Year 2
Autumn 1, 2025
Welcome back! We hope you have had a lovely summer holiday making memories and are ready for lots of learning and fun this half term in Year 2. I am really looking forward to teaching your children.
Start time – 8:40am Pick-up time- 3:15pm
If you have any questions, concerns or worries, please contact us at year2@cpa.dsat.education and we will do our best to respond as soon as we can.
Please ensure that your child brings a labelled water bottle to school each day as well as ensuring that all items of your child's uniform is clearly labelled too. A healthy fruit snack is provided for all our Year 2 children.
Year 2 Long Term Plan Year 2 Autumn 1 Timetable
Please follow the link below to view information from the Year 2 Beginning of Year Meeting.
International Democracy day 15th September 2025
Well done to all the children in year 2 for their courage to deliver a fantastic speech. It was difficult to choose between you all! We are proud to announce that our Year 2 class School Council Representatives are: Luna and Luca S :)
We are continuing to deliver the program to all year groups at school called myHappymind. myHappymind is all based around helping children to understand how their brain works and to support them in developing positive skills and habits to be their very best selves!
This half term we are focusing on Meet your brain. Please click on the link below to access an overview of what the program entails.
myHappymind Parent information
At the end of every myHappy mind session, we finish with our Let Your Light Shine prayer which you can find below.
Reading
As a school we follow the Read, Write, Inc programme to deliver our phonics teaching. During this half term, we will continue to work hard embedding our knowledge of phoneme / grapheme correspondence, as well as continuing to segment and blend. We have lots of information on our schools phonics page.
For those children who have progressed from the RWInc phonics lessons, we will continue with our whole class reading lessons which are taught in the same style as KS2. We will focus on different skills throughout the week (vocabulary, retrieval, inference and sequencing) and how to answer different styles of questions.
Click on the link below to see the list of Year 1 and Year 2 Common Exception words that our children have to read and write confidently by the end of Year 2. Please support your child in learning these.
Year 1 and Year 2 Common Exception Words
Writing
Our writing this half term will be based on the book 'Troll Swap'.
Say hello to Timothy Limpet! He is a hairy troll who lives somewhere far away.
Say hello to Tabitha Lumpit. She is a little girl who lives in a house with her mummy and daddy.
Until one day Timothy and Tabitha swapped places . . .
In response to the book, we will engage in a variety of writing opportunities, including writing letters, creating a character and writing character descriptions.
Spelling
Children will begin following the Head-Start spelling programme this year, with a dedicated spelling lesson each day. Each week will follow the same format with an introduction to the weeks spelling pattern on a Monday, a writing words exercise on Tuesday, an activity applying the spelling pattern on Wednesday, Another writing words exercise on Thursday and a final activity to apply new knowledge on Friday.
Please click on the links below to see the spellings we will focus on over the year and also the spelling pattern rules which explains how we apply each spelling pattern (please note these are not in the same order as the spelling patterns taught through the Headstart scheme). Please help your child to practice a few of the spellings each week.
Autumn term Spellings We are now working on the Term 1 and will begin week 1, Setc1 list a and Set 1 list b on Monday 8th September 2025. Each week after will then follow in weekly order with a set a and set b list.
Spelling pattern rules Term 1 Spelling Overview
Maths
This half term we will focussing on numbers within 100 where we will identify tens and ones in 2-digit numbers, partitioning 2-digit numbers into different combinations, problem solve with place value, represent 2-digit numbers with words and compare and order numbers to 100. Building on this we will also be learning about addition and subtraction of 2-digit numbers and addition of three one digit numbers. Finally we will be using our knowledge of addition and subtraction to solve word problems involving 2-digit numbers.
Key Instant Recall Facts
This half term we will also be focusing on knowing and remembering our Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs). Please click on the links below for Year 2 Autumn KIRFs that will support your child with their number bonds to 20. The online game, HIT THE BUTTON, will also support your child with this.
Year 2 Autumn term KIRFs We are currently learning Autumn 1 KIRFs
Times Table Challenge
We will also be learning our times tables, particularly focussing on the 2, 5 and 10 times tables this year. Times table fluency is important and children now take a multiplication check in year 4 based on all the times tables from 1 to 12. Each week children will complete a times table challenge answering multiplication and division questions. The aim is to complete the award within 3 minutes and once achieved three times they will progress to the next level. Please see the links below for examples of our times table challenges. We will all start on the Bronze award and you will be notified each time your child has achieved an award and moved onto the new level.
Bronze Award Silver Award Gold Award
If you have any questions about these areas of Maths please don’t hesitate to come and speak to us.
R.E.
Our RE theme this half term is 'kindness'. In this unit, we will:
study Christianity, exploring the question 'Is it possible to be kind to everyone all of the time?' We will be thinking about what Jesus taught through exploring Christian stories. From our learning, we will be able to retell some Bible stories that show kindness and think about how this makes Christians behave towards other people.
Science
Our science theme this half term is 'Local Habitats' In this unit, we will:
explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive
● identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other
● identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats
● describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.
We will develop our scientific skills by:
observing closely, using simple equipment
● identifying and classifying.
● using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
History
Our History theme this half term is 'How did life change during Victorian Britain?' In this unit, we will focus on developing our historical knowledge of the Victorian era. We will be describing changes during our lifetime and comparing our lives with the Victorians. We will find out about Victorian school life and make comparisons between the rich and the poor. We will be looking at the life of Queen Victoria and finding out about her contribution to national and international achievements. We will also research the life of Alexander Graham Bell. We will use our skill of chronology to sequence images
Art 
Our Art theme this half term is drawing. In this unit, we will be developing our line drawing, mark making and shading skills from year 1. We will also learn about artistic techniques such as light and shade and cross hatching and hatching. Finally we will create a drawing based on the work of the artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Durer using the skills we have learned.
P.E. 
In PE, our focus is 'fundamentals' and 'team building' In our learning, we will develop the fundamental skills of running, changing direction, jumping, hopping and skipping. We will use a range of equipment and work collaboratively with others, taking turns and sharing ideas. We will also be learning about team building where we will develop our teamwork skills, communication and problem solving. We will learn to discuss, plan and reflect on ideas and strategies, whilst having the opportunity to lead a partner whilst considering safety.
Our PE day is Tuesday afternoon. Please ensure that your child comes to school in their uniform and with the correct P.E kit in their bag to change into before their lesson. If your child wears earrings, these must be removed or provide tape to cover them. Please ensure long hair is tied back away from the face.
For the Autumn term only we will have an additional session on a Thursday afternoon where we will be doing Tri-golf, delivered by Premier Education. Therefore, children will need to bring their PE kits on Thursdays as well up until Christmas.
P.S.H.E.
In our PSHE this half term we will be focussing on health and well being. Through this we will think about mental well being and explore understanding our feelings. We will learn about where our feelings come from and from this, understand that we have a range of emotions, depending on our experiences and situations, know what to do when we experience strong emotions and build language to talk about feelings. We will also explore who we are, from this we will understand that each of us has skills and talents that are valuable, understand that we are important, unique people who deserve kindness and respect and appreciate that other people are important, no matter how good they are at certain things. Finally we will explore what makes me happy. From this we will understand the connection between our actions and the feelings of ourselves and others and discover how our choice of activities can affect our happiness.
Computing 
In our computing lessons this half term, we will learn about Computer Science: Route explorers. In this module, we will be able to:
- use the direction keys in 2Go to move the turtle along a route.
- use units of distance along with the direction keys in 2Go to move along a route.
- write instructions to complete more than one step of a route at once.
- build up instructions for a longer route.
We will also learn about Information Technology: the internet. In this module, we will be able to:
understand how the internet, the World Wide Web and a browser work together.
understand the different types of hardware used to access the internet and their functions.
understand the difference between a website and a webpage and use a school website to find information.
understand the difference between a browser and a search engine, and to practise searching for information safely.
Music
In music this half term we will be focusing on pulse, rhythm and pitch. We will be thinking about the question 'How Does Music Help Us to Make Friends?' Music has a pulse, a steady beat. Music is also made up of long and short and high and low sounds, called ‘rhythm’ and ‘pitch’. These elements combine when we sing and play. As you listen to, sing, play and dance to the music in this unit, explore these elements of music and how they work together. Singing and listening are at the heart of each lesson. We will play, improvise and compose using a selection of these notes: C, D, E, F, G, A
NUMBOTs – Every day 10 minutes
NUMBOTs is an on-line programme to boost addition and subtraction skills. It is available on a range of devices, including mobile phones. You can play online at NUMBOTs Game or download the NUMBOTs app. Playing little and often will significantly improve your child’s recall and understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction facts. These are critical foundations in maths so we are excited by the impact NUMBOTs will have. In order to get the best out of NUMBOTs children should regularly play for short bursts of time over the week, there are 18 stages to complete!
If you have misplaced your log in details or are having trouble accessing the website, please email me to let us know.
READING – Every day 10 minutes
Please continue to enjoy your reading each day. Reading is fun and a great way to spend time together with your family, as well as developing our imaginations. Encourage your child to talk about what they have read and ask them a question or two about the book. This will help consolidate their comprehension work in school. Adults please remember to record what your child reads at home in their reading record. We will count all entries in the reading diaries weekly and award golden tickets to those who have read 20 times or more in a month.
Our book change day is Friday.
OXFORD OWL – One book a week
Oxford Owl is an e-book library to boost reading skills. Once your book has been read there is a short fun quiz to complete afterwards. Children will receive a golden ticket for every book they complete. Click on the link below to access Oxford Owl;
Oxford Owl for School and Home.
If you have misplaced your log in details or are having trouble accessing the website, please email me to let me know.
As always, thank you for your continued support with your child’s learning.
Mrs Rowe and Mrs Barnes