In Fire Class the children are in the Early Years (3 year olds), Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
The teachers in Class 1 are Mrs J Sharphouse, Mrs Dunderdale, Mrs S Witham and Miss Pykett.
PE Day
PE in Fire Class will be on a Wednesday for all and on Thursday for Years 1 and 2. Please send your child to school in their PE kits and send a separate pair of shoes to change into.
Forest Friday
All the children in Fire Class will be learning in the outdoor space on a Friday. Please send your child to school in their uniform with old clothing, including a coat, hat and gloves in the cold weather and wellies in a named bag.
Knowledge Banks
In EYFS, we use ‘Knowledge Banks’ to help children to recall key knowledge that we intend for them to learn. Our ‘Knowledge Banks’ are similar to the ‘Knowledge Organisers’ used from KS1 onwards, however our key information is set out slightly differently and link directly to the knowledge and understanding strand of the EYFS Framework.
Our ‘Knowledge Banks’ help the children link their knowledge and skills to their previous learning and allow them to know what they are expected to learn throughout a new topic. Please see below for our Autumn Term Knowledge Banks.
Half Termly Overview and Parent Letter
Every half term we send home an overview of what your child will be learning in Fire Class along with a letter containing any key information, dates, visits or extra-curricular activities that you might need to know about. Please see below for the recent letters sent home.
Class Activities
Autumn Term 1
We have had an absolutely fantastic start to the academic year.
The reception children have settled well into the new routines and expectations of Fire Class and have done us proud! We have been learning all about ourselves this term; our body, our senses, our family and friends, our houses and our village. Lots of fantastic learning has taken place already.
Our Year 1 and 2 children have also settled in well to Fire Class and have been excellent role models to the younger children. We covered lots of exciting topics so far; our body in science, data handling in computing, and history linked to Flintham in the Past. As part of our history learning, we had a wonderful time exploring Flintham village. We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by Sue Clayton, who led us on a fascinating guided tour.
The children discovered that Flintham once had a butcher’s shop, a tannery, a blacksmith, and even two bakeries—to name a few! They were especially intrigued to learn that the current museum building was originally a school for boys from poorer families. Later, when education became free for all children, the village hall took on the role of the school and girls were allowed to join. Throughout the walk, the children put their budding historian skills to great use—examining evidence, asking thoughtful questions, and thinking critically about how the village has changed over time. It was a brilliant afternoon of learning, curiosity, and connection to our local heritage.
As part of our forest school learning this term the children have helped to clear the raised beds and pond area. We have planted some peppers, spring onions and tomatoes in our new polytunnel. They have already started to grow too! The children have explored our forest school area, looking for signs of autumn and creating rainbow crowns as well as retelling the story of the Three Little Pigs and creating some art work in the style of Andy Goldsworthy using natural resources around us.
Autumn Term 2
Reception
This term, the children have enjoyed exploring a range of traditional tales, including The Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Our focus has been on developing oracy and speech skills through re-telling these stories and re-enacting the characters, which has really brought the tales to life. We also celebrated Diwali with a week of exciting activities, learning about its traditions and creating beautiful rangoli-inspired art. During Firework Night, the children took part in practical art sessions, producing vibrant pieces in the style of Jackson Pollock to capture the dazzling night sky. It’s been a creative and engaging term full of storytelling, cultural learning, and hands-on experiences.
Year 1 and 2
This term, the children have had a fantastic time learning all about the Great Fire of London. Their enthusiasm and the knowledge they have gained and remembered has been amazing. We explored what London was like in the past, how the fire spread so quickly, and how we know about this historic event today. The children enjoyed writing their own Great Fire of London recount and even imagined they were Samuel Pepys, creating diary entries to capture the drama of the time. We even built London using cardboard boxes and set fire to the bakery on Pudding Lane and watched as the fire spread down the street and all the way to St Paul’s Cathedral. The children wanted to make a fire break like they did back in 1666 so I moved one of the boxes 10 cm away from the others and that box survived the fire. The children were mesmorised by the fire burning bigger and smaller, almost going out then when it reached the next house the flames grew again. In science, we investigated seasonal changes setting up our own weather station in forest school to record the changes in the weather throughout the term, discovering why we have day and night and how and why daylight hours change throughout the year. It has been a term full of curiosity, creativity, and incredible learning!
As part of our Forest Friday’s we have explored the different types of trees we have and took some tree rubbings to try to identify the trees, retold some of the traditional stories that the Reception children had been reading using outdoor materials and went on a winter scavenger hunt. We also learnt how to make different knots to create our own photo frames and kites. The children found the clove hitch really tricky but are beginning to get the hang of how to secure two sticks using a square lashing.