Welcome to Year Four
Useful information
PE
Our PE days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please come into school in your PE kit.
Music
In Year four we are excited to learn how to play an instrument with each class receiving a term of teaching from UpBeat Rock Academy. Music is on a Tuesday and a range of instruments will be taught including guitar and drums.
Homework
MyMaths will be set weekly. There will also be an alternating English and Maths piece of homework each week. This may sometimes be replaced with a piece of topic work. Children will write their homework in their planners.
Welcome to Poplar Class
We have had a busy but fun filled start to the year. Poplar is a wonderful class, taught by Miss Anderson.
Take a look at the Blog page for photos of things we are doing.
Year 4 Poplar
Miss C. Anderson
Class Teacher
Welcome to Tamarisk Class
Tamarisk are a lovely class and our teacher is Mrs Byrne.
We are enjoying being back in school - please look at the Blog page for some recent photos of the things we get up to.
Year 4 Tamarisk
Mrs C. Byrne
Class Teacher
Welcome to Cherry Class
Cherry Class are a lovely class and our teachers are Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Croston.
It feels good to be back at school, seeing our friends, learning and playing together again.
Take a look at our Blog page for some recent photos of the things we have been up to.
Year 4 Cherry
Mrs L. Croston
Class Teacher
Mrs C. Anderson
Class Teacher
Your child should have brought home a reading book from school.
Planners will be checked each Tuesday, where your child should have one signature to confirm they have read once.
Planners will also be checked each Friday and should have a further two signatures to confirm they have read on two further occasions.
Year 4 enjoy wider opportunities in music, receiving specialist teaching from UpBeat Rock Academy.
Each class receives a terms teaching where they receive weekly lessons of 45 minutes in groups of ten. The children are taught a wide range of skills as they develop their musical appreciation, technical knowledge and expressive skills. They will develop vocally and will experience learning and performing a range of instruments (drums, electric guitar and keyboard). Outside of their time with UpBeat Rock Academy the children will continue to be taught by our music teacher Mr Mackenzie who will develop their musical understanding further, training them vocally and through the use of Glockenspiels.
At Heyhouses we love to promote music and for those children that have a passion for the subject there are opportunities to take this further through peripatetic music sessions provided by the Lancashire Music Hub and UpBeat Rock Academy, who also run a weekly after school band.
What is the Multiplication Tables Check?
The Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) is statutory for primary schools. Heyhouses will have a 3-week check window in June to administer the MTC. Teachers will have the flexibility to administer the check to individual pupils, small groups or a whole class at the same time.
The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will help schools to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided.
The MTC is an online test where the pupils are asked 25 questions on times tables 2 to 12. For every question you have 6 seconds to answer and in between the questions there is a 3 second rest. Questions about the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12 times tables come up more often. The questions are generated randomly based on the rules of the MTC.
If you would like to know more, please read the Department for Education's information for parents:
What if my child cannot access the check?
There are several access arrangements available for the check, these can be used to support pupils with specific needs. Your child’s teacher will ensure that the access arrangements are appropriate for your child before they take the check in June. The check has been designed so that it is inclusive and accessible to as many children as possible, including those with special educational needs or disability (SEND) or English as an additional language (EAL). However, there may be some circumstances in which it will not be appropriate for a pupil to take the check, even when using suitable access arrangements. If you have any concerns about your child accessing the check, you should discuss this with your child’s teacher. There is no pass mark for the check.
How to prepare
A good way to prepare is start early and build a daily routine practising the times tables. With regular practise you will learn all the questions and gain confidence. This may just be regularly asking them the odd times table question to check their understanding or, as mentioned earlier, research has shown that digital resources have been shown to be effective in helping pupils practise times tables. At the bottom of the page, there are some links to a range of online games/activities your child could try as well as Times Tables Rock Stars.
If you would like to familiarise your Year 4 child with how the MTC will work, this link will take to a website that has a trial run to help the children become more comfortable with the format used:
Multiplication Tables Check - 2024 - Timestables.co.uk
Here are some websites where you can practise your skills:
https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Can you beat your score?
Are you ready?
Are you ready to complete your Multiplication Check? To get started, click here
Please see the curriculum map below which details the learning and experiences the children will have this year.