All Saints' C of E Primary School

About mixed age classes

Thank you for your emails regarding the Year 1 and 2 mixed age classes for next year and your patience while school leaders have had chance to read these. We and grouped the questions into those most frequently asked. Below we have provided further information to those questions and additional information that was not pertinent for the whole school general letter. We appreciate some parents have specific questions relating to their child that we will respond to individually. We will be holding information evenings with class teachers early in September so that we can showcase more about how the mixed age classes work and the exciting plans that we have put in place. Further details will be sent before the end of the school year, and we hope you will be able to join us at one of the events. We will continue to add to this page.

• What experience do teachers have in mixed age classes?

  All Saints’ has, until recently, had mixed age classes so teachers have experience of planning and teaching a curriculum that meets the needs of learners across two year groups. This academic year is the first year that there have been no mixed age classes. We also collaborate with local schools who teach children in mixed year groups. Our leadership team have been working with these schools to ensure that our teachers are prepared and supported. Both Mrs Dunn and Mr Gawthorpe have experience of teaching in and leading schools with mixed age classes. Mr Gawthorpe has been leading on the development of the Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) curriculum and will keep you updated regularly.

• How school day will be managed?

  All children will receive direct teaching from the class teacher in lessons and be provided with opportunities to practise the disciplinary skills at their level of learning as is the case currently. There will also be opportunities for children’s learning to be developed through extension and challenge activities across the curriculum. Opportunities for ‘provision’, which is child led learning, will continue to be provided across the class.

• How will classes be managed to avoid Year 2s thinking they are still in Year 1?

  Class names will be changing next year to avoid the loss of identity for year groups. Our Key Stage 1 classes will be called Butterfly Class, Bumblebee Class and Dragonfly Class. Within each class children will be set clear expectations for the year group they are in and will still continue to develop their own identity with separate performances, roles and responsibilities and specific learning opportunities. One of the advantages of mixed age classes is the opportunity for the older children to role to model younger children both educationally and socially which will contribute to their personal development.

• How is it decided which class my child will be in?

  Staff who know the children have considered their in-school relationships, levels and style of learning as well as their pastoral needs when allocating classes for year. This will be communicated following transition morning on Thursday 11th July by email including transition information booklets and letters from their teacher.

• Long term strategy – will this cohort be a Year 2 and 3 mix?

  These are longer term decisions that school leaders and governors are considering and continue to be influenced by pupil numbers and funding allocations from the Government.

• My child is one of the youngest in the class or I have concerns about them having specific needs, how will they be supported?

  All children’s social and educational needs are planned for as teachers know the children in their class and are experienced in meeting the wide range of needs in their class. Being the youngest is not necessarily a factor in a child’s progress. All children will be carefully monitored and regular feedback to parents will be shared by class teachers. Your child’s teacher from this year has met with their new teacher and passed on information about them in preparation for a successful transition. If, after the start of the year, you still have specific concerns please make an appointment to speak to their new teacher who will be happy to meet with you and discuss them with you in the first instance. In the first couple of weeks the class teams will be getting to know your child and will be available at the end of each day to answer any questions you may have.

• How has the curriculum been planned to ensure children are not repeating learning?

  As we do every year, for all year groups, our curriculum has been reviewed to ensure the requirements of the National Curriculum are met and that children’s interests are considered. This year is no different and we are designing an updated curriculum that will excite and engage the children. Teachers have been given time to review the current All Saints’ curriculum. The National Curriculum is structured in Key Stages with the objectives set designed to be taught over two years, this ensures that children will not be repeating learning that has already taken place.

• How will phonics and maths be taught to ensure children receive the best teaching in these core skills?

  Children will be taught separately for phonics in Year 1 with any Year 2 child requiring additional support with their phonics joining the lessons to consolidate learning and address any gaps in their phonetic knowledge. Year 2 will be taught the Little Wandle spelling programme which builds on the Little Wandle phonics from Year 1. White Rose Maths, which children throughout the school follow, provides a structured plan for the teaching of Maths in mixed year classes which our teachers will adapt for the specifics of the children in their class. Key Stage 1 is about the securing of basic number facts and operations with lots of opportunities for reinforcement activities and increasing the size of numbers that children are expected to be able to calculate with. Discrete teaching of the fundamentals of Maths will take place during lessons with activities provided for children to practise independently or with small group support.

• How will school communicate what my child will be learning?

  From September, Class pages on the school website will share more information about your child’s learning. Year 4 have been developing the use of their class pages and you can log on here to see more about your child’s learning. We will continue to provide information on the Knowledge Organisers. We will also be holding information sessions for parents and carers with class teachers early in September. These sessions will provide you with information about the curriculum and how the classes will be structured.

• Will all 3 classes for Year 1 and 2 be mixed year classes?

  All three classes will be mixed to ensure consistency of learning for all children.

• Is transition day going to be based on the definitive classes they will be in? I.e. who is their teacher and who is in their class?

  Transition will be in their new classes, with their new teacher and their new class support team (where possible).

• What will the classes look like the following years?

  No decisions have been made on further years at this time as this is dependent on a number of variables including future numbers and funding.

• Will children remain with the same teacher for all of Year 1 and 2 or change again in Year 2?

  Staffing can change so it is not possible to say at this stage but again, we consider the best teacher for each class each year.

• Will the curriculum be rotated each year so that the current Year 1 classes are not learning the same subject in Year 2 and same for current reception class?

  Yes, we hope this has been covered in sufficient detail in the previous letter.

• What would a typical day look like for a mixed classroom? Will they separate the years for core subjects?

  No, the core subjects will be taught using specifically designed mixed-aged plans with learning activities designed at the age and educational stage appropriate.

• How will they teach specific subjects such as PSHE and PE to an appropriate level with such a wide age range? Will they be separated for these lessons?

  Further information about the curriculum will be released shortly but all the concerns raised here have been fully considered and mitigated for. There is lots of experience in curriculum design and teaching team at All Saints’ and we are working with other schools who currently have mixed age classes to benchmark our offer to ensure children are still receiving the highest possible standards in curriculum design and delivery.

• How will children be prepared ofr the increased numbers in each class compared to their current class?

  Class sizes will still be below the infant class size limit and the number found in most classes nationally. Children at All Saints’ often mix classes and join together for activities. Transition morning will focus on establishing the new cohort of children as a class. In September we will continue transition activities to ensure children are secure in their new class group. This will be monitored by class teams and senior leaders in the school.

• Ho will children be prepared for the change from play and nurtured learning to more structured learning, especially within a mixed class environment where the year 2’s have had a year on their own to settle in?

  Our Key Stage 1 curriculum has always included opportunities for child led learning (provision) as they are used to in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We have continued to enhance this during this academic year. Research is clear that children continue to benefit from this type of learning throughout the school.

• Ho will children be supported when friendships across 3 classrooms are established rather than the original 2 per year?

  Staff who know the children well have organised groupings to ensure that they have children who they are friendly with in school and who support their learning. It is often the case that children tell you about friends they play with in school but that does not reflect the relationships that they actually have or that are best for their learning. Please be assured that the groupings have been carefully considered by the staff who know your children best in school. The children will still enjoy opportunities to play and participate in activities with their year group.

• What suppport will be in place to familiarise new and older children in the class who have established friendships and ways of learning?

  This will all be part of the transition process. There is no timescale on how long transition will take as it will be guided by the success of the children in the class.

• Given the wide range of abilities in a 2 year class, how do you ensure that each student is individually supported in their learning journey? i.e. nurturing and aiding a student who may be behind their peers and equally supporting and continuing to develop a student who may be ahead of their peers?

  Any child, regardless of age, who is finding any aspect of learning difficult will initially be supported by the class teacher through adaptations to the task and the support they receive in order to be able to successfully complete it. Where this approach is not enough to support the immediate need the class teacher will speak to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator, Mr Gawthorpe, who will provide extra support through assessments and additional intervention advice. At any stage where a child’s learning is a concern, the class teacher will bring this to your attention and explain what we are doing and how you could support at home. If you have any concerns, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance. For children who are more able the same would be the case with planning created to stretch and challenge them as is normal practice.

• What happens if there is an influx of children throughout the year wanting to attend All Saints. With the VAT issue with private schools at the moment, we could see a significant increase in numbers mid-term going into any years. Based on current Year One and Reception there will be approx 28 per class. It only therefore takes an increase of 6 kids across the 2 years to take those numbers to max capacity. Does the school then say there is no more space?

  Every school operates to an intake governed by the Local Authority. In the case of All Saints’ we are able to admit 60 children per year group. In Early Years and Key Stage 1 there is a legal requirement to not exceed 30 children in any class. The admissions process is co-ordinated by the Local Authority who are aware of the change in structure of the school at this time. We constantly keep our school structure and intake under review and will keep parents informed if there are to be any changes. It is worth noting that for any child who joins the school after mid October, no funding for that school place is provided until the April of the following academic year so for example, if a child joins All Saints’ on 1st November 2024 we would not receive funding for that place until April 2026 as there is a lag which could impact how quickly we are able to make changes although we would work with the Local Authority if this were to be the case.