The following are updates of what the children had been learning about or looking forward to across the Spring and Summer terms.

 

Nursery

We've had a fantastic term in Nursery, full of exciting learning and new discoveries. The children have really enjoyed our 'exploring' enquiry and it has helped them to learn more about themselves, their local area, and the wider world. We started off the term by thinking about our own history. The children shared special memories and talked about how they've changed since they were babies. This helped them begin to understand the idea of the past in a way that was meaningful. Next, we looked further back in time to learn about a significant person from history — Neil Armstrong. The children were fascinated by space and the story of the first Moon landing. They loved pretending to be astronauts, learning space-related words, and imagining what it might be like to walk on the Moon! In the second half of the term, our focus turned to places we can visit and exploring our local area. We started close to home by getting to know our school grounds. The children enjoyed planting sunflower seeds and watching caterpillars grow into butterflies. We also had a brilliant trip to Whitepost farm where the children got to learn all the names of different animals and feed some of them. To finish the term, we learned all about Brazil and the Amazon rainforest. The children compared it with where we live, noticing the differences in animals, weather, and plants. It was a great way to broaden their horizons and build curiosity about the world beyond our own community.

In Summer term, our focus is all about retelling stories and bringing them to life in creative ways. The children are using story maps, puppets, and props to help them remember and retell familiar tales. We’ve also been thinking carefully about the choices characters make in the stories we read. There have been some brilliant discussions about how things could have gone differently — and what the characters might have done to make better choices or solve problems in kinder ways. It’s been a great way to build language skills, imagination, and empathy, and we’re excited to keep exploring stories together as the term goes on.

 

Reception

This half term, our learning has been guided by the enquiry question, “How can we make things better?” We began with a visit to the library, where the children were encouraged to develop a love of reading by choosing a book to explore at home – sparking curiosity and fostering independence. Our first story focus was Little Red Riding Hood. Through lively discussion and role play, the children explored the consequences of the characters' choices. They considered how the story might have changed if Little Red Riding Hood had followed advice, or if the wolf had made kinder, more thoughtful decisions. These reflections opened up meaningful conversations around empathy, trust, and taking responsibility for our actions.

We then moved on to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, where the children made and tasted porridge, just like in the story. This hands-on experience prompted reflection on fairness, respect for others’ belongings, and how Goldilocks might have acted differently. Following this, the children imagined how Baby Bear might have felt and wrote thoughtful letters to Grandma Bear, expressing emotions and offering explanations – showing real understanding of how to make things right after a mistake.

Finally, we explored The Three Little Pigs, focusing on teamwork, resilience and the importance of preparation. The children designed and created pig puppets using foam and fabric, retelling the story and even giving the wolf a chance to change his behaviour through kindness and understanding. After making their puppets, the children took time to evaluate their work, discussing what went well, what they found challenging, and how they might improve their designs next time – showing great reflection and pride in their learning.

Throughout the enquiry, our learning has been underpinned by key concepts such as community, shown through characters supporting or letting each other down; diversity, as children explored different perspectives and character motivations; and influence, recognising how one decision can affect many. The children expressed their individuality in their puppet designs and story retellings, and demonstrated strong collaboration during group tasks like porridge-making and puppet-building. The idea of change has been central to our discussions – how people (and characters) can learn from their actions and choose to do better next time. It has been a reflective and creative half term, with the children showing real maturity, compassion and imagination as they explored how we can all play a part in making things better.

 

Year 1

We looked at how people are influenced. We went back in time and looked at changes in technology, schools and transport. We also went to Crich Tramway Museum and looked at trams from the past. We then got to pay for the tram with an old coin and ride on a tram. We looked at Karl Benz and how he influenced the car industry. In Art, we looked at Jackson Pollock and Janet Sobel where we compared their work and talked about the similarities and differences of their work. We have also looked at materials and their properties. We have completed Science experiments to see which materials are waterproof, strong, flexible and transparent. We were interested in our school environment and went on a walk to identify any issues in the environment. Many of us noticed that there was a lot of litter and agreed that we did not want this to be part of our school. So we decided to look at different ways of solving the problem and came up with different solutions. We then created a map of the school and used this map to identify where litter was with a tally chart. We wrote a letter to a recycling company asking for their help.  We then looked at a local sculpture Michelle Reader who uses junk to create sculptures. We then created our own sculptures in the style of Michelle Reader, which the children loved.

 

Year 2

In year 2, towards the end of Spring we continued to explore the seven continents. We looked at Australia and compared this to life in England. We explored the different activities in Australia and created a persuasive piece of writing to encourage families to visit. In geography we also compared a village and a city by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of living there. We completed some geography fieldwork which included walking to Linby to visit a village nearby. Whilst we were there, we used a Likert Scale to judge the environment.

In DT, we used simple sewing techniques to create a design on an Easter egg. We had to use lots of perseverance as it was a little tricky! In the summer term we are answering the question ‘how do people influence others?’ Each week we have learnt about a different influential person from the past. So far, we have learnt about Ada Lovelace, Henry Ford and Mary Seacole. We have discovered why these people were influential and compared life from their time to ours. We have learnt about the amazing things they have done which have changed the world we live in today. We had an exciting workshop from a lady who dressed as Ada Lovelace and engaged in lots of drama activities.

In science, we have conducted an experiment to see the effects of light, water and nutrients on a plant. We have set up different plants around the classroom and each week we are making observations to see how much they grow.

In art, we are looking at portraits. We have explored different artists who created portraits and discussed the colour, pattern and shape they use. We are hoping to be influenced by one of these artists to create our own portrait at the end of the term.

 

Year 3

Year 3 had an amazing Spring term enquiry which was ‘Is it important for us to explore?’

We researched Norway and went on a virtual tour which inspired some great persuasive writing. The children were also inspired by the artist Edvard Munch – in particular his painting of ‘The Scream’ we explored our emotions, and they created their own versions in his style. Did you realise that bread is very important in Norway? They love it! So, we also baked our own bread rolls. The children sent us pictures of them eating them at home and many said how delicious they were. We realised that if we didn’t explore, we would never have seen different human and physical features of different countries, discovered different art styles and tasted some different foods. The school sleepover was the exciting event of the second half of the term. We had lots of different activities and created our own shadow puppet show whilst exploring light and dark.

This term so far has been great with the children loving their trip to Creswell Craggs. Lots of them are really inspired by this enquiry and are fascinated by how challenges were overcome in the past. They have also loved creating their own cave art.

 

Year 4

We’ve had an action-packed Spring Term, and our summer term is in full flow. Through our Spring Enquiry, we explored the question ‘Is it important to explore?’ making links to this question through our drivers. In Geography, we have explored how a river is formed and the key physical features of each part. We evaluated the role that rivers have played in shaping people’s lives and the role that they played in helping humans venture further and learn more. In Science, we have explored how science has changed our understanding of sound. We have reflected on how exploring how sound works has led to scientific achievement and discovery that has helped improve people’s lives. In RE, we have focussed on the role of a Pilgrimage across different faiths. We have made links to how having a faith and expressing faith in different ways can help individuals find different meanings for life. In DT, the children across Year Four also designed and created their own Steady Hand Game – linking to our earlier learning on circuits and electricity.

Our focus for the Summer Term is ‘What influences Change?’. Through our history driver, we have been exploring how Britain has been shaped by periods of change. Our focus has been on the Roman Empire and how their invasion and settled has influenced and shaped Britain in the subsequent years. In Geography, we have been exploring the impact of flooding and how the risk of flooding may influence decisions that are made.

We are looking forward to fun-filled term of learning, especially with our trips to Bosworth and Perlethorpe to look forward to!

 

Year 5

Spring 2 began with an exciting visit to York, where the children explored the Jorvik Centre and took part in an engaging Battle Tactics workshop at The Dig. They represented Hillside brilliantly, asking thoughtful questions and confidently expressing their ideas and opinions. Throughout the day, they collected rich vocabulary and memorable experiences to support their writing, where they retold the trip from the viewpoints of two different children—an activity they thoroughly enjoyed! 

We read Viking Boy and wrote an epic hero saga, where the children relished using descriptive language! Our Viking enquiry built on the knowledge of Anglo Saxons from Autumn term and the children were able to compare the two invaders. 

In DT we designed and made a healthy meal, and learned about the different ways food is processed. We linked this to our Autumn enquiry into the art of Andy Goldsworthy, and designed and made a tortilla pizza which incorporated different food groups and different processing methods.

In Summer 1, we began to explore the rainforest and started our new book, The Explorer. The children wrote fabulous flashback stories in which they projected themselves into the future and looked back on the beauty of the rainforest. In geography we explored mapwork, learning about latitude and longitude, the equator and the tropics. They also produced a non-chronological report contrasting  Brazil and the UK in terms of socio-economic and geographical features. 

We studied the digital art of Tom Percival, who uses layered digital media to create his expressive characters. The children then created their own rainforest split scene on the Sketchbook App - using layering techniques to build their work.  

 

Year 6

At the end of last term, we finished our enquiry looking at the question ‘Should we be influenced by others?’. In this enquiry, we have been learning about World War II in history, and we really considered how the events of WWII influenced the following years right up to modern day. We explored the role of women after WWII and how significant change began, as well as the creation of things like the UN to try and avoid future war – and discussed whether this has been successful. We also looked at the influence that we can still see today, such as the creation of the NHS and the welfare state to ensure that people in Britain felt supported. In art, we had looked at modern artist Kehinde Wiley, and why his portraits have had such a positive influence on people. This led us to create a self-portrait in his style, which the children really enjoyed and the work that they created was fantastic.

So far this summer term, we have been looking at the question ‘How can exploring change our understanding?’. In science, we have looked at how animals are classified in different ways based on different characteristics, and the fact that new species are still being discovered because of new exploration. In history, we have explored a new ancient civilisation in the Benin kingdom, and looked at how their society is so different from ours. For art, we have explored the work of Victor Ehikhamenor, whose work is based on the Benin kingdom and celebrates the best things about the civilisation. In geography, we have planned an enquiry to explore the local area and gain a deeper understanding of what services are available to us, and what we might suggest to improve that in the future. We have also had a very busy half term in summer 1 for the build up to SATs, where the children were phenomenal and worked so hard to show everything that they have learnt in their time at Hillside!