Year 4 Handbook

Pupils in Year 4 who are going ‘straight home’ must sign out from the Reception playground (next to the ATP) between 16:00-16:15. Pupils staying past 16:15 must be collected from the Dining Hall.

If your child is going home with another adult, then please inform your child’s form teacher, or the school office.

We are delighted to offer Long Stay to those that require it. If your child is not signed up for an activity through our co-curricular programme, they will either go into the Junior Dining Hall where they are able to do their Prep. Your child will need to inform their form teacher in the morning at registration to be added to the list. If your plans change during the day, please inform the School Office on 0118 9871810 or via email office@crosfields.com so our lists can be updated, and your child informed of the change of plans.

Long Stay care is free of charge for pupils in Juniors.

Our Breakfast Club runs daily from 07:30 to 08:15, with the last serving at 08:00. This is a supervised session in which children are offered a selection of hot and cold items. Breakfast is charged at £5.15 per day and will be added to fee invoices at the end of the term.

If you plan to use Breakfast Club on a regular basis, you can book via SOCS booking system. Breakfast Club also welcomes casual diners and you may drop your child off in the Dining Room any day without prior booking. Breakfast Club will commence on the first day of term.

Snack

During the morning, all pupils are provided with a wholesome snack, which might include a rice cake or a piece of fruit. Whilst it is not encouraged, pupils are permitted to bring a healthy snack from home, provided it contains STRICTLY NO NUTS. Chocolate, crisps and sweets are not permitted.

Additionally, pupils should bring a labelled water bottle, already filled, to school each day.

Our pastoral ethos has the pupil front and centre, whilst also helping them see that they are part of something bigger than any one individual can ever be.

We create an environment in which we can combine support and safety with allowing our pupils to experience life as it is going to be – imperfect. We want them to be  challenged, we want them to step outside their comfort zone, we want them to experience winning, and we need them to experience losing. All children at some point will find these moments difficult to navigate. We want our pupils to feel heard and as such will always look to empower them to express how they are feeling.

Our school values are discussed during Collects (assemblies), PSHE and in conversations around the school. This helps instil our ethos into our pupils and ensures our community thrives. Wellbeing is not a stand-alone activity within Juniors – it is part of everything we do.

How is pastoral care implemented within Juniors?

Our pastoral structure is very much aimed at giving support and clarity to both pupils and parents as to who is there to help in any given situation. Each year group is led by one of our  Heads of Year. These Heads of Year oversee your child’s personal journey throughout the year and as such will have the time to forge strong and trusting relationships with parents and children alike.

Heads of Year are supported by form teachers, who are your child’s ‘constant’; their everyday person who they can go to about the littlest thing, and whom they can check in with most regularly. Your child’s form teacher helps the pupils see themselves as part of a small team whilst also celebrating their own personal achievements and interests. From a parental point of view, the form teacher is usually the first port of contact to support you with any day-to-day enquiries.

We also have an amazing team of non-teaching staff who are very much part of your child’s support network. Everyone has your child’s best interest at heart and works tirelessly to create a comfortable, safe, enjoyable environment.

We request that parents wanting to arrange a meeting with teachers please email the relevant member of staff in the first instance, requesting the meeting. The member of staff will respond within 24 hours (not including weekends) and suggest suitable times to meet. On the day of the meeting parents will need to sign in at main reception, where the relevant teacher will come and meet them. If a concern is urgent, we request that the parents notify a Head of Year on duty during 08:00 – 08:15 at drop off who will then be able to create actions as necessary.

We politely ask that unless a meeting has been arranged, parents do not come up to classrooms, especially in the morning, as form teachers are required at these times to support their classes. There is the opportunity for more informal ‘check ins’ at the end of the day everyday at 16:00 in the Reception playground at ‘straight home’ sign out.

Year 4, pupils will be provided with all necessary classroom equipment apart from named headphones, which they should bring into school at the start of the year. It would be helpful if these could be left in school. 

Black Crosfields rucksack

This should be brought to school every day, along with your child’s school library book and reading record, as well as their school planner. Your child will be provided with a tuff bag to put these in.

Water bottles

Pupils should bring a filled, named water bottle to school each day.

PE/Games bags

Bags should be brought to school each Monday and will be sent home after school on a Thursday so that pupils can wear kit for Friday fixtures. Trainers will remain in school Monday to Thursday for lessons and breaktimes.

Swimming kit

Swimming kit should only be brought into school on the days it is needed for lessons. This information will be shared with you at the Welcome to Year 4 meeting at the start of the term.

Forest School clothes

Pupils will have Forest School sessions throughout the year, with Mrs Hills. This is done on a class rotation. All pupils will be provided with Crosfields waterproof jackets and trousers for these sessions but should also have their school tracksuits to provide extra warmth in the winter. They will also need a pair of wellington boots or walking boots, or old trainers  that will stay in school during this enrichment and you will be notified when these are required in the Week Ahead.

Pupils are expected to be reading at home and practise times tables every night. They can change books at breaktime and some mornings in the school Library.

Each Tuesday, pupils in Year 4 will be given one maths and one English piece of homework to complete. This may be set on the Century online platform, or on paper, and will be due the following Monday morning.

Pupils will be taught predominantly in their mixed-ability form groups, except for maths, where they will be streamed. 

A single lesson lasts 30 minutes but many subjects are taught in double lessons lasting an hour. 

During the Summer Term, pupils will go on a residential trip. They will enjoy an action-packed adventure and will stay away for two nights. This is at Ufton Court, an old manor house, set in beautiful grounds. The trip is linked to the topic we cover on Tudors in our History lessons. The children will experience living in the Tudor times, taking part in activities such as archery, crime and punishment, photo-mapping, tudor battles and banquets! This experience will give the pupils an opportunity to work together in teams and learn how to be independent away from home for a couple of days.   

Your child will be allocated to one of our four ‘Houses’ when they join Juniors. The Houses are named: Lake, Marlborough, Park and School. These Houses form the platform for much of school life, from competitions, both academic and sporting, fundraising and performances.

Meet the Crosfield Juniors House Team

Mr Ben Keepax
Lake House Lead

Email: benkeepax@crosfields.com

I am pleased to introduce myself as the Lake House Lead at Crosfields School. With a passion for school life and a commitment to being an excellent role model for the children, I bring energy, enthusiasm, and approachability to this role. The house system at Crosfields is at the  heart of our community, fostering a strong sense of belonging and encouraging community spirit. I am genuinely excited to work with your child and contribute to their growth and development within our vibrant school community.

Mr James Wright
Marlborough House Lead

Email: jameswright@crosfields.com

I am proud to lead Marlborough House and play a part in such a valued aspect of life here at Crosfields. Our House system is central to nurturing a strong sense of belonging and shared identity, encouraging every child to feel known, supported and motivated. I am dedicated to fostering an environment where pupils can enjoy new opportunities, celebrate achievements and develop together. I very much look forward to building positive relationships with the pupils and working closely with them to help Marlborough House thrive.

Mrs Elizabeth Ganpatsingh
Park House Lead

Email: elizabethganpatsingh@crosfields.com

I’m thrilled to be stepping into the role of House Lead for Park. I believe that the house system is fantastic for building a strong sense of community across the Junior year groups and I’m especially keen to see the older members of our House setting a great example for the younger pupils. I’m looking forward to cheering on Park in the interhouse competitions and the bake-offs!

Miss Summer Knight
School House Lead

Email: summerknight@crosfields.com

I am excited to be starting my role as House Lead. I have a real passion for sport and look forward to bringing energy and enthusiasm to house events, helping to build a strong sense of community and pride. I believe the house system at Crosfields plays a vital role in creating a positive school experience, and I am keen to be another trusted person pupils can come to within their house. I am passionate about supporting pupils to build confidence and express this throughout their school life, while creating lasting and meaningful memories, and having a lot of fun along the way.

Specialist teaching is provided in French, Music, Games, Computing, PE, Swimming and Art/DT for Year 4. There are Enrichment opportunities within the timetable, which allow pupils to take part in activities such as Forest School, cookery, performance poetry, enterprise and a class performance.

Our curriculum is designed to develop a child’s love of learning within the subjects that they are taught. Subject specialists and our Curriculum Leads ensure this enthusiasm for the subject carries through from the content taught to the trips and competitions children take part in. Our curriculum allows for a real focus on the individual, with small class sizes, regular teacher feedback and access to specialist teaching. Giving all pupils an opportunity to shine is hugely important to us and activities such as class performances allow small groups of children to perform in front of a theatre audience and gain great confidence in doing so. Music concerts, school council, orchestras, choirs, sports teams and academic awards all contribute to success in areas of interest to the child.

All subjects are tested throughout the year in a variety of ways. Our assessment programme includes online testing that requires no preparation, as well as in-class written tests which take place throughout the year to assess the pupils on a specific topic and provide them with regular feedback. 

At Crosfields, we believe reading for pleasure really matters. We know that children who enjoy reading and read regularly do better at school and are happier, healthier, and more socially aware. We also know how important it is that they find the ‘right’ book – a book they want to read and have chosen themselves. That is why we have produced guides from which Year 3 to Year 6 can choose and we have reading challenges both in term time and during the holidays.

In Juniors we encourage pupils to read widely and often through the Accelerated Reader scheme with the incentive of becoming a Word Count Millionaire and being rewarded with certificates for 250,000, 500,000 and 1 million words, they will also receive a badge for a million words. In recognition of effort and determination to improve reading skills, we award Reading Champions half termly.

As part of a weekly designated library lesson, pupils can make use of our well-resourced library. The Librarian, Mrs Emma Booth, is on hand to offer advice if a pupil doesn’t know what to read. There are staff recommendations, and peer to peer recommendations. We have author and illustrator visits to inspire pupils to create their own stories. Visiting authors help to empower children to read for pleasure and be more creative in their writing.

During morning and lunch breaks the library is open to all children in Juniors and offers a welcoming and comfortable place to read books or catch up on current affairs through newspapers and magazines.

The library is also open before school and some mornings during form times. A timetable will be shared at the start of the academic year.

Music and Drama

At Crosfields, we have a thriving music department offering instrumental groups, and a Year 3 and 4 choir with a range of performance opportunities throughout the year. All the pupils receive two music lessons a week, taught by a specialist music teacher, and they learn a musical instrument as part of the curriculum.

We offer a range of opportunities throughout the academic year for pupils to perform, from class plays, Junior production and collects, to concerts and school events, pupils are encouraged to immerse themselves in music and drama and are offered many opportunities to showcase their talents throughout the year.

We take our choirs to perform at the prestigious Woodley Festival of Arts and Drama, competing against other schools in our local area and we have a substantial number of individual and group performers from Crosfields who take part.

We encourage children to take part in local events such as the Woodley Festival and as they provide a fantastic opportunity to develop confidence and performance skills; children are fully supported in their preparation through our after-school club.

For those children interested in additional instrumental lessons, we have a strong team of music teachers, teaching a variety of instruments. The lessons are 30minutes and take place in the main music school.

We run an exciting co-curricular programme which offers a range of activities for pupils to take part in. The programme is delivered by both Crosfields teachers and external providers. Hence, there is a mixture of paid-for activities and sessions which are offered at no cost. Parents are asked to book these online with their child. We recommend that pupils should have no more than one after-school activity on any given day. 

Some sessions do have a maximum number of places available. If a session is oversubscribed, the activity may either be run on rotation or children picked through a ballot for the available places. 

If you have any further questions, please refer to Co-Curricular information in The Hub section of the school app or email SOCS@crosfields.com.  

When can I book? 

A notice will be sent via the school app listing all the activities available and when the sign-up window opens. This happens about 2 weeks before the start of term in September, and at the end of the Autumn Term and Spring Term. Parents new to Crosfields will receive their login to the SOCS website during the first week of term but will be able to register for activities through Admissions. 

When Crosfields’ pupils reach Year 4, they continue to experience opportunities to play weekly fixtures against other schools. In Year 4, external matches for the major games happen on Friday afternoons and we play each sport as Co-Ed teams. The major sports we play fixtures in are football, hockey, rugby, netball and cricket.

Parents are invited to watch all fixtures, whether they are home or away. Please ensure you look at SOCS for all the fixture details, the dates will also be on the school calendar.

The aim, wherever possible, is to provide a fully inclusive match day program, in which all pupils participate. However, due to the number of teams available at other schools, this is not always possible, and when required, squad rotation does occur to enable participation. The higher-ability teams are chosen on merit and pupils earn selection for higher teams through progress, effort, and performance.

Swimming fixtures are also continued in Year 4 and occur on Thursday afternoons with swimming squads running before school. There are also limited external competitive opportunities in cross-country, basketball, badminton, tennis, and athletics.

Each week Year 4 pupils will have an hour’s PE lesson, an hour’s swimming lesson, a 90-minute games lesson, and a games afternoon where we play fixtures.

Girls  

At the start of the academic year in September, girls may wear either the summer or winter uniform, depending on the weather. From the October half term onwards, all girls are required to wear the winter uniform, consisting of the tartan skirt with a white open necked blouse for Juniors.

In the Summer Term, girls must wear the summer dress with short, ankle-length white socks. Some girls choose to wear cycling shorts under their dresses. These must be either black or white.

Boys  

Boys usually wear shorts throughout the year with long grey socks but from October half term until the end of the Easter term, boys may wear long charcoal trousers. During the Summer Term, boys are expected to wear charcoal shorts with the long, grey, Crosfields socks.

Junior boys and girls wear their blazers every day and the boys wear a school tie all year around.

For safety and practicality, children should wear shoes that fasten securely with laces, buckles, straps or Velcro. Slip‑on shoes are not suitable. Shoes should be polishable.

Hair and appearance: 
Hair should be neat, tidy and off the face, with natural colours only. Extremely short or fashionable styles, such as Mohican styles, undercuts or shaved lines are not permitted. Hair that is longer than shoulder length must be tied back. Hair accessories should be simple and in school colours. Bandana-style headbands, flowers or bows are not appropriate for school.

Jewellery: 
For safety reasons, decorative jewellery is not permitted in Juniors. Earrings should not be worn to school and must be removed during the school week. Ear piercing should take place during the long summer holiday.

Religious items: 
The school supports pupils in meeting religious requirements, and distinct religious symbols may be worn. Where necessary for health and safety, items may need to be covered or removed during certain activities.

For further information about uniform, please refer to our School Uniform Policy.

Our school uniforms are supplied by Stevensons. You can find the specific uniform you need using their new search feature. You can also set up an account by creating a profile and adding your child’s information.

We also have a school shop on site, which is open each week during term time. The shop coordinator can be contacted by telephoning the main school office. The on site school shop stocks second-hand items and is open each Wednesday during term time between 15:30 and 16:30. However, if you are looking for a specific item and cannot attend during this time, please email shop@crosfields.com and one of the dedicated team will have a look for you.

For all items purchased through the school shop, the proceeds go directly to the bursary fund and we ask for donations for any selected items.

In order to maximise teaching time on specific days, pupils arrive and/or leave school in Crosfields’ PE/Games kit.

New parents should buy the items as listed below. Current parents do not need to buy new items, but as your child grows out of clothes and you replace them, please replace with new garments as detailed below. Trainers can be any colour, although please stay away from garish colours and ensure a non-marking sole. Please can football boots have a Velcro strap, unless the pupil knows how to tie shoelaces. Football boots are worn for Cross-Country, Football and Rugby.

The items with an asterisk are branded and must be purchased from our nominated partner, Stevensons or the school shop. Other items may be purchased unbranded.

Pupils wearing the trousers/shorts uniform will wear shorts throughout the year, with the option of wearing long trousers between October and February, if the weather is cold.

Summer and Winter Uniform

Summer Uniform

(worn first half of the Autumn term and all of the Summer term)

Swimming Kit

PE and Games Kit

Forest School

Art Overall

Optional items

Additional Items