Reading at Hamstel Our aim is for every child to leave Hamstel Junior School able to read fluently and with confidence. We want every child to develop a love of reading in order that they continue to read widely in secondary school and beyond. School Library We are proud of our fantastically stocked school library. Children can choose two books, one of which is a ‘free choice’. Classes visit the library each week and children may also visit at lunchtime to change their books. Individual Reading Books and Reading Colours Children in the infant school follow the Read, Write, Inc scheme to develop their understanding of synthetic phonics. Book colours in the infant school correspond with the children’s phonics knowledge as they reinforce the sounds that the children have learnt. Reading books in the Junior School are colour coded according to the children’s reading age. Each colour contains a broad range of books in order to stimulate interest without overly restricting choice. Children chose a book from their coloured band which they read both at home and at school. They can also choose a fiction or non-fi ction book to read with an adult or on their own from any of the books in the library. Please click the links below for the suggested reading lists for each year group: 10 Boo ks to Re ad in Year 3 10 Books to Re ad in Year 4 10 Boo ks to Read in Year 5 10 Boo ks to Read in Year 6 Reading Lessons Children are taught whole class reading lessons as part of English. To support both our reading and writing lessons, a different core text is shared with the children each term – see below. Our reading lessons focus on helping children develop their reading skills so that they become fluent and confident readers. Story Time Our teachers read regularly to their class to encourage a passion for reading. Our childre n really enjoy being read to by an adult. Class and School Library Time To help the children select great books, classes spend time each week discussing the books that they have read and making recommendations to others. We also have a termly book review competition where children have the chance to win a book voucher. We have 10 recommended reading books for each year group which are chosen each year by our teachers to challenge, encourage and inspire our children. Reading Champions Our Reading Champions are chosen from year 5 and 6 to support a love of reading across the school. The Champions support other children at lunchtime by helping them choose a great book from our outdoor library. Not sure what to encourage your child to read? We have a suggested reading list for each year group which covers a range of genres to inspire every child to develop a love of reading. Star Author Days At Hamstel we welcome children’s authors (our Star Authors) to the school to speak to the children about what inspires them and how they became a writer. Children have the opportunity to enter a special competition as part of the star author day and join our author for a special lunch. Children can also buy copies of their books and have them signed by the star author! World Book Day We celebrate World Book Day each year by dressing as our favourite book character and completing some great literary inspired activities.

Each year children in each class vote for one of their peers to represent them on our school council. Congratulations to the elected children for 2022-2023 Eco Warriors Our Eco Warriors have a number of responsibilities. The Eco Warriors: ensure everyone in the school turns off the lights and any unused electrical items when everyone leaves the classroom. use our special litter pickers to collect any rubbish left at the end of the morning break to help keep the playgrounds litter free. ensure the green bins in the classrooms are only used for paper and card The Eco Warriors also design signs to use around the school to remind others about how to save energy and help save the planet. We are also working in partnership with Southend City Council as part of the PlastiCity initiative to minimise the impact of plastics on the environment. Hamstel Junior School Eco Warriors 2025-2026 This year, the Eco Warriors have continued to make a real and positive impact on our school environment and the wider community. We have proudly worked in partnership with Southend City Council on the Clear Air Campaign, helping to promote cleaner air by installing special signs that remind drivers to switch off their engines when waiting in traffic. Within our school grounds, we have enhanced biodiversity by planting more greenery and introducing a living roof on our bike shed, creating valuable habitats for wildlife. In addition, we have been fortunate to collaborate with two of our parent volunteers, who generously supported us in designing and building two beautiful bug hotels. These now provide safe homes for insects and enrich our green spaces, supporting our ongoing commitment to sustainability and environmental care.

Opportunities for Support Staff Hamstel is a large and friendly Junior School, which employs a number of support and teaching staff to ensure we give our children the very best. If you'd like to join our fantastic team of support staff, please take a look at the Vacancies area of the Portico website to find out if there are any vacancies currently available at the school. 1/1

If you have any further questions about the curriculum please feel free to contact the school office and somebody will be more than happy to help. Policies If you have any further questions about the curriculum please feel free to contact the school office and somebody will be more than happy to help. Accessibility Plan Anti-Bullying Policy Attendance Policy Behaviour Policy Charing & Remissions Policy Complaints Policy Curriculum Policy Equality Policy First Aid Policy HJS Child Protection Policy Portico Attendance Policy Portico Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy RSE Policy SEND Policy Supporting pupils with Medical Conditions Uniform Policy Whistleblowing Policy & Procedure 1/1

Our website may contain links to external websites that are not provided or maintained or in any way affiliated with Hamstel Junior School. Please note that we do not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any information on these external websites. Activities for Children Our website may contain links to external websites that are not provided or maintained or in any way affiliated with Hamstel Junior School. Please note that we do not guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any information on these external websites. Art Group at the Hub in Cluny Square

Year 4 Expected Standard of work This is an example of the standard if fiction text that a Year 4 pupil should be able to read and understand. We would expect that a Year 4 pupil would be able to read this text fluently and with expression. We would also expect that they would be able to answer the following type of questions; Questions about word meaning Which word in the first line tells us how Amelia feels about the ball? Questions that ask you to extract information from the passage How long have the Fang family been hosting the Barbaric Ball? Questions that ask you to summarise the text What can you tell us about the Barbaric Ball? Questions that ask you to use the clues in the text to produce a reasoned answer Do you think Amelia and Countess Frivoleeta feel the same about the ball? Questions that ask you to use the text to make predictions Why do you think Amelia believes it is 'useless' to talk to Countess Frivoleeta about what she wants? Questions relating to the meaning of the whole text Questions about the author’s choice of language Why do you think the author chose the surname Fang for Amelia? Questions that ask you to compare different parts of the text 1/1 1/2

Year 5 Home Learning Daily Timetable English Lesson Maths Lesson Geography Lesson

Year 4 English Reading Autumn Term In the autumn term Year 4 children will: have a reading age of 9 years read new words by looking for root words, prefixes and suffixes use a dictionary to check the meaning of words we meeting in our reading retrieve and record information from fiction texts summarise the main ideas from more than one paragraph ask and answer questions about the text we are reading Spring Term In the spring term Year 4 children will: have a reading age of 9 years and 5 months use spelling knowledge to help decode new words explain the meaning of words in context retrieve and record information from non-fiction texts discuss what we know about a character's thoughts and feelings from their actions make predictions about what might happen next based on the evidence in the text identify and discuss words which make the reader interested Summer Term In the summer term Year 4 children will: have a reading age of 9 years and 10 months retrieve and record information from poetry use evidence from the texts to support our opinions about a character's thoughts and feelings Identify and discuss phrases which make the reader interested Discuss how the organisation of texts contributes to meaning 1/1 1/2 Suggested Reading Expected Standard of Work Writing Autumn Term In the Autumn Term Year 4 children learn: write using a legible and joined style create a plan which supports the structure of an independent piece of writing create direct speech which is correctly punctuated internally embellish simple sentences to describe settings create a sentence of three for action create a more complex sentence through the use of 'ing' staters create compound sentences and complex sentences using basic subordinating conjunctions within a text develop writing through use of a viewpoint use comparative and superlative adjectives to create noun phrases create a more complex sentence through the use of 'ed' starters extend noun phrases with the use of prepositions organise paragraph through the use of correctly punctuated simple adverbials include devices which draw the reader in proof read writing for spelling and punctuation errors linked to the Autumn Term curriculum evaluate and edit work by assessing the effectiveness of own writing Spring Term In the Spring Term Year 4 children learn: use a range of present tense forms to develop shades of meaning choose vocabulary which consideration for the audience use direct speech to show character choose vocabulary which signals fact or opinion choose modal verbs - should, would, could, to develop shades of meaning follow topic sentences by including the appropriate choice of pronoun or noun to aid cohesion in subsequent sentences evaluate and edit effectiveness of own and others writing and suggests improvements use a range of past tense forms to develop shade of meaning use a range of prepositional phrases to express time. cause and place use direct speech to move the action forward choose short or long sentences to create an effect create a range of adverb and adverbial starters for time and manner and punctuates them correctly use brackets for parenthesis in non-fiction writing proof read writing for spelling and punctuation errors linked to the Spring Term curriculum evaluate and edit work by making changes to vocabulary and grammar linked to the Spring Curriculum Summer Term In the Summer Term Year 4 children learn: drop 'ing' clauses into sentences describe character, setting or action by creating simile starters which are punctuated correctly make paragraph changes due to person, time, place and topic repeat vocabulary to create effect embellish simple sentences with adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases use wide range of tense forms to develop shades of meaning use a variety of adverbial starters to link between paragraphs proof read writing for spelling and punctuation errors linked to the Year 4 curriculum evaluate and edit work by making changes to grammar and vocabulary linked to Year 4 curriculum Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Autumn Term In the Autumn Term Year 4 children will: to write from memory simple sentences, dictated by teacher, which include the spelling and punctuation taught so far to use the first 3/4 letters of a word to check its spellings in a dictionary to spell words ending in -'sure' or -'ture'; to recognise where sound is made by a root word which ends in a 'ch' with an 'er' ending to spell words which end in a 'g' spelt -'gue' and 'k' spelt -'que' to choose the correct spelling for given homophones depending on context to identify a proper noun in a sentence and to select words which should be proper nouns to identify a noun phrase in a sentence; to use modifying adjectives, nouns and prepositional phrase to create non phrases to understand what pronouns are; to identify pronouns in a sentence to identify prepositions and adverbs and their purpose to spell words where the 'long a' sound is made using -'ey' -'ei' and -'eigh' and to recognise which is the most likely for an unfamiliar word to understand the meaning of the prefixes -'il', -'im', -'in', -'ir' nd to select the correct prefix according to the initial letter of the root word to add suffixes beginning with vowel to words of more than one syllable to spell the Autumn Term list of 'Words We Need To Know' to identify and write the four sentence types and to punctuate them correctly to identify where commas are used to make fronted adverbials; to add a comma to mark a fronted adverbial into a give sentence to punctuate direct speech correctly to identify verbs in the past tense and to recognise how different past tense forms are formed to understand what makes a clause; to identify subordinating conjunctions and to identify a subordinate clause in a sentence Spring Term to write from memory simple sentences, dictated by teacher, which include the spelling and punctuation taught so far to add the suffix -'ation' to verbs to form nouns, changing the spelling of the root word if necessary to spell words which contain a 'g' followed by a silent 'u' to place the apostrophe correctly after both regular and irregular plural forms (distinct from plural 's') to understand what a possessive apostrophe is; to add apostrophe to mark both singular and plural possession to identify where an apostrophe is used for contraction and can expand the contraction out; to write contractions from given words to identify determiners and their purpose to understand what modal verbs are and identify them in a sentence to understand the meaning of the prefixes 'sub-' 'inter-' 'super-' 'anti-' and 'auto-'; to spell words which use these prefixes to spell word which sound like 'shun' with endings '-tion', '-sion' '-ssion', '-cian; to recognise which is the most appropriate ending for unfamiliar words to spell the Spring Term list of Words We Need To Know to identify imperative verb form; to use a imperative verb to change a statement into a command to use commas accurately to mark clauses at the beginning of a sentence Summer Term to write from memory simple sentences, dictated by teacher, which include the spelling and punctuation taught so far to spell words with a 's' sound spelt 'sc' to choose the correct spelling for given homophones depending on context to identify where nouns are singular or plural; to recognise irregular plural forms to identify where pronouns have used to avoid repetition or ambiguity to identify where Standard english is used for verb inflictions to use Standard English for verb inflictions to identify synonyms for simple adjectives to spell words using the suffix '-ous' and understand how it changes the function of a word to spell words which contain the prefixes: '-'un' 'dis-' 're-' and understands how they change the meaning of the word to change nouns to adverbs by adding the '-ly' suffix and to understand that the spelling of the root word might change to spell the entire list of Year 4 'Words We Need To Know' to identify simple, progressive and perfect present/ past tense in sentences to punctuate direct speech accurately to identify relative pronouns and the relative clause in a sentence Statutory Words Spellings

Learning Conversations take place in the autumn term to see how your child is settling into his/her new class and in the spring term to discuss progress. Parents should use their School Cloud account to book their child's Learning Conversation. Learning Conversations Learning Conversations take place in the autumn term to see how your child is settling into his/her new class and in the spring term to discuss progress. Parents should use their School Cloud account to book their child's Learning Conversation. Hybrid Learning Conversations Parents have the choice to book a face-to-face meeting or a virtual one. Setting up a School Cloud Account Please visit School Cloud and fill in the boxes with your information to create your School Cloud account. Please ensure you use your child’s full legal name when completing their details otherwise your account will not be recognised by the school’s Information Management system and you will not be able to book your child’s Learning Conversation. Open Evening Our Open Evening takes place in the summer term (usually July) when the children are encouraged to share their work with parents/carers.

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By accepting a place at Hamstel Junior School, parents are agreeing to support their child in the wearing of correct uniform. This creates a calm environment in which children feel organised and prepared to learn. Uniform By accepting a place at Hamstel Junior School, parents are agreeing to support their child in the wearing of correct uniform. This creates a calm environment in which children feel organised and prepared to learn. There are occasional non-uniform days throughout the year, usually linked to fund-raising for specific causes. If children arrive at school without the correct uniform, the school may supply them with it for the duration of the day, and you may be contacted. Our Uniform Winter Black or grey trousers/skirt to the knee - Combined skirt/trousers and leggings are not permitted White polo shirt Maroon cardigan, jumper or sweatshirt Black or grey socks or tights Flat-heeled black shoes or plain black trainers - no sandals Summer As winter or: Black or grey uniform shorts (to the knee) A pink (or red) and white gingham dress White socks All school uniform is readily available from Crawlers in Hamstel Road and online from Brand Identity Schoolwear at reasonable prices. Craft Activities An apron to protect clothes during craft activities should be provided and kept in school - an old adult shirt worn backwards and the sleeves cut to an appropriate length is perfectly adequate. Please ensure there is a secure button in the top neck position. PE Arrangements for PE from September 2025 Children should come to school wearing their school PE kit on the days their class has PE. Please see the PE kit - Change for September letter that was sent out in June for more information. PE and Games New gold aertex t-shirt with the school badge Maroon shorts or plain black tracksuit trousers / leggings for when it’s cold Black trainers Maroon Hamstel sweatshirt (children can wear their usual Hamstel sweatshirt on both PE and non-PE days) Swimming All children will require a costume, towel and swimming hat in a waterproof bag. Hats are available from the school office at a cost. NOT PERMITTED are: Large trainer boots for PE or games, cycling or Bermuda shorts for either P. E. or swimming. P.E. and swimming are part of the National Curriculum and all children participate in these subjects unless we receive a letter from their parents excusing them. Jewellery and Earrings Bracelets and necklaces should not be worn but children may wear a watch. In the interests of health and safety we ask that children with pierced ears wear small studs and that ALL earrings MUST be removed for PE, games and swimming lessons. Hair Children should not wear large bows or have designs shaved into their hair. In addition, children should not have dyed hair. Nails Nail polish and false nails are not allowed. Nails should be kept trimmed to ensure they are 'sufficiently short to prevent harm to self and others' (afPE Safe Practice 2025). Please make sure that ALL items of clothing and personal belongings are clearly marked/ labelled with the child’s name. Uniform Policy - February 2024 PE Kit Frequently Asked Questions

Start of the Day School opening time: 8:40am - 8:50am End of the Day The school day ends at the following times: Lower school (years 3 and 4) - 3:20pm Upper school (years 5 and 6) - 3:25pm Our School Day Timetable Start of the Day School opening time: 8:40am - 8:50am Registration: from 8:50am Morning playtime - times vary Lunchtime - 5 5 minutes between 11:30am and 1:30pm Afternoon playtime - times vary End of the Day The school day ends at the following times: Lower school (years 3 and 4) - 3:20pm Upper school (years 5 and 6) - 3:25pm Playtime The children have a morning and afternoon break. Children may bring a small snack to eat during the morning break time. A piece of fruit or healthy snack bar is ideal. We do not allow bars of chocolate, sweets or any items containing nuts. Lunchtime The children have a 55 minute break in the middle of the day. Year groups have an allocated slot to eat their lunch in the Jubilee Dining Hall during the lunchbreak. Children may bring a packed lunch or pre-order a School Dinner via Arbor. Assemblies We have two whole school assemblies each week, on a Monday and a Friday. During the week we also have year group assemblies. Parents are invited to their child's class assembly. Drop Off Children should arrive at school between 8:40am and 8:50am as registration is taken by the class teacher at 8:55am. Please note, that children who arrive after 8:50am will need to enter the school via the main entrance and will receive a late mark. Parents of children in year 3 can wait on the lower school playground from 8:30am (no unaccompanied children please). Children in years 4, 5 and 6 should enter the school via the green gate. We ask that children do not arrive at school unaccompanied before 8:40am. Children with siblings may enter school together via either of the entrances. Collection Year 3 children should be collected from the lower school playground (the same playground they are dropped at in the morning). Children in years 4, 5 and 6 should be collected from the main playground. Teachers will bring their class out at the end of the day. We ask that parents wait behind the barriers and check with the class teacher before taking their child. Parents with children in both year 3 and 4 should pick both children up from the year 3 playground. The school day finishes at the following times: Years 3 and 4 - 3:20pm Years 5 and 6 - 3:25pm Children should be collected at 3:20pm from the playground (3:25pm for children in years 5 and 6). In exceptional circumstances, when a child is not collected on time, they are taken to the school office and parents are contacted. If your child is not picked up by 3:35pm or they are regularly late being collected, a late pick up fee of £5 will be incurred for every 15 minutes they are late. Children not collected by 3:45pm will be taken to DASH. Parents will be charged a late fee of £5 and an additional £5 for the session. Parent will then need to collect their child from the main office at 4:30pm. Thank you for your support. Please let the class teacher or school office staff know if your child will be going home on their own or if they will be collected by another parent or adult other than you . Our Daily After School Hub (DASH) is available every day school is open; places should be booked 24 hours in advance via ParentPay . On the day bookings are not possible. Classrooms 2025/2026