Newsletter – February 2026

This half term, the class has shown fantastic focus and enthusiasm across all areas of learning. In Maths, we have continued developing our number recognition skills and practising 1:1 correspondence to count out different amounts accurately. Students have particularly enjoyed learning through a range of lively number songs, which have helped to reinforce their understanding in a fun and engaging way. 
During English, our theme has been animals. We explored the story Bugs Big Trip, bringing it to life with props, actions and sound effects to help us remember the key events. We have also been working hard on forming clear sentences using colourful semantics. This has supported students in understanding who is in the sentence, what they are doing, and where it is happening. 
In cooking, we had great fun making our own pizzas. We began with pitta bread bases before progressing to pizza dough. Everyone demonstrated fantastic chopping skills while preparing their toppings and took great pride in their creations. 
Arts Week was another highlight of the half term. The class thoroughly enjoyed the variety of creative activities and produced some wonderful pieces of Bolivian-inspired artwork, which will be proudly displayed around the school. 

Yellow 2 have had an excellent start to the Spring Term and are continuing to enjoy school life and their lessons. In English we have developed our sentence writing skills whilst learning about ‘Arlo, The Lion who could not sleep’. We’ve continued to develop our counting and addition skills in Maths and practiced our positional language. In Creative Arts we’ve been learning about different methods of painting and printing and finding out about different animals in Understanding the World. As always, we look forward to our PE lessons on Tuesday mornings and swimming on Thursday afternoon where all are making excellent progress! 

This half term, our class has been working incredibly hard across all areas of learning. In Maths, we have been exploring place value up to 20, with some children showing fantastic confidence and beginning to master number. During English lessons, we have been learning how to form clear sentences using colourful semantics, helping us to understand who is in the sentence, what they are doing, and where it is happening. We have also enjoyed cooking around the theme of potatoes and bread, making delicious bread and butter pudding, eggy bread, French toast, chips and even homemade crisps. Our community walks into Bingley have been a real highlight too, where we practiced our road safety skills and enjoyed a special treat from Lidl.
Well done to everyone for their enthusiasm and fantastic effort.

We have had a wonderful half term full of hands‑on learning and exciting experiences. Cooking has been a real highlight for the class. Students made pancakes, pizza, and a tuna pasta bake. Pancakes and pizza were especially popular, and although the pasta bake wasn’t everyone’s favourite, the pupils still showed great effort and independence during the cooking process.
We also enjoyed lots of time outdoors and in the sensory room, which continues to support the children’s wellbeing and engagement. 
In English, we focused on animals and explored the story “Wake-Up Time on Bumble Farm.” The pupils loved the sensory elements of the story and took part in activities that helped them learn about where animals live and the features different animals have. In Maths, we continued following the White Rose scheme. Pupils worked at their own stages, building on counting, number recognition, and practical problem-solving. Next half term, our English work will shift to non-fiction, with a focus on recipes. This links to our cooking session, where we will be making a fruit salad and practising cutting and sequencing. We will also have a strong focus on phonics across all groups. Maths will continue following White Rose as we build on this term’s progress. We look forward to another great half term ahead! 

Students in Green 1 have made good links with Understanding the World Around us through the English topic which this half term focused on the story of a frog who was struggling to make the correct sound. Students learned some key vocabulary from the Life Cycle of a Frog and the different changes it goes through to reach maturity. Green 1 have continued to focus on ICT and staying safe whilst online, as well as using ICT correctly for entertainment by making choices about different ICT resources. They have continued to perfect preparing food to sell to the wider school community by learning how to be safe whilst using specific cooking equipment and by following Hygiene and Safety rules in the kitchen. 

We have had a great first half of the Spring term. In Life Skills, we have been learning about shopping and visiting local shops. Our RSE learning has focused on personal space and understanding safe and unsafe/inappropriate touch. In PSHE, we have been exploring empathy and why it is important. We also started to look at how behaviour can be a way of showing how someone is feeling inside, helping children to better understand themselves and others. In Creative Art, the children have been creating artwork using primary and secondary colours, mixing to create different shades and completing paint-by-numbers activities. In Careers, we have been learning about work, pay, and the difference between essential and non-essential spending. 
Our English focus has been based around animals, and we have enjoyed three books to support and develop English skills. 
In Maths, students have been progressing at their individual levels and using a range of manipulatives to deepen their understanding of key mathematical concepts and skills. 

We had a great term, with students focused and engaged in all aspects of work. 
In English we have been reading fiction stories that involve animals to link in with the topic of Animals in Understanding the World. Students worked on comprehension skills, sequencing, using adjectives and adverbs in their writing. 
In  Understanding the World we looked at animal habitats and did research on local and exotic animals. We had some great Science lessons with Nadia our student teacher. Students did volcano experiments, mixed Mentos and cola, and did chromatography. In Maths we continued working through the White Rose Maths scheme with students exploring multiplications and division, and addition and subtraction. We had many trips out within the local community with visits to Bolling Hall, the Media Museum, Lister Park, the Industrial Museum and Cartwright Hall. 
In cooking we have been perfecting our Pizza making skills and students can make their pizzas with more independence.
We have made our own dough and this half term we will be selling them as part of our Enterprise. 
Arts week was a great success, and we loved learning about Paraguay and seeing the exhibition from all the classes. 

The Woods Base have had a fantastic and productive term, enjoying a wide range of creative activities. The children have been working incredibly hard and expressing themselves through lots of painting projects. We have also been bringing nature indoors by exploring dried, crisp leaves investigating their textures and celebrating the vibrant winter colours that brighten our days and make us smile. 
This term, Woods Base joined other classes in the hall to explore a variety of musical instruments, enjoying the different sounds and rhythms together. We have also spent many happy and engaging sessions in the therapy room and sensory room, where the children have continued to develop their confidence and curiosity. 
It has been a very exciting term for everyone in Woods Base, and we are all looking forward to welcoming new activities and experiences in the spring term. 

We’ve had another busy and productive half term in Rivers Base. Our Community Access sessions have taken us to ASDA in Keighley and Lidl in Bingley. Students have been buying ingredients for our cooking sessions and, in some cases, managing their own money to make independent purchases. These visits have been fantastic opportunities to practice budgeting, decision-making and real-life communication skills. 
In Enterprise, we have been creating learning resources for other classes across school. Students have taken real pride in producing high-quality materials that will be used by their peers, and it has been wonderful to see their sense of responsibility and teamwork grow – as well as their office skills! 
Everyone has continued to work incredibly hard in Phonics and English. In Maths, we have focused on data handling, including creating and interpreting bar charts and pictograms. In Cooking, we worked together to plan and prepare a cooked breakfast, which we then enjoyed together as a class. It was a great opportunity to develop practical skills while also celebrating our teamwork. During Arts Week, we looked at Dominica and created volcano models which were proudly displayed in the school art exhibition (see below). The students thoroughly enjoyed the creative process and were very excited to see their work showcased. It has been a fantastic half term, and we are very proud of everything the students have achieved. 

We are looking forward to a fun‑filled half term in The Moors. Pupils will be practising cleaning skills in life skills, exploring our sensory story “Arlo”, enjoying rhymes and songs.  In maths, we will focus on engaging with resources such as jigsaws, stacking toys and building blocks. 
We will be developing our choice making skills across the curriculum and will also have a focus on beginning to recognise our emotions. On Wednesdays, pupils will mix with Sixth Form to explore arts, community access and building activities. 
These groups will rotate again after Easter so everyone can try everything.  
Swimming remains on Mondays (girls) and Thursdays (boys) – please remember swimming kits