Teacher: Mr Barnes

Teaching Assistants: Mrs Gerbrands, Mrs Reader, Mrs Lane  

PPA Teacher: Mrs Cairns (Tuesday afternoon)

Welcome to Year Four

My name is Mr. Barnes, I have been lucky to work at The Rosary for the past three years. I lead both science and PE within the school, and I’m passionate about making lessons fun, engaging, and full of energy for the children. I especially love teaching PE, with rugby being one of my favourite sports. It's incredibly rewarding to see the kids enjoying physical activity while developing their skills and teamwork..

Our School Day

To find out details of how the Y4 pupils spend their time, please take a look at the timeline of our school day. Important times to note are arrival time (8.40am) and registration (8.50am). It is important the children are at school and settled in time for the day to begin.

Curriculum Support

The English national curriculum means children in different schools (at primary and secondary level) study the same subjects to similar standards - it's split into key stages with tests. If you would like to know more about each individual subject please visit our Curriculum Page. Each term our class topic will link in to the curriculum in a way that brings the subjects to life for the children. 

Summer Term Topic

Year 4 will be exploring our exciting geography topic, “Magnificent Rainforests.” Through this unit, children will develop their understanding of the world by locating rainforests on a map and learning about their key features. Pupils will study the different layers of the rainforest (emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor) and discover how plants and animals are adapted to survive in these environments. They will also learn about the people who live in rainforest regions, including indigenous communities, and explore how their lives are shaped by the environment. Throughout the topic, children will build their geographical skills by using maps, atlases and digital tools, while also considering important issues such as deforestation and conservation.

PE

During Summer Term 1, children will go swimming every Tuesday as part of their PE.

In Summer Term 2, PE will return to Wednesdays as usual. Please ensure your child comes prepared with the correct kit on the appropriate days. We also take part in 'Fitness Fridays' with the rest of the school so the children will also need to wear PE kit every Friday. Please click here to find out PE kit requirements.

Forest School

We are very lucky to be able to offer regular Forest School sessions to all our classes at the Rosary School. Our grounds are perfect to help the children connect and engage with the outdoors, and learn through active and exciting tasks and challenges such as den building, making a fire or tools, and identifying insects and birds. Y4 Forest School sessions are every three weeks on a Friday morning.  Children will need to wear Forest School kit to school on these days, details of which can be found along with the session timetable, as links from the Forest School page.

Reading & Book Change

The children are encouraged to read the books they choose at school regularly. We now have completely new reading books which is very exciting! Please read with them at least 4 times a week and record your comments in their yellow reading record. When they are familiar with the book they should change it for a new one. Our book change days are Friday. The children will also participate in whole class guided reading taking place 3x a week. 

English 

In English this term, Year 4 will be studying Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo. This powerful text will inspire the children as they develop their narrative writing skills, linking closely to our History topic on the Vikings. Throughout the unit, pupils will explore the story’s themes, characters and setting, using these as a model for their own writing. They will practise key skills such as using descriptive language, varying sentence structure, and building tension within a story. Children will also focus on developing character viewpoints and creating vivid settings inspired by the Viking era. By the end of the unit, pupils will plan, draft and publish their own Viking-themed narrative, showcasing their ability to write an engaging and cohesive story. Michael Morpurgo is a well-known British author, famous for writing children’s books that often explore historical events and powerful emotions. His stories, including War Horse, are widely celebrated for their rich storytelling and ability to bring history to life for young readers.

Rainbow & Read Write Inc Spellings

Our Rainbow Spellings in each year group focus on 'tricky words' that are commonly misspelled or do not follow regular rules. These words are re-visited two years in a row and are tested regularly. In Y4 we continue to practise Read Write Inc Spellings which focus on the rules of spelling. 

Maths Summer Term

In Maths this summer term, Year 4 will be developing their skills across a range of key areas, including fractions, measurement (area, volume and time), geometry, properties of shapes and statistics. Children will build confidence in solving problems, reasoning mathematically and applying their knowledge in different contexts.

To support learning at home, parents can help bring maths to life through everyday activities. For example, children can practise fractions while sharing food, measure ingredients when cooking, tell the time throughout the day, or identify shapes and angles in the environment. Looking at charts, timetables or sports scores is also a great way to develop understanding of statistics. Encouraging children to talk about their thinking and explain how they solve problems is one of the most effective ways to build confidence and deepen their understanding.

Rainbow Maths

There is a National Curriculum requirement for children to know their times tables up to 12 x12 by the end of Year 4, at which point they take an online test. To support this objective, children from Y2 onwards take part in regular Rainbow Maths tests. Each new academic year they start on 'Red' and work their way up through Orange, Yellow and so on. The document below shows what is required for each colour.

The Multiplication Tables Check will be administered in the three-week period starting June 2026.

Our Class Saint - St. Josephine Bakhita

Feast Day: 8th February

For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed.

Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate. She was resold several times, finally in 1883 to Callisto Legnani, Italian consul in Khartoum, Sudan.

Two years later, he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. While Mimmina was being instructed, Josephine felt drawn to the Catholic Church. She was baptized and confirmed in 1890, taking the name Josephine.

When the Michielis returned from Africa and wanted to take Mimmina and Josephine back with them, the future saint refused to go. During the ensuing court case, the Canossian Sisters and the patriarch of Venice intervened on Josephine’s behalf. The judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, she had actually been free since 1885.

Josephine entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery, and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens. She once said, “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him. What a great grace it is to know God!”

The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She was beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.

Additional Curriculum Resources

For further resources to support your child across all subjects, please visit our Curriculum page which features links to many useful sites.