The Year 5 Team

Curriculum Overview

This week in Sussex 5:

Week beginning 2nd February 2026

Dear parents and carers,

We desperately need a parent helper to walk the children to and from swimming on Tuesdays from half term to Easter (6 weeks)  Please could you contact the school ASAP if you are able to help.

In maths we have begun a second unit about fractions - we have been multiplying whole numbers by fractions and are now busy finding fractions of amounts. Lots of practice is needed and reminders about the steps needed to solve each question.  There has been lots of technical language which we sometimes forget to use.

The children have made amazing leaflets about British Garden Birds in English - having researched lots of facts, they designed their leaflets, using headings and subheadings and bullet points.  They then presented their information in interesting ways, using colour to illustrate the different birds successfully.

In science we have continued learning about different animals, including looking at the comparison between mammal gestation and mass.  The children were introduced to scatter graphs to record the mammals and read which mammal has the greatest and least gestation v mass.  It was interesting to find which mammals were outliers.  

Our maps are taking shape now they have been painted.  The children are really enjoying their Friday afternoons created them.  This week we will be building fences, bridges, trees, a hide and various other things to add to our maps next week.

The children's confidence is growing in swimming as they are now used to the routine of going again.  I hear some very good reports of their abilities and achievements already.

The children's other PE lesson will be on Thursdays with Mrs Nash this term.

Mrs Townshend and Ms Walker.

Please find the home learning at the top of this page.  

Spellings are set on a Wednesday for testing on the following Wednesday.

Times tables will be tested on a Friday - this week we will be testing  6 times table and 16 times table.  Next week ( 23rd) it will be the 7s and 17s.

A typical week in Sussex 5

Home Learning

Spellings 

Multiplication Tables

Weekly practise of multiplication tables is vital in supporting mathematical development. Below is a chart of the 36 essential facts to learn. This is especially helpful for children who are almost fluent.

Times Tables Rockstars! 

To keep practising the multiplication taught in class, and challenging yourself to keep the ones you already know fresh, don’t forget to log into your Times Tables Rockstars account. 

https://play.ttrockstars.com/

Challenge yourself to beat your score and build your knowledge as you become a Rockstar!

Please ask your class teacher if you need replacement log in details.

To continue to learn times tables, this website is useful:

Times tables games - Learn them all here!

Reading

Children should bring their Accelerated Reading Book to and from school each day. When they have finished reading, children are asked to complete a quiz before changing their book. 

https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/6704864

Parents please log your child's reading on the BOOM reader Parent Portal or by using the BOOM reader parent app on your tablet/mobile no more than once a week.

boomreader.co.uk/parents

Spelling

The link below will take you to the spelling scheme we are working from in school.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-spelling/

This document contains spelling strategies that are used in class, and can be used at home to aid learning new words:

Southborough's Spelling Strategies