day.  We want to be using the outside spaces as much as possible and will be going outside even in the cold.  Even if it is sunny in the morning, please bring a coat that has your child’s name in just in case – we all know what the British weather can be like!

Water Bottles

Please send in a labelled water bottle with your child every day.  This should contain only water. We know the health benefits of drinking water and children do need water to keep their brain chugging on through the lessons!

Labels! Labels! Labels!

We endeavour to ensure that PE kit, uniform, coats and water bottles are not lost but do remember that named clothes are a lot more likely to be returned if they do go walkabout!                                                    Please label all of your child’s belongings clearly.

Phonics Screening Check

For any children who did not pass the Phonics Screening Check at the end of last year, please be assured we will be providing them with extra phonics support this year ahead of their second go at the check in the Summer term of Year 2.

Homework

Homework will be set on a Friday.  It will be due in by the following Wednesday at 9:00am.  There is a labelled area in the classroom for your child to return their homework once it is completed.

Reading

Phonics – The teaching of Phonics to the whole class will continue daily for this term to consolidate Phonics knowledge and application.  Phonics groups will continue in Year 2 for some children until they are confident, fluent readers.  We are following the Little Wandle scheme that has been adopted in school.  Many children in Year 2 will practise reading with a Little Wandle phonics book in group reading sessions between Monday to Thursday and on Thursday they will bring that book home to share with you daily until the following Monday. There is an enormous benefit to your child from reading aloud to you when they are not in school. It is very important that this book is returned by the following Monday as other children in our class and school will need it.  If you would like to find out more about Little Wandle and how phonics is taught at Parsons Heath please do ask.

Beyond Phonics – If your child is at or gets to a reading level beyond needing explicit phonics practise in the course of Year 2, they will no longer bring home a Little Wandle phonics book but will instead be supported to choose books from our school library and these school library books will be their reading books. Your child will read these aloud to adults in class on a 1:1 basis and will still need to read them aloud to you at home even when they are able to read to themselves in their head as well. It is vital that your child reads aloud to practise their reading fluency and comprehension of the texts so please ask your child questions about the text they have read to you to develop their understanding and take time to find out or explain the meanings of unfamiliar words to enable them to broaden their vocabulary.

Interest books for sharing – All children in Year 2 will have the opportunity to choose a book from the class book box to bring home each Monday.  This may or may not be a book that the children are able to read themselves – it is intended for them to share and enjoy a book with you, so if you need to help them to read it or indeed read to them, please do so.  We know that developing a love of books and desire to read is just as important as phonics itself.  Please ensure your child’s interest book (sharing book) is in their bag on Mondays so they can change them (if they want to).

Reading Records – We will be using reading records in Year 2 and you can record each time your child reads to you in the reading record. They can read their reading book (a Little Wandle phonics book or a school library book), the interest book (sharing book) or your own books from home. Please read at home with your child daily, it is a perfect time to share special moments and relax together as well.

Thank you for your ongoing kindness and support.

  Our Year 2 Curriculum Map:

  Year 2 Curriculum Map 2026 – 2027