Year 4

Children reflect on and build from the core knowledge and skills developed in Year 3. They explore topics such as conflict and remembrance, with opportunities to visit places such as HMS Belfast, the Imperial War Museum and St Leonard’s Air Raid Shelter in Mortlake. They then learn about Ancient Greece, making links with their earlier learning about the Romans, before developing their geographical knowledge through rivers, mountains and urbanisation.

Personal development lessons help children understand feelings, assertiveness, self-control, respectful relationships and the importance of maintaining good wellbeing and mental health. These lessons support children to become thoughtful, confident and responsible members of the school community.

Science in Lower Key Stage 2 introduces children to exciting concepts and practical enquiry. For example, children learn about plants, magnets, forces, skeletons and electricity, while also developing the skills needed to ask questions, make predictions, test ideas, record results and draw conclusions.

The curriculum is supported by the Year 3 and Year 4 curriculum maps and knowledge maps on the school website. These help families see the learning planned across the year and provide useful starting points for conversations at home.

Daily routines are designed to help children feel settled and successful. Children are encouraged to arrive ready to learn, bring the equipment they need, organise their reading book and journal, take care of their belongings and ask for help when they need it. Staff support children to build these habits gradually so that independence grows in a manageable way.

Our Year 3 and Year 4 learning environment has been moved and redesigned in recent years to keep the classes together and strengthen the sense of phase identity. This helps children in Lower Key Stage 2 feel part of a shared community, while still belonging securely to their own class.

The area is welcoming, purposeful and carefully organised. Classrooms support focused teaching and independent learning, while shared spaces allow children from across Years 3 and 4 to interact, collaborate and learn alongside one another. This is especially helpful because many children already know pupils in the other year group through buddies, transition activities and wider school experiences.

We also have our own intervention spaces within the phase. These allow staff to provide targeted support, small group teaching, pre-teaching, catch-up sessions, fluency practice or quieter work where needed. The environment is designed to feel calm, inclusive and supportive so that children can build confidence, practise important skills and feel proud of their learning.

Books, displays, vocabulary prompts, working walls and examples of learning help children revisit key knowledge and understand what successful learning looks like. The aim is for the environment to feel warm and ambitious: a place where children are happy, supported, challenged and ready to grow.

Children make the strongest progress when school and home work closely together. In Lower Key Stage 2, parents can make a significant difference by supporting regular routines, reading, spelling, maths fluency, organisation and positive attitudes towards learning.

Encourage regular reading

Reading remains central in Years 3 and 4. Children should read regularly at home and record their reading in their reading journal. Short, frequent reading is often more effective than occasional longer sessions.

Talking about reading is just as important as the reading itself. Useful questions include: What has happened so far? What do you think might happen next? Which words or phrases stood out? Why do you think a character acted in that way? Would you recommend this book?

Support spelling, grammar and vocabulary

Children practise spelling patterns from the Year 3 and Year 4 curriculum, including statutory words. Parents can help through short, regular practice, quick quizzes, discussing word meanings, using words in sentences and spotting patterns, prefixes, suffixes and word families.

Build confidence in maths

Fast and accurate recall of number facts makes a significant difference in Lower Key Stage 2. Parents can support children by practising number bonds, times tables, related division facts, mental calculation, place value and explaining reasoning aloud.

In Year 4, regular times tables practice is particularly important because children complete the Multiplication Tables Check. Little-and-often practice helps children build confidence without unnecessary pressure.

Support routines and independence

Parents can help children by encouraging them to organise their own belongings, remember reading books and journals, bring water bottles, prepare PE kits and take responsibility for completing home learning carefully. These routines support independence and confidence across the phase.

Assessment in Lower Key Stage 2 is designed to support learning, identify next steps and help teachers understand how well children are progressing. We use a balance of formative assessment, which happens continuously as part of day-to-day teaching, and summative assessment, which gives teachers a clearer picture of attainment at key points during the year.

Our approach is purposeful and proportionate. Assessment is not simply about recording outcomes; it is about using information carefully to adapt teaching, address misconceptions, plan support and provide appropriate challenge.

Formative assessment

Teachers assess children through questioning, discussion, observation, responses in lessons, written outcomes, marking and feedback. This helps staff understand what pupils have grasped securely and where further teaching, modelling or practice may be needed.

In maths, this is particularly important because children meet many new concepts in Years 3 and 4. Teachers check understanding throughout lessons and respond quickly through live feedback, additional modelling, small group support, guided practice or revisiting key knowledge.

Reading assessment

Reading is assessed continuously through guided reading, reading lessons, class discussion, fluency work, children’s responses and reading journals. Teachers consider comprehension, fluency, inference, vocabulary development and children’s confidence when discussing texts.

Children also complete regular summative reading assessments during the year, including Testbase comprehension assessments and fluency checks. These help us monitor progress, identify pupils who may need additional support or challenge, and ensure that reading remains a central priority.

Writing assessment

In writing, teachers build a picture of each child’s progress across a range of pieces and curriculum contexts. Children write for different purposes and audiences, and teachers look for increasing independence, accuracy, stamina, vocabulary choice, punctuation, spelling, handwriting and the ability to apply taught skills.

Teachers moderate writing within the phase and across the school to support consistency and accuracy. The emphasis is on a broad range of evidence rather than one isolated task.

Grammar, punctuation and spelling

Grammar, punctuation and spelling are assessed both formatively and summatively. In lessons, teachers assess how well children understand and apply grammar, punctuation and spelling patterns through discussion, short tasks and written outcomes.

Children complete more formal assessments at key points in the year. In Lower Key Stage 2, these are used to identify strengths and gaps, not to prepare children for SATs. We use Testbase to support appropriate assessment and question practice where helpful.

Spelling is assessed regularly through low-stakes quizzes, spelling journals and ongoing application in writing. Children practise spelling patterns from the Year 3 and Year 4 curriculum, including the statutory Year 3 and 4 word list. In spelling journals, children have opportunities to use look, cover, write, check as well as taught strategies such as segmenting, syllable work, morphology, word families and memory prompts. Where useful, spelling assessments such as Young’s Spelling Test may be used to provide additional information about spelling development and support needs.

Mathematics assessment

Mathematics assessment takes place continuously through daily lessons, questioning, independent tasks, problem-solving activities and reasoning work. Teachers use this information to identify misconceptions quickly and adapt teaching accordingly.

At key points in the year, children complete summative mathematics assessments. These are used to monitor progress, identify gaps, inform planning and support targeted intervention. In Lower Key Stage 2, we use Testbase rather than SATs-style preparation.

National Multiplication Tables Check

In Year 4, children also complete the national Multiplication Tables Check. This focuses on quick recall of multiplication facts and helps teachers understand where pupils may need further practice with times tables and related division facts. More information can be found here. 

Science assessment

Science assessment is based on children’s scientific knowledge, conceptual understanding and ability to work scientifically. Teachers assess pupils through practical investigations, discussion, questioning, observations, quizzes, recorded work, end-of-unit mind maps and end-of-unit quizzes. Learning is assessed by unit and reviewed again at the end of the year.

Children are supported to ask questions, make predictions, plan enquiries, record results, draw conclusions and use scientific vocabulary accurately. Assessment information helps teachers revisit key ideas and ensure that pupils are building secure foundations in science.

Handwriting assessment

Handwriting is monitored throughout the year as part of children’s everyday written work. Teachers look at pencil grip, posture, letter formation, joining, consistency, legibility, spacing and presentation. Where needed, children are given individual targets or additional practice to develop a fluent and legible handwriting style.

Handwriting is taught using the Nelson scheme, which supports clear progression in letter formation, joins and fluency. Children are taught the joins explicitly, practise them through guided reading or morning activities where appropriate, and then apply them in dictation, copying passages and wider writing. Dictation is an important part of this because it supports handwriting, spelling, punctuation, listening and sentence accuracy together.

As children move from Year 4 to Year 5, we support them to build on the independence, confidence and learning habits they have developed in Lower Key Stage 2. This transition is about preparing children for the increased maturity and responsibility of Upper Key Stage 2 while recognising the strengths, friendships and routines they already have.

Staff share information carefully in handover meetings so that Year 5 teachers understand each child’s strengths, needs, achievements and any support that helps them learn well. This includes academic information, pastoral knowledge, learning behaviours, friendship considerations and any strategies that have supported progress.

Children are helped to understand what will feel the same and what may be different. They are encouraged to see the move to Year 5 as an exciting next step: a chance to take on greater responsibility, deepen learning and continue growing as confident members of the school community.

At Barnes, we place a very high value on reading. Regular reading helps children develop confidence, fluency, vocabulary, imagination and understanding across the whole curriculum. Reading journals provide a useful link between home and school and help children take pride in their reading lives.

In Lower Key Stage 2, children use their reading journals to record the reading they do at home. Staff monitor journals regularly so that children’s reading habits can be celebrated and supported.

Alongside reading logs, children may complete tasks linked to vocabulary, creative responses, summaries or reflections on what they have read. These tasks encourage children to think more deeply about books and become more independent, thoughtful readers.

At Barnes, we want every child to see themselves as a reader. The books below are a starting point for children and families looking for high-quality texts to enjoy at home. Children do not need to read every book; the aim is to encourage choice, enjoyment and a broad reading diet.

Recommended reading for Lower Key Stage 2