2026-27 Class 2 (Years 2 and 3) – Middle School
Class 2 at Marwood School is a mixed-age class comprising Year 2 and Year 3 pupils. Building upon the strong foundations established in Lower School, our curriculum helps children deepen their knowledge, strengthen key skills and develop increasing independence as learners.
Nestled in the beautiful rural setting of North Devon, our curriculum is rooted in our core values of Learning to Learn, Respectful Consideration and Ambitious Progress.
Our curriculum is carefully planned so that important knowledge, vocabulary and skills are revisited and strengthened over time. Children entering Year 2 continue to build upon the learning developed in Reception and Year 1, whilst children entering Year 3 revisit, strengthen and extend the learning gained in Year 2. This approach helps children make meaningful connections across the curriculum and prepares them for future success in Upper School and beyond.
Whilst many aspects of learning are taught through shared themes and experiences, some areas, such as Mathematics and phonics/spelling, are taught separately to ensure teaching is carefully matched to year-group expectations and curriculum requirements.
Learning to Learn
As children move through Middle School, they become increasingly independent learners. Our curriculum encourages pupils to become curious, reflective and resilient thinkers who are prepared to challenge themselves and learn from mistakes.
Throughout both years, we encourage children to:
- Ask thoughtful questions and investigate ideas.
- Explain and justify their thinking.
- Use feedback to improve their work.
- Apply previously learned knowledge in new situations.
- Persevere when learning becomes challenging.
- Take increasing responsibility for their learning.
- Make connections between different subjects and experiences.
- Develop confidence and independence as learners.
Respectful Consideration
Positive relationships remain central to life in Class 2.
Children learn to work collaboratively, listen respectfully to others and appreciate different viewpoints. Through learning alongside pupils of different ages, children benefit from a supportive mixed-age environment where they can learn from one another's experiences and achievements.
Year 2 pupils benefit from observing older children model positive learning behaviours and independence, whilst Year 3 pupils develop leadership, responsibility and confidence as role models within the classroom community.
Ambitious Progress
In Class 2, ambitious progress is built upon secure foundations.
Year 2 pupils continue to strengthen the knowledge, skills and understanding developed during Lower School, whilst Year 3 pupils revisit, deepen and extend this learning.
We believe that ambitious progress begins with secure understanding. Rather than rushing children towards increasingly complex content, we focus on ensuring that essential knowledge, vocabulary and skills are learned well, remembered over time and applied confidently in a range of contexts.
This approach helps children develop the confidence and capability needed for future success across the curriculum.
Curriculum Documents
To find out more about learning in Class 2, please view the documents below:
📄 Class 2 Curriculum Map (2026-27)
📘 Marwood Curriculum and Assessment Document
parent booklet curriculum and assessment.pdf
The Curriculum Map provides an overview of the themes, subjects and learning experiences taught throughout the year, whilst the Curriculum and Assessment Document explains the important knowledge, vocabulary and skills children develop in Years 2 and 3 and how these prepare them for future learning.
Foundational Knowledge and Future Learning
A key feature of our curriculum is the emphasis placed on building secure foundations for future success.
Foundational knowledge is the essential understanding, vocabulary, skills and learning behaviours that children need before they can access more complex learning. Throughout Years 2 and 3, children continue to strengthen these foundations whilst applying them with increasing independence and confidence.
Reading and Communication
Children develop reading fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and spoken language through high-quality texts, discussion and purposeful reading opportunities.
Year 2 pupils will typically continue developing reading fluency, decoding accuracy, vocabulary and understanding whilst becoming increasingly confident talking about what they have read.
Year 3 pupils will typically read with greater fluency and independence, infer meaning more confidently and draw upon a broader vocabulary when discussing texts.
These foundations prepare pupils for the increasingly demanding reading and comprehension expectations of Upper School.
Writing
Children strengthen sentence construction, spelling, handwriting and composition whilst learning to write for a range of audiences and purposes.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on securing sentence structure, punctuation, spelling patterns and handwriting whilst developing confidence in writing across different genres.
Year 3 pupils will typically write longer pieces with greater independence, selecting vocabulary more carefully and beginning to consider how their writing affects the reader.
These foundations support increasingly sophisticated writing throughout Key Stage 2.
Mathematical Understanding
Children deepen their understanding of number, calculation, reasoning and problem-solving.
Year 2 pupils will typically develop confidence with place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, shape and measures, generally working with numbers up to 100.
Year 3 pupils will typically revisit many of these concepts whilst working with larger numbers, more complex calculations and times tables and increasingly challenging mathematical reasoning.
These foundations prepare pupils for more advanced mathematical learning in Upper School.
Scientific and Wider Curriculum Knowledge
Children steadily build their knowledge of science, history, geography, computing, design technology, languages and the arts.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on observing, identifying, describing and classifying whilst developing secure subject knowledge.
Year 3 pupils will typically build upon these foundations by explaining ideas, recognising patterns, drawing conclusions and making increasingly sophisticated links between concepts.
This developing knowledge helps children make meaningful connections across the curriculum and apply learning confidently in new situations.
Personal Development
Children continue to develop resilience, responsibility, teamwork, independence and emotional awareness.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on developing confidence, positive relationships and growing independence within the classroom.
Year 3 pupils will typically take increasing responsibility for their learning, show greater resilience when faced with challenge and demonstrate growing leadership within the school community.
These qualities support success throughout Primary School and beyond.
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is organised into four broad areas of learning which help children make connections across subjects whilst ensuring each subject retains its own distinct knowledge, skills and vocabulary.
The Arts
(English, Art, Music and French)
English
Reading, writing and spoken language sit at the heart of our curriculum. Through carefully chosen texts including Flotsam, Until I Met Dudley, Hello Lighthouse, The Worst Witch, Dragon Slayer and Grendel, pupils develop fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and a love of reading.
Children write for a range of purposes including narratives, explanations, information texts, newspaper reports, persuasive writing, instructions, recounts and poetry.
Year 2 pupils will typically continue building confidence as readers and writers, developing sentence structure, punctuation, spelling and handwriting whilst learning to write for different purposes.
Year 3 pupils will typically build upon these foundations by writing longer pieces, making increasingly ambitious vocabulary choices and demonstrating greater independence as writers.
Art and Design
All pupils explore:
- Cloth, Thread and Paint
- Working with Charcoal
- Animated Drawing
Children develop creativity, observation, artistic techniques and confidence in expressing ideas through visual media.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on developing and practising key artistic techniques whilst building confidence in expressing their ideas through a range of materials and media.
Year 3 pupils will typically make increasingly thoughtful artistic choices, evaluate their work and demonstrate greater control when using different artistic techniques.
Music
Children follow the Charanga curriculum through units including:
- Let Your Spirit Fly
- Three Little Birds
- The Dragon Song
- Bringing Us Together
Pupils develop singing, listening, composing and performing throughout the year.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on developing pulse, rhythm, singing and performance skills.
Year 3 pupils will typically build upon this learning through a deeper understanding of notation, rhythm and musical structure, performing with increasing confidence and accuracy.
French
Children study:
- Phonetics and Presenting Myself
- Fruits
- My Home
- Classroom Language
Pupils develop confidence in speaking, listening, pronunciation and vocabulary whilst building a foundation for future language learning.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on learning and remembering key vocabulary, phrases and pronunciation patterns.
Year 3 pupils will typically recall, combine and apply previously learned language with increasing fluency and confidence.
STEM
(Mathematics, Science, Computing and Design Technology)
Mathematics
Mathematics is taught separately so that each year group follows the appropriate White Rose curriculum.
Year 2 pupils will typically develop confidence with place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, shape and measures whilst working mainly with numbers up to 100.
Year 3 pupils will typically revisit many of the same concepts whilst working with larger numbers, more complex calculations and increasingly sophisticated reasoning and problem-solving.
Science
Children study:
- Animals and their Needs for Survival
- Humans
- Materials
- Plants
- Living Things and their Habitats
- Light and Dark
- Growing Up
Through practical investigations and enquiry, pupils learn to ask questions, gather evidence and develop scientific understanding.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on observing, identifying, classifying and comparing whilst building secure scientific knowledge.
Year 3 pupils will typically deepen this learning by asking more complex questions, recognising patterns, gathering evidence and explaining conclusions using scientific vocabulary.
Computing
Units include:
- Making Music
- Presenting Ideas
- Questioning
- Route Planners
- Touch Typing
- Spreadsheets
Children develop digital literacy, computational thinking and safe use of technology.
Year 2 pupils will typically learn how technology can be used safely and purposefully whilst developing essential computing skills.
Year 3 pupils will typically build upon these foundations by selecting digital tools more independently, organising information effectively and using technology to solve increasingly complex problems.
Design Technology
Children design, make and evaluate products linked to wider curriculum themes.
Year 2 pupils will typically learn how to generate ideas, select materials and evaluate simple products.
Year 3 pupils will typically create more sophisticated designs, refine ideas and consider how effectively products meet the needs of users.
Humanities
(History, Geography and Religious Education)
History
Topics include:
- Mary Seacole
- Remembrance
- Anglo-Saxons
Children develop chronological understanding and explore how the past influences the present.
Year 2 pupils will typically place events in order, identify similarities and differences and use simple historical sources to answer questions.
Year 3 pupils will typically use timelines more confidently, explore cause and consequence and draw conclusions from a wider range of historical evidence.
Geography
Children study:
- Map Makers
- Settlements
- Our European Neighbours
Learning develops geographical knowledge alongside practical mapping and enquiry skills.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on recognising human and physical features and developing basic map skills.
Year 3 pupils will typically use atlases, globes and digital mapping more independently whilst developing a deeper understanding of countries, regions and settlements.
Religious Education
Following the Devon Agreed Syllabus, pupils explore:
- Creation and the Fall
- The Trinity
- People of God
- Judaism and Festivals
- The Gospel
- How people seek to make the world a better place
Children develop an understanding of beliefs, values and worldviews through discussion, reflection and enquiry.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on understanding key stories, beliefs and religious concepts whilst beginning to make links between beliefs and everyday life.
Year 3 pupils will typically deepen this understanding by making connections between beliefs, sacred texts and actions whilst considering why beliefs matter to different communities.
Physical and Social Development
(PE, PSHE and RSE)
Physical Education
Children participate in:
- Fitness
- Invasion Games
- Yoga
- Net and Wall Games
- Striking and Fielding
- Athletics
These opportunities help develop physical competence, teamwork, resilience and healthy lifestyles.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on developing fundamental movement skills, balance, coordination and confidence.
Year 3 pupils will typically refine techniques, apply tactical thinking and demonstrate increasing independence during physical activities.
PSHE and RSE
Using the SCARF curriculum, pupils learn about:
- Relationships
- Valuing Differences
- Keeping Myself Safe
- Rights and Responsibilities
- Being My Best
- Growing and Changing
Children develop the knowledge and skills needed to make positive choices, build healthy relationships and understand their role within the wider community.
Year 2 pupils will typically focus on understanding friendships, feelings, safety, health and making positive choices.
Year 3 pupils will typically build upon this by developing greater resilience, understanding risk, considering wider responsibilities and reflecting more deeply on how their choices affect themselves and others.
Preparing Children for Future Learning
One of the key strengths of our mixed Year 2 and Year 3 class is the way learning is carefully sequenced across two years.
Children revisit important knowledge, strengthen understanding and apply learning in increasingly challenging contexts.
For example:
- Reading fluency develops into deeper comprehension and critical thinking.
- Sentence writing develops into extended composition and purposeful writing.
- Number fluency develops into increasingly sophisticated reasoning and problem-solving.
- Historical and geographical knowledge supports deeper enquiry and understanding.
- Scientific observation develops into evidence-based explanation and investigation.
- Children become increasingly independent, resilient and reflective learners.
Knowledge is deliberately revisited and strengthened over time, for example through approaches such as Flashback Four in Mathematics and Science. This helps children remember more, make connections across the curriculum and apply learning confidently in new situations.
By the end of Middle School, pupils are well prepared for the increased challenge, responsibility and independence of Upper School.
Enrichment Opportunities
Learning in Class 2 is enriched through a range of educational visits, visitors, performances, sporting events and first-hand experiences linked to curriculum themes.
These opportunities help bring learning to life, deepen understanding and inspire curiosity about the world around us.
As a small rural school, we place great value on learning beyond the classroom and making the most of our local environment, community and partnerships.
Working Together
Our small school community ensures that every child is known, valued and supported to achieve their potential.
If you would like to know more about the curriculum in Class 2, please speak to:
Mrs Helen Jones
Class 2 Teacher
Mrs Allie Barnett
SENDCO
Dr Stuart Boon
Headteacher
We look forward to working in partnership with you to help your child develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to flourish both now and in the future.