Pine Martens
Welcome to Pine Marten Class! Our classroom is based over at Pensby Primary School, and we're a vibrant, busy class of Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils who love learning through real-life experiences.
Class Teacher: Clare
Support Staff: Trish (TA3), Viv (TA) and Hannah (TA two days)
Pine Marten Class follows the higher Saffron/Fuscia pathway, learning an adapted National Curriculum through 7 areas of learning. We make learning meaningful and relevant by connecting it to real-life experiences and developing our independent living skills.
We learn all about the curriculum through life experiences, helping us to develop our independent living skills that will prepare us for the future.
We all have a weekly class job, and we get paid! Then we spend our earnings in our Friday café. This isn't just fun – we're learning essential life skills like:
- How to wash the dishes
- How to buy groceries
- How to clean up
- How to manage money
We go on local trips and trips further away, such as visiting The Philharmonic Hall. These experiences bring our learning to life and help us connect what we learn in the classroom to the real world.
We have some very good links with our teachers and pupils at Meadowside, Foxfield and Wirral Hospitals School. These partnerships enrich our learning and help us build friendships across different settings.
We love all our subjects, but Thursday is very chilled, as we have Art then choir – the perfect way to end the week!
We learn in different ways. We like to learn and read about new facts, then put them into practice. For example, our weekly jobs are fun, but we're also learning real-world skills that will help us become more independent.
We are learning through 6 exciting topics:
- Dinosaurs – Exploring the prehistoric world
- Witches – Discovering magic and mystery
- Winter and Wintry Words – Celebrating the cold season
- Poles Apart – Learning about the Arctic and Antarctic
- The Dragon's Den – Developing our creativity and problem-solving
- The Place That I Call Home – Understanding our community and identity
- Carnival Time – Celebrating culture and colour
Each topic provides rich opportunities for learning across all our subjects, making connections between what we learn and how we can use it in real life.
Parents can help us by encouraging reading for pleasure whenever we can. This doesn't just mean books – we can read recipes, menus and all sorts of things! Reading is everywhere, and the more we practise, the more confident we become.
We really need to focus on what sounds the letters make too. Practising phonics at home – whether through reading, games or everyday activities – makes a huge difference to our reading and spelling skills.
How You Can Support
- Read together every day – anything and everything!
- Point out words and letters in everyday life
- Practise letter sounds and blending
- Celebrate reading achievements, no matter how small
- Talk about what you've read together