Headteacher’s update
Our fantastic staff team have managed to squeeze in lots of activities, despite this being a very short half term; musical events, World Book Day, The Proms, Culture Day, community visits, enterprise projects, work experience and have even managed to fit in some excellent teaching and learning across subjects. We want to take this opportunity to wish parents and carers a restful break, and we will look forward to seeing all the students return to school on Monday 13 April 2026.
Lisa Little, Headteacher
News from the bases
Red 1
This half term, the children in Red 1 have shown great enthusiasm for learning. They have particularly enjoyed exploring a variety of activities and have demonstrated increased engagement, sustaining their focus for longer periods of time.
We have incorporated hands-on learning experiences, including using fruits to create patterns, which supported early mathematical skills in a fun and meaningful way. The children also took part in a range of Easter-themed sensory activities, encouraging creativity, curiosity, and exploration through different textures and materials. In addition, we celebrated Eid, providing opportunities for the children to learn about and appreciate different cultures and traditions. We can’t wait to see what the next term brings!
Red 2
This half term, students have enjoyed mark making in art as well as PE, swimming, rebound, and sessions in the sensory and therapy rooms. We also celebrated Eid during our Culture Day, exploring its traditions together. Students have shown great focus, made strong progress toward their personal targets, and have continued to build positive, trusting relationships with staff. Well done to everyone!
Yellow 1
We have had lots of fantastic learning taking place this half term. In Maths, we have continued developing our number recognition skills and practising 1:1 correspondence to count out different amounts accurately. We have also been exploring different shapes triangles and circles, learning about their properties and using them in different ways.
During English, we have been exploring instructional texts and following these such as sequencing instructions to follow the process to make different things such as sandwiches. 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 have been focusing on using cooking pasta but using this with different sauces and vegetables.
Yellow 2
It has been a very busy half term in Yellow 2 with lots of exciting learning taking place. We have welcomed two new members of staff, Tili and Debbie, who have settled in and got to know the students very well. We’ve been writing and following instructions in our English lessons and using them for recipes in our cooking sessions. The students have all made excellent progress towards meeting their end of year Maths targets. In PSHE we have been learning about personal hygiene by washing our hands independently and finding out which toiletries we can use. In our Understanding the World lessons we have been learning about different animals and minibeasts, exploring our garden and trim trail areas to find them. We are looking forward to expanding our knowledge and skills the next term and can’t wait to share our achievements with you.
Yellow 3
It has been a short but incredibly busy half term in Yellow 3, and we have managed to fit so much into our learning. The children have been working hard to secure their phonics knowledge, while in Maths we have focused on developing our understanding of place value. In English, we have been learning how to sequence instructions, which we then brought to life through practical activities such as planting, making sandwiches, and baking cookies. These hands-on experiences allowed us to reflect on our instruction writing, spotting any mistakes in our sequencing and thinking about how we could improve. We have also continued to enjoy our community access, making the most of the lovely sunshine, and in cooking sessions we have been building on important life skills. It has been a fantastic and productive half term for everyone.
Orange 1
Spring 2 has been a very busy and exciting half term in Orange 1. Our studens have been working incredibly hard across all areas of learning. In Maths, we have been focusing on early subitising, showing 1, 2 and 3 and matching quantities to the corresponding numerals. In English, the children explored instructional learning through our sensory story The Gingerbread Man and followed visual steps to make their own gingerbread. During sensory sessions, they investigated ginger through taste and smell and even created their own ginger scented playdough. As part of our Understanding the World topic, we have been learning how plants grow and have planted chive and carrot seeds to observe seasonal changes. In cooking, pupils continued practising instructional learning, making sandwiches and developing their spreading and cutting skills. Our Art sessions have encouraged curiosity and creativity as we explored primary colours and experimented with colour mixing. Well done to everyone in Orange 1 for their fantastic effort this term!
Orange 2
In Orange 2, we have had a very busy and exciting few weeks! In English, students have been learning all about instruction texts. We explored lots of different recipes, which helped us follow the steps to cook during our class cooking day. Everyone was really engaged and proud of what they made. We have also started a fun creative project, making sheep using pleated paper plates, the students loved getting involved with this craft.
In Maths, we are continuing to follow the White Rose curriculum, building confidence through practical learning. Recently, we also enjoyed celebrating both Eid and Easter, taking part in themed activities and learning about each celebration. We hope everyone has a wonderful and restful Easter break!
The Moors
This half term in The Moors we have been working hard across all areas of the curriculum. In Maths we continued to explore sensory resources to develop our cognition skills and begin to sort, match and sequence. We have used singing hands songs to help us practice our counting and number recognition skills.
In English, our focus story was Arlo. We explored sensory objects relating to the story. We worked on our listening skills by identifying different sounds related to the story. We have used instruments to join in with our favourite songs and rhymes.
In life skills we have explored different household cleaning items and practiced wiping tables, vacuuming, and sweeping. Throughout all our lessons we have been working towards making choices and engaging with what we choose.
We have celebrated lots of different events such as world book day where we used our art skills to print different patterned underpants and decorated alien masks. We celebrated Eid making cards and having a party and we have made Easter cards and pictures.
Green 1
Green 1 have positively engaged in the English Topic make invaluable links to routines within their classroom environment and routines which focused on Personal Hygiene which they took part in each week as a standalone session.
Students have also moved on to learning about a variety of 2D and 3D shapes in their White Rose Maths modules and have interacted well when looking at a variety of shapes in their wider environmental setting.
They have practiced washing their hands correctly moving through all the steps and using the specific vocabulary. They have practiced brushing teeth in a more systematic manner and have an overall understanding of how instructions should be presented both when written down on paper or just spoken.
They have again practiced these skills learned in English whilst making Scones in Food Tech and have engaged with a variety of Art techniques including working with Marble Ink, Crayon and prints and blending of paint colours.
They have had a very busy and impactful half Term.
The Rivers
We’ve had another busy and productive half term in Rivers Base.
Our Community Access sessions have continued to build important life skills. Alongside our visits to ASDA in Keighley and Lidl in Bingley to practice shopping skills, students have also been taking part in travel training. We have been learning about road safety and how to use the bus safely, including waiting at the bus stop, asking for a ticket and pressing the bell when it is time to get off. These experiences are helping students to grow in confidence and independence when out in the community.
We also had a fantastic trip to Skipton, where students enjoyed visiting either Skipton Castle or Skipton Museum. It was a great day out and a wonderful opportunity to explore a new place together.
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, alongside their developing office skills. They have also been helping to keep the school looking its best by maintaining display boards and putting up new displays.
Everyone has continued to work incredibly hard in Phonics and English. In Maths, we have been focusing on fractions, developing our understanding through a range of practical and engaging activities.
In Cooking, we have been following step-by-step instructions to make pizza. This has helped students to build their independence in the kitchen, as well as their ability to follow instructions carefully.
It has been a fantastic half term, and we are very proud of everything the students have achieved. We hope everyone has a great holiday and look forward to seeing you all back soon.
The Meadows
We have been using our maths skills when out in the community. Exploring timetables and position to plan trips. We have enjoyed learning how to use the bus. Next term we will be using the train and had a practice when we went to Skipton on the train. We have been looking at how we can be more sustainable and are part of a sustainable enterprise project. This has led us to explore how to make recycled plant containers and we will be developing this next term. In cooking we have been exploring eggs and potatoes and how to make a tasty simple, balanced meal for ourselves. Next term we will move onto pizza and wraps. The shop continues to be a success, and we look forward to enjoying the rewards of our labours next term.
Work Experience at Beckfoot
