Year 2 Handbook

Our main priority is to get your child settled into the routines of Year 2 as quickly as possible. Your child’s class teacher is your first point of contact, and they, together with the Teaching Assistant, will help your child settle quickly into their new routine.

Pastoral care is embedded in the aims, values and ethos of the school. We teach the children to be supportive of each other, to work together, and to respect each other and themselves.

We value our strong relationship with parents and ensure that we work together to support the children both academically and pastorally. The Head of Pre-Prep, Mrs Janey McDowell, is always available for a chat, either informally or at a planned meeting.

Children should be taken directly to the classroom door. Parents can park either in Acorns playground or in the South car park. Doors are opened at 08:15 and the children can be dropped off at any time between 08:15 and 08:30.

Short Stay (15:20 – 16:15)

Pupils who are not collected by 15:15, will gather in one of the three Year 2 classrooms (a rota is displayed in each classroom window) and can be collected at any time up until 16:15. Please let your child know the end of day arrangements so they can inform their teacher during the morning register.

Long Stay (15:20 – 17:50)

Long Stay is based in Acorns. Pupils can choose from a range of play activities. They are given a light tea consisting of sandwiches, fruit, and a biscuit, but will still need an evening meal once they get home. Pupils should be collected by 17:50. Any child not collected by this time will be taken to the School Office to await collection. Bookings for Late Stay should be made by the end of Friday the week before, if possible, via your child’s class teacher. The cost per day is £8.30.

Pupils should be collected from the classroom door. If your child is being collected by someone other than you, we must be notified via phone or email.

The House system in Pre-Prep is used for team events, and for rewards in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Pupils remain in their Pre-Prep house until the end of Year 2. There are four Pre-Prep houses: Maple, Ash, Willow and Beech. Our inter-house competitions, such as Cross Country and Sports Day, provide the opportunity for you to come and cheer on your child as they take part in these exciting events.

When Crosfields’ pupils reach Year 2, they experience opportunities to play fixtures against other schools. We aim to play at least one fixture a term, and these will usually be on a Thursday afternoon. The major sports in which we play fixtures are football, rugby, netball and cricket, and we play in co-ed teams. Parents are very welcome to come and watch these matches, both home and away games. 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.

Swimming squads are also introduced in Year 2 and occur one afternoon each week.

Each week Year 2 pupils will have a 30-minute PE lesson, a 30-minute swimming lesson, and a 60-minute games lesson.

Breakfast Club runs between 07:30 and 08:15 and is based in the Dining Hall. Pupils are looked after by Mrs Karen Styles. 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 by emailing socs@crosfields.com. 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, pupils are given a portion of fresh fruit. An additional item, such as a rice cake or breadstick, is also offered. Pupils should also bring their own, named, filled, water bottle to school.

Lunch

Pupils are encouraged to eat the hot lunch provided which consists of a main meal, pudding or fruit. They are sensitively encouraged to try new foods. All pupils are encouraged to use a knife and fork, although help is given with cutting food. Pupils have water to drink. Lunch is included in the school fees, and we can accommodate most dietary requirements including a daily halal option.

Pupils will go on their first residential trip in the Summer Term. They will enjoy an action-packed adventure and will stay away for one night. More information will follow.

Pupils will continue with reading, following the reading scheme. Books are changed daily. We would like you to read with your child every night.

The children can practise their times tables on TTRockstars. A login will be provided at the start of the year.

We also share with you, via Seesaw, a homework menu each term which lists activities you can complete to support your child’s learning in class.

Seesaw is an online learning platform which is used for children’s weekly homework. The children all have their own Seesaw profile, and your child will be given their secure log in on New Pupils’ Day in June.

Once you have your child’s log in details, to access their account you will need to:

• Go to https://app.seesaw.me on a computer. Or install the Seesaw Class App on an iOS or Android device.
• Choose ‘I’m a Student’.
• Scan the QR Home Learning Code or type in the text code if you are on a desktop. This QR code is unique to your child’s Seesaw journal and should not be shared with anyone else.

If you have any questions, or cannot access your child’s account, please contact your child’s class teacher for assistance.

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 teachers and external providers. Hence, there are 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 take part in 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.

When can I book?

Parents will be notified through the school app when booking opens. Parents new to Crosfields will receive their login to the SOCS website during the first week of term.

Pupils in Year 2 follow the National curriculum. The school day consists of daily maths, phonics and English lessons in addition to the wider curriculum of science, geography, history, computing, RS, art/DT, PSHE, Forest School and sport. You will be given the class timetable at the start of term. We continue to emphasise the development of social skills, independence and manners. You will receive further information about the curriculum at the start of each term.

Forest School

Forest School activities complement and extend the academic curriculum, helping to further develop independence, confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning in an outdoor setting. Forest School sessions, with our specialist teachers, take place regardless of the weather.

Music

Year 2 pupils continue to receive two music lessons each week, taught by a specialist music teacher. They will perform a play in the Autumn Term, an Easter Cantata in the Spring Term, as well as beginning to learn to play the ocarina, and a Summer Concert.

There is also the opportunity to start extra-curricular instrumental lessons taught by peripatetic teachers. More information will be sent to you by Mr Richard Adams, Head of Music.

Swimming

Pupils throughout Pre-Prep benefit from weekly swimming lessons with specialist teachers in our state-of-the-art pool. Pupils in Year 2 swim on Tuesdays. There is also the opportunity to attend Swim School on Friday afternoons after school; 15:30 or 16:00 sessions. Booking for this co-curricular activity is via SOCS. It is very popular and essential that you book.

PE

Pupils have a PE session and a games session each week, taught by the specialist PE staff. The PE sessions focus on the National Curriculum skills, whilst games lessons focus on skills needed for team sports. These will include football, hockey, rugby and cricket. (PE – Monday / Games – Thursday). The children will take part in one fixture against other schools each term.

French

The Year 2 pupils have a weekly French lesson with a specialist language teacher. They continue to focus on learning everyday vocabulary through singing, stories, games and role play.

Black Crosfields book bag

This should be brought to school every day, including your child’s reading book and yellow reading record book. From the Spring Term, their ocarina and music book should also be kept inside their book bag.

Water bottles

Pupils should bring a filled, named water bottle to school each day. The bottles are sent home at the end of the day.

PE/Games bags (Crosfields rucksack)

PE/Games bags should remain in school. Pupils wear their tracksuit bottoms and trainers each playtime, so it is important that they are in school every day.

Year 2 pupils will require a pair of football boots at the start of September. Please buy boots with VELCRO fasteners. Remember to try on the boots with black Crosfields games socks to get the correct fit. Pupils will also need shin pads that they can put on themselves; shin pads that slip into the sock are required, rather than those which go ‘over foot’. Pupils will need a mouthguard for the second half of the Autumn Term. ‘Boil and bite’ from a sports shop should suffice.

Swimming bags

Swimming kit can be placed in any backpack. Swimming bags should only be brought in on swimming days and taken home to be washed that afternoon. Pupils will swim on Tuesdays.

Computing

Your child will have a weekly computing lesson either using computers or iPads. Please provide a set of headphones to keep in school.

Art apron

This will remain in school and be sent home at the end of each term to be washed.

Forest School clothes

Pupils will have Forest School sessions throughout the year, with Mrs Hills. All pupils need Crosfields waterproof jackets and trousers for these sessions. Children may need to wear a number of layers under these so please ensure they are big enough. They will also need a pair of wellington boots. The boots will stay in school, so you may wish to purchase an additional pair to use at home.

Our school uniform is 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 on a Wednesday. 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. 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. 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. In order to maximise teaching time on specific days, pupils arrive and/or leave school in Crosfields’ PE/Games kit. Read more details here – 2025 26 What To Wear.

Summer and Winter Uniform

Summer Uniform

Winter Uniform

Swimming Kit

PE and Games Kit

Forest School

Needed in the winter

Art Overall

Additional Items