Morning

In Dosbarth Glas our day begins by joining the rest of the school, in the hall, for our breakfast and inputting children’s first points of the day.  Children can earn up to fifty points daily, with various amounts for the different sessions within the school day timetable. Dependant on the amount of points earned, rewards are given at the end of each day and the end of the week.

After breakfast the whole school moves outside to undertake our daily mile walk.  This gives children a chance to socialise, catch up and prepare themselves for the day.

Once the mile is completed, we disperse into our classes to begin our learning. Each session throughout the day is based around the six different areas of learning and the four purposes (as stated in the Welsh National Curriculum).

In Dosbarth Glas session one is literacy, language and communication.  This begins with a phonics session where we practise our phoneme for that week, using introductory video clips with Geraldine Giraffe, phonics games and word practise. During this we also focus on the spelling of certain words related to children’s individual targets. On a Friday, children have a spelling test including words with the week’s phoneme and their targeted spellings.

This leads into the main part of the literacy session.  Each week we study a different text related to our topic and undertake a literacy activity related to the book. This covers a range of different skills including reading, comprehension and writing (composition, transcription, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation). If the children finish their given task they use iPads to access the Nessy reading and spelling skills online programme.  Assuming the child has finished their given work, the last ten minutes of each session is dedicated to reward time where children can choose how to spend the last part of the lesson.

Before breaktime, assembly is delivered by various staff to different classes on a rotational basis.  This is related to the topic, children’s interests, well-being and world religion stories.

We have two playgrounds where children may be split for their breaktime. We also have a blue area where small groups of children have access to a grass area, trees and play equipment. Children can utilise the available equipment to enjoy such as bikes, football, basketball and other playground activities involving other pupils and staff.

Children are supplied with fresh fruit and drinking water as part of our healthy school’s initiative when we convene in the hall for snacks and points update following the end of breaktime.

Our second session of the day begins with handwriting practise, focussing on correct letter formation and joining. Then we move on to maths and numeracy. We start with a mental maths warm up, currently focussing on specific times tables, highlighted in the children’s individual targets. Maths and numeracy are planned and delivered in line with the ‘Statements of What Matters’ objectives and children undertake tasks and activities following a whole class input and practise. For the plenary we usually play a game to assess children’s understanding of the lesson and evaluate their learning. Children then access the Cool Maths iPad programme.  Again, if the child has finished their given work, the last ten minutes of each session is reward time. Mental maths tests are given on a Friday, with questions relating to maths and numeracy objectives covered in the week’s sessions and times table targets.

Lunchtimes are split into two areas where children are provided with a choice of hot or cold meals by an external caterer, in line with Government guidance on healthy eating and food content. Some children prefer to bring their own packed lunch from home. Lunchtime play is a replica of breaktime.

Afternoon

We begin the afternoon by meeting as a school in the hall.  Points are updated and discussed. Children then brush their teeth for two minutes in conjunction with various entertaining toothbrushing songs.

On our return to the classroom we continue whole class reading of our chosen text for the half term. The children and staff are given opportunities to read and discussions are held related to the pages covered.

The last session of the afternoon is topic work, based on the remaining four areas of learning that have not been covered in the morning.  These include: history, geography, RE, science, technology, art, music, ICT, PE or well-being lessons. Following the delivery of the lesson input, meaningful and engaging activities are undertaken to promote child development. These may involve work based tasks, hands on activities or exploration experiments.

Prior to the end of the school day, total points are examined by the teacher. A specific number of points need to be earned for children to enjoy certain rewards for the latter part of the afternoon. This could be outside enjoyment, iPad time or another chosen activity within the classroom. Those who have not earned a stipulated amount are given a chance to reflect on their day and discussions with staff are encouraged to remind children of the school expectations and to determine any possible issues that have affected their points.  Opportunities to discuss alternatives to any problems that may have arisen are provided. The day ends on a positive note with children being praised for hard work and good behaviour and the reminder that tomorrow is a new day, full of exciting opportunities.