Year 4 - John Clifford School

Welcome to Year 4

Miss Padhiar - Clover Class
Miss Howie - Heather Class

Miss Helme - Year 4 Teaching Assistant
Miss Hydes - Year 4 Teaching Assistant

Spring 1 - 2026

Welcome back to Spring term. We hope you have had a restful and joyful Christmas break. We have all sorts of engaging activities planned for the new term. This term, our topic will take us on a journey looking at Volcanoes and Earthquakes. This half term, our topic question is:

"Why did Pompeii's skies darken?"

Volcanoes and earthquakes

We will be using our geography skills to understand how volcanoes erupt and what causes earthquakes in certain parts of the world. We will be looking at features of volcanoes and earthquakes and the impact they have on the people and places near them.

In English, we will be learning to write a setting description as part of our fiction unit. For our non-fiction unit, we will be writing non-chronological reports.

In Maths, we will be completing a Multiplication and Division unit, before moving on to Length and Perimeter and Fraction. We will then begin looking at Decimals. We will be consistently consolidating our knowledge of times tables, throughout the year, in preparation for the national multiplication check this year.

Our Science work this half term will focus on the topic of States of Matter. We will be learning about the properties of solids, liquids and gases, conducting experiments to understand changes in states of matter and how this links with the water cycle.

Our class texts this half term are:

Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit and The Secret Explorers and the Smoking Volcano by SJ King.

Escape from Pompeii cover Secret explorers volcanoes cover

In this half term, we will be learning about:

Maths - Multiplication and Division, Length and Perimeter, Fractions.
Science - States of Matter
Computing - Image Editing
Geography - Volcanoes and Earthquakes
Art - Storytelling through Drawing
Spanish - Alien Family (family, facial features and numbers)
PSHE  - Living in the Wider World 1
PE - Netball and Handball/Volleyball
RE - Hinduism

Key Dates

Please note the following dates for your diary:

Monday 5th January: INSET Day

Tuesday 6th January: Return to school

Monday 12th - Friday 30th January: Unofficial MTC Check

Thursday 29th - Friday 30th January: Bikeability

Monday 16th - Friday 20th February: Half term

Knowledge Organisers

Below you can find our knowledge organisers for our subjects this half term. These can be used to quiz at home about topics or to revise key concepts.

PE & Outdoor Learning

This term, PE will take place on alternating TUESDAYS and every THURSDAY. Outdoor Learning takes place on alternating TUESDAYS. See below for details.

PE kits consist of PLAIN black shorts or jogging bottoms, PLAIN white t-shirt and trainers. Please pack an extra warm top for outdoor PE lessons. Please label PE kits with children's names.

W/C:	5.1.26	12.1.26	19.1.26	26.1.26	2.2.26	9.2.26
Clover	Tues - OL	Tues - PE	Tues - OL	Tues - PE	Tues - OL	Tues - PE
	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE
Heather	Tues - PE	Tues - OL	Tues - PE	Tues - OL	Tues - PE	Tues - OL
	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE	Thurs - PE

Outdoor Learning is on alternate Tuesdays.

Outdoor Learning kits consist of:

Warm clothing
Black jogging bottoms or leggings
John Clifford jumper, cardigan or warm plain jumper
Waterproof coat, trousers or all in one
Extra layers
Warm socks
Hat, scarf, gloves
Wellies or old trainers (brought to school in a named bag)

Please ensure that all kit is clearly named and in a bag which can be hung on your child’s peg on the day.

Please could we ask that outdoor learning kits are not left in school.

In Outdoor Learning, children have the opportunity to build dens, explore the mud kitchen, look after our animals and get messy! Please send in clothes that you do not mind getting messy or wet.

Homework in Year 4

Homework Books:

Children will be given 2 homework books, a Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling homework book and Maths homework book. Each week, children will be set a section to complete, as practise for the learning we are doing in class.

Homework books will be sent home on FRIDAYS and must be returned by the following WEDNESDAY.

We will continue setting ‘sessions’ on TT Rockstars – this means the children must complete 15 minutes of Garage before they can access other games. This is expected to be completed weekly. Please let us know if there are any issues accessing this.

Homework timetable to be updated.

Reading:

We ask that all children read with somebody at home at least three times a week. This could be with any adult or an older sibling or friend. Please sign their diary and add a comment. Children should bring in their diaries every day.

Every bit of reading and being able to talk about what is being read really does help children with their learning and enjoyment.

Spelling:

Children will be given spellings to practise on Friday every week, which can be found inside the Communication Diary. We conduct a spelling quiz each week as part of a dictation lesson and children are encouraged to use the words in their writing each week.

Times Tables:

A vital aspect of Maths is that the children have a secure recall of times tables up to 12x12, so we ask that they spend some time each week on TT Rockstars practising these. There will be weekly class competitions for Year 4, as well as some beat the teacher competitions. Log in details can be found in your child's Communication Diary. Heatmaps will also be given to children to stick in termly so that you can see your child's progress.

PLEASE NOTE: The Year 4 Multiplication Check takes place this year. More information will be communicated nearer the time.


Year 4 Multiplication Check Information for Parents
Clover Class Passport
Heather Class Passport
Year 4 Curriculum Meeting Presentation