Living and Learning
Today, Year 3 and 4 discussed what consent is.
Daisy: “It’s when someone gives you permission to do something.”
Harman: “It’s when you need to ask your parents to do something.”
Edris: “Consent is when I have permission to get a snack from the kitchen from my mum or dad. I have to ask them for permission first.”
Billy: “Consent is something you have.”
This opened up lots more questions such as
- Do we just automatically have consent straight away if we have asked for permission?
- Are our parents the only people who can give permission to us?
- Do we have the right to give permission or not give permission?
We talked about the fact that we need to always ask for consent when our actions affect someone else. For instance we need to ask for consent when:
- Making physical contact with someone – even giving them a hug.
- We want to play on our parents’ computer.
- We want to take a photograph of someone.
We practised doing this by throwing a beanbag across the classroom and always asking for consent to do so from the receiver. We also saw how important it was to give someone time to think, make their mind up, give us their response and not pressure them to hurry up. We showed respect to those that said no by accepting that no means no and not ever ‘ask me again in 5 minutes time’.
Year 3 and 4 practised using their voice and not giving in to peer pressure and copying what their friends did – maybe they didn’t want to catch the beanbag. This applies in lots of situations – everyone (young and old) has the right to say no and be respected. We need to make sure we are actively asking and listening out to hear for permission to be given or not.
We talked about our right to change our minds. Just because we are used to receiving a hug from a friend or have always had our picture taken for class news posts, doesn’t mean we have to keep on giving consent. We can say no and not be questioned on this. It is our right. This includes with our class teachers and other adults. With this in mind, we discussed feeling nervous or guilty about saying no. We discussed that the more we got used to doing it – and taking that safe risk of just saying no – the easier it would become. We also shared that if we had any worries about this we could always talk to an adult or a teacher for some help.
Sun Safety
Today, as part of our themed week, the children learnt about the risk factors associated with the sun. On top of this, we also thought about all the benefits that sunlight provides us with.
It is very important that we know how to look after our bodies at all times. We do this from the inside with a balanced diet and exercise, but also from the outside with protective clothing and following health and safety rules. One thing that lots of people enjoy is being outside in the sun. It is important to understand that the sun can be damaging to our bodies if we don’t take precautions and protect ourselves from its powerful rays. The sun can be very strong even on days when it doesn’t feel very hot or there is a strong breeze in the air. We should take precautions at all times. As well as having harmful effects on unprotected skin, the sun can also benefit our bodies and can have a positive impact on our mood and other bodily functions.
We asked the classes to work in pairs and answer these given questions
Is the sun bad/good for you? 
Why do we need the sun?
This work formed a good link to our current Science learning ‘investigating light.’
“The sun is our biggest source of light.”
Did you know that it takes about 8 minutes for the sunlight to be seen on the earth after it has left the sun?
“In very bright weather it is dangerous to look directly at the sun without protective glasses.”
After completing and discussing the children’s responses, we all enjoyed a ‘Sun Safety’ spot the difference activity. Can you find all twenty differences between the pictures?
Living and Learning: Staying Safe week day 3
We welcome four visitors to school today who will be giving a variety of staying safe messages as part of our themed week.
Thank you to Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative who have been busy carrying out maintenance checks on lots of bikes and also delivering basic bike maintenance sessions to Year 5 and 6. Their shop is local in Chapel Allerton.
Thank you to Barrie and Christine, local volunteers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), who are delivering water safety sessions to children in Reception to Year 4 across the day.
Dave from dside is with us today and Friday to deliver e-safety sessions to children in Year 1 to Year 6.
Finally, this afternoon, the Moortown Fire Service visit us to deliver a fire safety talk to Year 5.
These are just some of the visitors supporting our Staying Safe themed week to enhance our staying safe learning.
Living and Learning: Safer Internet Day
It’s Safer Internet Day and this has been a focus of learning today as part of our Staying Safe themed week. Below are some top tips for parents and carers to support your child to enjoy technology and the internet safely.
Our internet, our choice, so…
- Choose to have a conversation
Talk regularly with your child about how they use technology, and find out what their digital life is like, including what their favourite sites and services are and also how being online makes them feel. Listening to your child will give you the best possible idea of how you can support them. Not sure where to begin? Have a look at our suggested conversation starters for parents.
- Choose to take a balanced approach
As parents it’s natural to feel worried about the risks posed by your child being online, but for young people the online world is exciting and fun, as it brings so many opportunities for them. Remember that your child will use technology and the internet differently given that they are growing up in a world immersed in all things digital. Try to look at both the positive and negative aspects of being online and empower your child with safe choices they can make instead of overwhelming them with restrictions.
- Choose to make use of the tools available to you
There are lots of tools to help you manage the devices used by your family. For example, knowing how to activate and use parental controls can help protect your child from seeing inappropriate content online. For advice and guidance on how to make use of parental controls and other safety features on devices, check out our free Parents’ Guide to Technology and Internet Matters’ step-by-step parental controls guides for online services.
- Choose to get help and support
It can sometimes feel like young people are the experts in all things digital but remember – you are the life experts. You are always there to help your child but make sure you know how to get support too by visiting our Need Help? page. You can take steps to support your child online by using features such as privacy settings on social media and understanding how to make a report on a range of apps, games and services.
- Choose to be current and topical
This Safer Internet Day focuses on the very relevant topic of consent in the digital world. Use this as an opportunity to support your child with how they tackle digital consent within relationships and friendships as well as how online services use the data we provide. Use our quick activities as a family this Safer Internet Day to help you unpick this topic together.
Free bike check Wednesday 06 February
Living and Learning: Staying Safe information
A variety of safety related information will be sent home during this themed week. Have a look through the information with your child to support and reinforce this learning at home.
Living and Learning: Staying Safe week begins
Our Staying Safe themed week started today with a launch assembly by Leeds City Council’s road safety team. This included some key active travel and safety messages.
The trainers worked with a number of classes throughout the day.
- Year 3 pedestrian training
- Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 scooter training
- Year 6 Speed Indication Device – checking vehicle speeds in the 20mph zone on Shadwell Lane
Another visitor, Richard from One Day Creative, has worked with three classes today to deliver e-safety themed drama workshops. Other classes will take part in this learning tomorrow.
Ask your child what they have learnt so far based on our four main objectives for the week:
- Staying safe online
- Staying safe at home
- Staying safe at school
- Staying safe in the environment
Thank you to those parents and carers who attended the e-safety session at the end of the day. We hope you found it useful to learn more about your child’s e-safety learning. To help with practical support with devices at home, O2 in partnership with NSPCC offer a free service over the phone, 0808 800 5002, or in one of their stores.
Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day so there will be lots of in class learning on this subject. Have a look at our e-safety end of year expectations for your child’s year group.
Natural Disasters – Flooding
On Thursday, Year 4 had a visit from Mr Pearson who leads a flood risk management team across the UK, protecting communities from this natural disaster. This visit fits in well with our current topic. During this workshop, the children asked some great questions and learnt lots of new facts.
Mr Pearson spoke to the children about his role and how this links to STEM.
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating children in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Noah stated: “I really want to be an engineer.”
Year 4 learnt that computer models are used to identify areas that are at risk of flooding. When an area has been predicted to flood, there is only a two day window in which to put measures in place. The children studied graphs and diagrams showing water levels at different times of a day. What are the consequences of flooding?
“People could die,” commented Sami.
“Houses collapse,” said Jemima.
“People can get trapped in cars,” mentioned Musa.
Mr Pearson spoke about the places most at risk of flooding. Places such as Hull are very flat and prone to floods. We discussed the need for effective teamwork in these disastrous situations.
“How long does it take for flood water to go down?” asked Daisy.
“How does a flash flood happen?” questioned Kashif.
What is being done to prevent flooding in high risk areas?
Year 4 found out about different types of flood defences being used to minimise devastation. The Thames Barrier prevents the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide it can be opened to restore the river’s flow towards the sea. 
Ask your child if they can remember the meaning of the word ‘recede.‘
There was some super learning during this session.
Well done Year 4 and thank you Mr Pearson!
Volcanos
On Tuesday, Year 3 and 4 made volcanos!
We started our day by learning about a crutial skill we would need to succeed at making volcanos: teamwork.
First of all, we talked about what bad teamwork looks and sounds like. Then we compared it with examples of good teamwork.
Edris and Evie– “Bad teamwork is if you were writing a story, and not sharing resources or ideas . Good teamwork would be working together and sharing ideas taking turns.”
Sukhmani & Madison – “Bad teamwork is when you don’t work together but good teamwork is even when you’re not friends you can still work together.”
Harman and Ashton – “If we were fighting over resources we wouldn’t be working as a team. Instead, we could share.”
We talked about different jobs where teamwork is really important: footballers, doctors, professional dancers, the Royal Air Force and firefighters.
We then worked in our teams to put the instructions, on how to make a volcano, back together.
Have a look at some of the pictures from our volcano making, below.
Have a look at the finished results:
Well done Year 3 and Year 4 – you’ve really impressed us with your teamwork and communication skills!
Living and Learning – Homework Review
Last week, the whole school had the same Talk Time homework:
What is a drug?
This homework, which links to our Living and Learning statement, is a first step in children becoming aware of drugs. During our homework review today, the children each shared some of the conversations they had had at home. Year 4 showed great maturity and a good awareness about drugs that are helpful and those that are harmful.
Below are some of the question prompts that we gave to the children to help shape their discussions…
What is a good definition for a drug? “A drug can be good for you but some can be bad for you.”
Are all drugs bad? “We need some drugs to help us when we are ill. These can be dangerous if they aren’t taken correctly.”
A poem by Phoebe
What is a drug?
Drugs can be helpful
Drugs can be bad
Some make you happy
Some make you sad
Everyday drugs
That we can see
Caffeine in morning coffee
And afternoon tea
Beer, wine
And spirits too
Can make people laugh
Or be sick in the loo
Medicines
Are all drugs
That doctors prescribe
For illness and bugs
Drugs can be helpful
Drugs can be bad
Some make you happy
Some make you sad.
Following our homework review, Year 4 went on to discuss the risks of drinking alcohol. Using a ‘ Where alcohol goes in your body‘ diagram, we talked about some of the effects alcohol can have on the body.
Once swallowed, alcohol enters the stomach. The alcohol is absorbed into the small intestine and the bloodstream through the stomach walls. The blood vessels carry the alcohol to almost every organ in the body including the heart, lungs, liver and brain.
The children asked lots of questions to each other.
“What other dangers are there to your health?’
“It can damage your brain.”
“Why do people chose to drink alcohol?”
“Because it can make people feel relaxed.”
The children learnt how alcohol can affect the body and they could explain why drinking alcohol may pose a greater or lesser risk, depending on the individual and the amount of alcohol consumed.