At Milstead we feel strongly that the most significant thing that you, as parents, can do to support your child’s learning is to share books with them on a regular basis.

By this we mean reading to your child, listening to your child read and talking about what you are both reading. As adults, we are all reading role models – there is lots of evidence that children seeing their parents read is a powerful factor in encouraging them to read more frequently. Becoming a confident reader able to understand a range of texts is hugely important – it allows a child to grow in confidence and to access all areas of the curriculum.

Your child should spend short periods of time (10-15 minutes) 4 or 5 times a week, engaged in reading activities at home. Each child has a reading record and we ask that you record any reading activities undertaken in the home. We recommend that you find a quiet, comfortable place in which to share books with your child.

In addition to this, we ask for your child to complete activities on Numbots or TT Rockstars. Numbots is all about addition and subtraction. TT Rockstars is all about multiplication and division. You child has unlimited access to these.

On TT Rockstars we expect children to complete 3 garage sessions a week. Regular games on "soundcheck" mode are a fantastic way to track your progress over time. We encourage children to have fun with their friends and peers from around the world on the multiplayer levels. 

Overview of the games:

gig - once per month (test out of 100)

jamming - self chosen x tables, not against a clock

garage - work on your heatmap to improve

studio - gain your rock status

soundcheck - 25 random questions (6 seconds per question)

multiplayer - play against peers in school or around the world

And finally, we will be sending home phonics and spelling words weekly. To begin with, the format will be teacher’s discretion using Little Wandle and Spelling Shed.