Why is the seaside such a special place?

16th June 2026Sarah Winkley

Last week Nursery began exploring and investigating their final case study, Why is the seaside such a special place? We began by reading our key text, “Look what I found at the seaside”. This was an age appropriate non fiction text that delved into all of the natural elements and fun that could be explored at the seaside, through a short story and supporting facts with exciting illustrations to engage the children. They thought carefully about what their experiences of the seaside have been and each child spoke about why the seaside is a special place to them and their families. Their answers were scribed into a speech bubble for them.

On Tuesday we had a very exciting visit from Aqua Explorers, who provided the children with a Rockpool experience – just for Nursery. James (our expert visitor) brought lots of sea creatures with him including; Mussels, Spider crab, Shore crab, Hermit crabs, mutiple starfish, A Purple Sunblazed Starfish, Sea Anemones and a couple of Sea Urchins.

James explained to the children all about each sea creature and where they live and what they eat. The children were so engaged and asked some amazing questions throughout the experience. James was also blown away with the prior knowledge that the children had about some of the sea creatures when he asked them questions…. All of which has come from their learning throughout our expedition “What happens where the sea meets the shore?”

Each child was allowed and encouraged to touch some of the creatures. Most children were willing whilst others were trying to be brave, as it was a daunting prospect to touch an unfamiliar creature.

The following day the children used their experience and observation skills from memory and with photo support to draw the sea creatures. They did so well and included so much detail for the creatures features. Just look at their beautiful work!

Finally to bring all of our lovely learning and the week to a close the children create cardboard box Rockpool models. They painted their boxes first and then used a variety of materials and artistic skills to create sea creatures. They made cardboard tube sea anemones, playdough sea urchins with cocktail sticks, either a starfish using folded paper or a crab using craft materials and pipe cleaners. One of the children in the afternoon nursery brought back brightly coloured seashells from their holidays as a gift for the children so we included those too. Aren’t they absolutely amazing!?! The children have shown real quality of craftsmanship here! Well done Nursery beautiful learning – I am so proud.

📚✨ Final Word Preparation ✨📚

15th June 2026Laura Parsons

Today, we spent time preparing for our upcoming Final Word, focusing on one of our most important learning habits: reflection.

We journeyed back through all of the expeditions we have completed this year, revisiting beautiful pieces of work and remembering the learning experiences that helped us grow. The children were amazed to see the progress they have made, spotting improvements in their writing, artwork, presentation and overall craftsmanship.

As part of our preparation, the children worked together to support one another in selecting pieces of work to share with their families. Some chose work they are especially proud of, while others selected pieces that they found challenging and had to really grapple with before achieving success.

It was wonderful to hear the children talking so thoughtfully about their learning journey and celebrating how far they have come. We can’t wait for them to share these special pieces and reflections with you at Final Word! 🌟

World Cup Fever in Class 5!

12th June 2026Laura Parsons

Class 5 has been well and truly bitten by the World Cup bug!

As part of our Class 5 sweepstake, each child was allocated two countries to support throughout the tournament. We have spent time developing our research skills by finding out more about our countries, including where they are in the world, interesting facts about them and their football traditions.

Using our research, we then created our very own World Cup bunting display. We carefully studied each country’s flag, paying close attention to colours, shapes and patterns to ensure our designs were as accurate as possible. This challenged us to be precise and pay close attention to detail.

The classroom is now looking fantastic, with flags from around the world proudly displayed and lots of excitement as we follow the progress of our teams. We are looking forward to seeing how our countries perform and finding out who will be crowned World Cup champions!

Good luck to all of our Class 5 teams!

Crew Nightingale Hunt for a Rainbow in the Rain!

11th June 2026Claire Goodyer

The rain certainly didn’t stop Crew Nightingale from enjoying their outdoor learning this week!

Wrapped up and armed with their colour charts, our Year 1 crew set off on a colourful adventure around the playground. Their challenge was to find natural and man-made objects that matched each colour on their chart. From bright green leaves and brown tree bark to colourful flowers, the children became excellent colour detectives.

It felt especially fitting that we were hunting for the colours of the rainbow whilst exploring in the rain! Although the sun didn’t appear to create a real rainbow for us, the children discovered plenty of rainbow colours all around them.

The activity encouraged careful observation, teamwork and discussion as the children shared their discoveries with one another. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and determination, even with the drizzle falling around them.

In Crew Nightingale, we know that learning can happen anywhere, and our outdoor sessions with Mrs Jackson provide fantastic opportunities to explore, investigate and connect with the world around us. The rain simply added an extra layer of adventure to our day!

Well done, Crew Nightingale, for embracing the weather and becoming brilliant rainbow hunters!

Crew Parkinson: Building Resilience Through Tangrams!

10th June 2026Laura Parsons

Resilience was out in full force this morning in Crew Parkinson!

Our children were challenged to create different animals using tangram puzzles. It wasn’t always easy, and there were plenty of moments where we had to persevere, rethink our ideas and try a different approach. The children showed fantastic determination as they grappled with the challenge and refused to give up when the pieces didn’t quite fit the first time.

Once everyone had chosen their favourite animal design, we set about transforming it into our own tangram puzzle. The children carefully added colour and features to bring their creations to life, thinking about how they could make them both attractive and challenging for others to solve.

Next week, we’ll be sharing our puzzles with our crew mates and putting each other’s problem-solving skills to the test. We can’t wait to see who can crack the challenges that have been created!

A wonderful morning of creativity, perseverance and teamwork—well done, Crew Parkinson! 🧩✨

Can You Help George Escape?

9th June 2026Laura Parsons

This week, Year 2 became mathematicians and detectives as we took part in a Maths Escape Room challenge!

Poor George the baker was working late one night in the cake shop when his mischievous colleague, Keirra, decided he needed a bit more fun in his life. She locked him inside the bakery and left a series of clues for him to solve. To help George escape, we had to work through five different mathematical challenges, collecting a number code from each one. At the end, we used all of the codes to unlock the final puzzle and set George free!

Along the way, we used lots of the maths skills we have been learning this year, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, telling the time and finding fractions. The challenges really made us think carefully and apply our knowledge in different ways.

What impressed me most, however, was not just the maths. I saw fantastic examples of compassion, respect and resilience as children worked alongside their partners. They listened to each other’s ideas, encouraged one another when challenges became tricky and persevered until they found the solutions.

It was wonderful to see so many children confidently using their mathematical knowledge while also demonstrating our character traits. Well done, mathematicians – George escaped thanks to your hard work and teamwork!

Seaside Explorers.

22nd May 2026Sarah Winkley

Last week the children were hooked into our second case study about “Who would have adventures at sea?” Beginning with an immersive dress up day. Children came to school dressed in beautiful pirate, mermaid or other sea themed costumes. Teachers also dressed as a whole range of seaside explorers too, to broaden the ‘children’s understanding of who you may expect to see at the seaside having adventures. Don’t we all look brilliant!!

The children were engaged in story telling during Tranquil Tuesday crew, where they each acted out sea themed stories using props to use as problems and solutions, developing stories using our Tales Tool kit format. The children individually chose the props for the story they took part in making their story unique to them.

During our mindful Monday Crew the children made sea and sand sensory bottles to show them what happens where the sea meets the shore. This helped them to understand where people have adventures at sea and understand the concept of the stories being based either on or under the water.

Later in the week the children used a photo of them from our immersive dress up day, to help them write a sea themed adventure story using the tales tool kit format. The children chose whether they would be the character or the problem as some of our characters were goodies and some were more tricky! As the children told and drew their stories using a character, a setting, a problem and a solution, grown ups scribed for them.

Beautiful work

22nd May 2026Anna Wojcik

Class 4 have been working incredibly hard on their home learning projects this term. The children created some fantastic under the sea habitats and spent some time researching interesting facts about different sea creatures. They were super proud to present their work to the class. We have also been producing some excellent recount writing based on our fieldwork visit to The Deep.

Fieldwork to The Deep

18th May 2026Laura Parsons

Today, our Key Stage One children embarked on an exciting fieldwork visit to The Deep — and what an incredible day it was!

From the moment we arrived, the children were completely immersed in the wonders of the ocean. As they explored the aquarium, they encountered magnificent sharks, graceful stingrays, colourful tropical fish and fascinating creatures from oceans around the world. There were gasps of amazement, endless excitement and so many thoughtful conversations as the children connected their learning from school to the real world around them.

One of the highlights of the day was taking part in a fantastic workshop all about protecting our oceans from plastic pollution. The children learned about the devastating impact plastic can have on marine life and explored simple but powerful ways we can all help care for our planet. We were incredibly proud of the way the children engaged with the session — asking insightful questions, sharing their own knowledge and showing genuine compassion for the animals affected by pollution.

Perhaps the thing we were proudest of all was the children’s impeccable behaviour throughout the day. Their enthusiasm, curiosity and kindness shone from start to finish. In fact, several members of the public took the time to comment on how polite, respectful and engaged our children were — something that made all the adults very proud indeed!

The visit was a wonderful opportunity to bring our expedition learning to life and helped the children see that even small actions can make a big difference in protecting our oceans. We returned to school inspired, informed and even more determined to help care for the world around us.

Well done, Year 2 — you were a real credit to our school!