Welcome to
Year 4

This year your child can look forward to new challenges and excitements. Our reading lessons will introduce your child to new reading that will make them laugh and reflect, and in mathematics your child will learn new content such as decimals and addition in the thousands place. I’m sure they will be ready for the challenge. We integrate our love of humanities and science into our literacy and will be writing in detail about topics we have studied. We know each year brings new challenges and see to equip your child to face them. We are excited to begin this journey with you.

Two children work on a colourful maths puzzle together

Upcoming events for Year 4

Here’s what you’ve got to look forward to over the next few weeks.

Wear One Red Item For Comic Relief
Fri 21st Mar
Year 4 Parent Share
Wed 2nd Apr
2.15 - 3.15pm
Parent/Carer Consultation Evening
Wed 21st - Thu 22nd May
Summer Concert
Thu 10th - Fri 11th Jul
Sports Day
Fri 11th Jul

Year 6 are helping at this event

Year 4 Curriculum

Art and Design / DT / Food and Nutrition

At KS1 and KS2 we follow a two year sequence:

2024/2025 and 2026/2027

Autumn 1 – Textiles – batik

Autumn 2 – Painting

Spring 1 – Mechanical Systems: Pneumatics

Spring 2 – Collage

Summer 1 – Portraits, including mixed media

Summer 2 – Food Technology

 

2025/2026

Autumn 1 – Printing

Autumn 2 – 3D: Metal

Spring 1 – Electrical Systems

Spring 2 – Mechanica | Systems (axles and wheels)

Summer 1 – Portraits, including mixed media

Summer 2 – Structures

Computing

Each year through KS1-2 we cycle through the following units at increasing depth:

  1. Productivity
  2. Programming
  3. Computational Thinking
  4. Creativity
  5. Networks
  6. Communication/collaboration
English

Reading to Learn

Once children have been carefully assessed as having met the requirements of the phonics program, they should be able to decode any age appropriate text. At this point, children move onto our ‘Paradigm Literacy and Language’ program.

The program allocates 3 weeks to ‘fiction writing’ such as: stories, poetry, one week to ‘journalistic writing’ such as biographies and non chronological reports and two weeks to a ‘non fiction writing’ program in which specialist teachers across the Trust have worked together to create and provide high quality texts in The Humanities and The Sciences.

Click here to see which books we read in Year Four.

Geography

Children in Year 4 learn about the following subjects:

The living world

  • Biomes
  • Hot and cold climates
  • Rainforests

The economic world

  • Food, water and energy
  • The changing economic world
  • Tourism and ecotourism
  • Case study: Cambridge

 

History

We cover two topics a year for History in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. In Year 4 we look at the Roman Impact on Britain, then Anglo-Saxons and Vikings.

Mathematics

Our school uses Maths Mastery to teach the subject.

In Year 4 we cover:

  • Reasoning with large numbers
  • Addition and subtraction
  • Multiplication and division
  • Discrete and continuous data
Modern Foreign Languages

We introduce French in Lower Key Stage 2, through a system called Early Start French Programme.

Music

Autumn 1 – Blues

Autumn 2 – Britpop

Spring 1 – Programme Music

Spring 2 – Soul / Motown

Summer 1 – Musical Theatre

Summer 2 – Reflect, Rewind and Replay

PE
  • Striking / fielding (e.g. rounders, cricket)
  • Gymnastics
  • Invasion Games (e.g. hockey, netball, football)
  • Athletics
  • Swimming
  • Dance
Religious and Non-religious Worldviews

We follow a three-year cycle (see below) covering the major world religions as well as worldviews.

The programme is designed so that each previously taught religion is reviewed and comparisons are drawn between the content. Over six years, each child will have studied each identified religion/non-religion twice, studying in greater depth and making connections between religions.

Pupils are taught key substantive knowledge for each religion and worldview and each lesson is broken down into one of 3 disciplines: Theology, philosophy and Human/Social Science.

2024-2025: Christianity and Islam
2025-2026: Judaism and Humanism
2026-2027: Hinduism and Sikhism
Parents/carers have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of RE – please contact the principal if you wish to explore this as an option.
RSHE and PSHE

The Paradigm primary schools follow the Jigsaw programme.

From September 2019 we have allocated 45 minutes per week to PSHE at KS1 and KS2.

  • Being Me in My World
  • Celebrating Difference
  • Dreams and Goals
  • Healthy Me
  • Relationships
  • Changing Me
Science

Autumn 1 – Living Things, their Habitats and Classification | State of Matter

Autumn 2 – Earth and Space | Animals, including Humans

Spring 1 – Forces and Magnets | Electricity

Spring 2 – Rocks | Plants

Summer 1 – Light and Sound | Living Things and their Habitats and Classification

Summer 2 – Properties of Materials | Environmental Issues: Global warming | Pollution Plastics

INSET Days for this term are:

  • Monday, 6th January

Students should not attend school on this day.

First Half Term Dates
Start Monday, 6th January
End Friday, 14th February
Half Term Holiday Dates
Start Monday, 17th February
End Friday, 21st February
Second Half Term Dates
Start Monday, 24th February
End Friday, 4th April

INSET Days for this term are:

  • Tuesday, 22nd April

Pupils should not attend school on this day.

The first day back after the Easter holidays for pupils is Wednesday 23rd April 2025.

The first day back after half term for pupils is Monday 2nd June 2025.

First Half Term Dates
Start Tuesday, 22nd April
End Friday, 23rd May
Half Term Holiday Dates
Start Tuesday, 27th May
End Friday, 30th May
Second Half Term Dates
Start Monday, 2nd June
End Thursday, 24th July