A fact is a statement that can be verified. It can be proven to be true or false through objective evidence. An opinion is a statement that expresses a feeling, an attitude, a value judgment, or a belief. It is a statement that is neither true nor false.
The children read some articles and looked for the facts and opinions. The children identified how newspaper articles can contain some opinions.
Describe the different ways money can be saved, outlining the pros and cons of each method;
Describe the costs that go into producing an item;
Suggest sale prices for a variety of items, taking into account a range of factors;
Explain what is meant by the term interest.
As a class we discussed the reasons we need money. We discussed what we need to spend money on and what we would like to spend money on.
Geography - The Amazon Rainforest
Our next topic is about rainforests and we will be focusing on the Amazon Rainforest. Before starting the topic, the children made a list of what they already know about rainforests and a list of questions about what they would like to find out.
Geography - Where are Rainforests located
Rainforests are located in the tropical climate region. They are hot and wet all year round – this creates a humid climate.
The annual rainfall is high as it rains almost every day. The temperatures are constant all year round – the temperature range is usually only a few degrees. There are no seasons.
The children found the location of rainforests on a map.
Geography - Facts about Rainforests
The children found some key facts about rainforests. These are some of the facts they found.
1. Rainforests take their name from the abundant rainfall they experience
2. The Amazon Rainforest is more than half the size of the US
3. Rainforests are home to half of the world’s plant and animal species
4. Deforestation contributes nearly 5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
5. An average of 137 species of plants and animals are driven into extinction every day in the world’s tropical rainforests
Geography - The Amazon River
As part of our work on rainforests, we looked at the Amazon River and how it runs through the Amazon rainforest. The children found interesting facts about the river.
Here are some of the interesting facts that they found:
1. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 5.5 million square kilometres, it’s so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times!
2. The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
3. Running through the north of the rainforest is the Amazon River — a network of many hundreds of waterways that stretches 6,840km. Although there is some debate, most scientists agree that the Amazon is the world’s second longest river after the River Nile.
The children have been encouraged to complete an independent learning task on the Amazon Rainforest. This can be on any aspect of rainforest and can be presented in any way. I look forward to seeing how creative the class can be.
We visited Tropical World to the find out about the features of the rainforests and to learn about the animals which live in them. We also did a workshop in the woodlands to compare a native woodland to a tropical rainforest.
Whilst on the trip, we covered the following learning objectives and knowledge strands.
Climate maps show weather patterns. Different colours show the climates. Children will use maps to identify the climate. Climate of the Amazon:
The climate of Amazonia is warm, rainy, and humid. The lengths of day and night are equal on the Equator.
Children will find other rainforests on the globe.
Tropical rainforests are mainly located between the latitudes of 23.5°N (the Tropic of Cancer) and 23.5°S (the Tropic of Capricorn).
Biome: Biomes are areas of our planet with similar climates, landscapes, animals and plants. What lives in each biome depends on: how warm or cold it is; how dry or wet it is; and how fertile the soil is. The animals in a biome depend upon plants for food. The plants in a biome often also depend upon the animals for spreading pollen and seeds so that new plants can grow. So, both plants and animals rely on each other to stay alive.
Amazon rainforest:
Covers most of South America. (link to Y4 rivers knowledge – Drainage basin)
Covers 5.5 million square kilometres.
Encompasses Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guian.
On the Equator, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Amazon River:
The ‘lifeline’ of the Amazon rainforest.
Second largest river in the world (after the River Nile)
6,400 km long.
Starts in the Andes.
It is one of the main forms of transportation through the rainforest because there are very few roads.
River boats and ships commonly shuttle citizens, tourists and goods from one area of the Amazon to another.
There is only one bridge across the river so ferries are the only way to cross them.
Physical characteristics of a rainforest: A rainforest has 4 layers:
Forest floor layer – The lowest layer where it is dark, hot, and damp. Only 2% of sunlight gets through the thick canopy trees and understorey plants to reach the forest floor. Large-leafed shrubs and saplings (new trees) grow in the patches of sunlight.
Understory layer - warm, damp and sheltered layer below the tree canopy. Rain drips through. Only speckled sunlight comes through. Large leafed shrubs that like the warm, shade and moisture.
Canopy layer – Just below the tallest layer. Gets lots of sunlight, rain and a breeze. Thick branches, large leaves, trees. Make a leafy roof blocking the sunlight from the lower levels.
Emergent layer – high tree tops; gets the most sun and rain; up to 70m high; home to monkeys, birds and butterflies.
Deciduous Forest: A deciduous forest is a biome dominated by deciduous trees which lose their leaves seasonally.
People and the Amazon:
It is home to unique tribes – their habitats are being destroyed. This stops their way of life.
Deforestation – 27% caused by cattle ranching, mining, timber and farming.
If the current rate of deforestation continues, there will be no trees by 2030.
When learning about the threats to the rainforest, the children learnt about deforestation. The children found out why deforestation happens. Everyone was surprised that deforestation continues to happen even though it causes such dangers to our planet.
Geography - Layers of the Rainforest
The children found out about the layers of the rainforest. From top to bottom, they are: the emergent layer, the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. Though the layers are related, each is a distinct world. And the plants and animals that live in each will need characteristics that suit them to the unique conditions of their particular surrounding.
The children drew and described the different layers
Geography - climates
Rainforests are located in the tropical climate region. They are hot and wet all year round – this creates a humid climate. The annual rainfall is high as it rains almost every day. The temperatures are constant all year round – the temperature range is usually only a few degrees.
We compared how this compares to our climate which changes through the seasons and the temperatures in winter can be vastly different to summer.
We are so proud of the work of the work we have produced on rainforests. We have made a display to showcase the different tasks we have completed.
Art - water colours
The children learnt to mix watercolour paint. They learnt to layer watercolours to control the value and opacity of the paint. The children understood perspective and how to create the illusion of space using foreground, middle ground, and background. We are really impressed with the finished work. We linked our art work to the topic on rainforests.
Today Mrs Kaur from the Educational Emotional Wellbeing Team came to speak to Year 6 about their mental health and wellbeing. The children discussed ways of keeping a positive mental health. They discussed that a good diet, exercise and sleep contributes to good mental health.
PTFA - Wellbeing
As a break away from all of the hard work, our wonderful PTFA paid for a panto performance of Beauty and the Beast. We have a lovely morning full of laughter.
Located within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Bewerley Park has been the home base for outdoor adventures in North Yorkshire for children for over 80 years, and for good reason – the abundance of outdoor activities on its doorstep! However, this year was the first year Blakehill visited the site and what a treat we had!
The children had to work on team work, resilience, supporting each other, pushing their boundaries, communication and basic life skills.
Life Skills
Before starting any of the activities, the children had to make their own beds. They had to put pillow cases and duvets covers on their beds. It was the first challenge and after several demonstrations from Mrs Gould, they helped each other and managed it.
Using Maps
In the evening, we went for a long walk. It was dark so the children had to guide each other. To get from start to finish, the children had to follow the map. There were some tired legs after the walk and children ready for their supper and bed.
During our residential, we had three meals a day. All of the meals were in the main dinning hall. Children sat in groups and were encouraged to use knives and forks and talk to each other other the table.
Before each meal, the children worked together to set the tables and get the right plates and cutlery ready.
We visited Brimham rocks and faced challenges of squeezing through worm hole, climbing rocks and jumping from surface to surface. There were some spectacular views.
Some of the children were less confident than others but we all encouraged each other to have a go.
Although it was freezing, this was one of the most popular activities. The children waded up the river and when they reached waterfalls, they slid down them. The children jumped in to the deeper parts of the river. Despite having wet suits on, it was still very cold.
Bewerley Park in North Yorkshire is a very different location to the area we live in in Bradford. The children compared the view, land scape, traffic and natural land use to that of Idle.
We found a lot of positive features about each location. There was a split view on where the children would prefer to live if they had a choice.
During the residential we took par in the leap of faith. This tested the children's team work, trust cooperation and cooperation. The children had to climb the tower and leap from the top. The rest of the children had to work as a team and support the ropes.
The children took part in canoeing. They realised that for the canoe to where they wanted it to go, they had to work together. It was hard work and there were lots of tired arms afterwards. The sun was out and the scenery was amazing.
It's not all work at school! We make time for discos and fun. Our amazing PTFA arranged a school disco for all children. Key Stage 2 gathered together for a night of singing, dancing and even some sweets.
West Yorkshire Police came to school to speak to the Year 6 class about the consequences of being violent towards others. The police explained that they are now at an age where the police may be asked to investigate and deal with violent acts.
Today the Educational Emotional Wellbeing Team visited Year 6 to talk about the pressures of exams and SATs and ways to manage this anxiety. Exam stress can be more than feeling nervous on the day of an exam. It can also be how you feel building up to exams, during exams and when waiting for results.
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter best known for her uncompromising and brilliantly colored self-portraits that deal with such themes as identity, the human body, and death. Although she denied the connection, she is often identified as a Surrealist.
The children looked at the powerpoint about her life and found out about some key events.
Frida Kahlo - Art
Frida Kahlo is considered to be one of the most important artists of modern times. She was famous for painting self-portraits (pictures of herself) but she was particularly famous for painting women as strong people.
Kahlo used lots of bright colours and tropical flowers in her paintings, since it reinforced the vibrancy of her Mexican/Spanish/Hungarian heritage, of which she was very proud.
Alongside exploring the human body in her work, she also liked to use lots of animals, such as dogs, birds, and monkeys.
The children used the fact sheets to answer key questions about her life.
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is considered to be one of the most important artists of modern times. She was famous for painting self-portraits (pictures of herself) but she was particularly famous for painting women as strong people.
Kahlo used lots of bright colours and tropical flowers in her paintings, since it reinforced the vibrancy of her Mexican/Spanish/Hungarian heritage, of which she was very proud.
Alongside exploring the human body in her work, she also liked to use lots of animals, such as dogs, birds, and monkeys.
The children used a grid to copy sections of the famous self portrait of Frido Kahlo.
Based on the well known self portrait of Frida, the children made their own self portraits but took on the style of Frida's work by adding the frequently used flowers, monobrow and leafy background. This was the first attempt for the children and they will build on this when they add water colours to their work.
Using blending with pencils, the children each took a part of the picture from Frida Kahlo's famous self portrait. The children coloured their section of the portrait and these were put together to make a collective picture.
Frida Kahlo was well known for her self portraits. Today the children have attempted to complete half of one of her portraits. One of the great ways to work with portrait photography is by using half-portrait photography. Using this, it makes the viewer only able to see the half, but it forces them to examine the other half that is missing and understand the person in the photo
The children made a Frida Kahlo collage of the famous self portrait.
1970s Dance
In preparations for our 1970s dance, all children received a dance workshop session to learn some moves. The children enjoyed learning about dances and how dance and music has changed over time.
Today we met with Baroness Barker to find out about the role of being a lord in the House of Lords.
Elizabeth Jean Barker, Baroness Barker is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Barker was educated at Dalziel High School, a secondary school in Motherwell, Scotland.
The children asked her questions about her role and what changes she makes to support parliament.
Neurodiversity is a word used to describe the different thinking styles that affect how people communicate with the world around them. The children learnt about Neurodiversity. We looked at autism, Adhd, dyslexia and dyspraxia. The children found out about famous people who are neurodiverse.
We were delighted to be invited to the Immanuel Production of Footloose. It was a fantastic show and great to see some of our old pupils performing. The children loved the singing, dancing and acting and it wa sa great treat for everyone.
1.1. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of the users of our services. Our services include and will hereby be referred to as 'Our Services' (our websites used to promote eSchools services and tutorial resources, specifically
https://www.eschools.co.uk
and https://academy.eschools.co.uk), 'School Websites' ( designed by eSchools and populated by individual schools themselves) and 'Platforms' (individual online services that provide teachers, learners, parents and governors with information, tools and resources) as well as our smartphone app. This policy sets out how we will treat your personal information across these services.
2. Collecting personal information on Our Services
2.1 We may process or temporarily store the following kinds of personal information:
information about your computer and about your visits to and use of Our Services (including but not limited to, your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths)
information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including, the communication content) via online forms
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2.8 Some of our services require the school to provide access to information they require for use with those services. For example a school using our communication tool, Letters Home, which enables schools to contact parents by email regarding important school information. In this situation a school will provide eSchools with access to the email address(es) they wish to send their communication to. Schools have granular access to ensure only the required data is shared and accessed by eSchools. The data is frequently updated to ensure that eSchools only retains up-to-date data.
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administer our services
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send you email notifications that you have specifically requested. You can manage your preferences at anytime through your eSchools dashboard.
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3.4. We will not pass your information to third parties; except for the purpose of fulfilling our services to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user or where we are required to do so by law.
4. Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information:
to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information;
to the school in the case of improper use on the platform by individuals
4.3 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
5. International data transfers
5.1. Data directly collected by eSchools may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy. Any third party we use is within the EEA or they hold an existing EU SCC, as in line with requirements under the GDPR. No other third party are permitted to access the school’s data.
5.2. Personal information that an individual adds to our websites may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
6. Retaining personal information
6.1. This section sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2. Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
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6.4. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
To the extent that we are required to do so by law;
If we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
In order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk). Data will no longer be kept after the termination of the contract with the school.
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7.2. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers. The web service we employ has a broad range of accreditations and certifications and the data centres used ensure the data stays within the EEA.
7.3. eSchools use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which creates a secure connection and uses two keys to encrypt data in transit. Despite this, you acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data.
8. Amendments
8.1. We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2. You should check this page regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes to this policy.
9. Your rights
9.1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you.
9.2. We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
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We will only provide communication about the eSchools platform to school staff/governors who can manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
Part 2: Cookie Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
This Cookie Policy explains how eSchools use cookies and similar technologies in our Services. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control their use.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by online service providers in order to (for example) make their websites or services work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.
Cookies set by the website owner or service provider (in this case, eSchools) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website or service you are using (such as advertising, interactive content and analytics). The third parties that set these third party cookies can recognise your computer both when it visits the website or service in question and also when it visits certain other websites or services.
Why do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?
We use first party and third party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Services to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” cookies. Other cookies enable us and the third parties we work with to track and target the interests of visitors to our Services, and we refer to these as “advertising” or “analytical” cookies. For example, the embedding of YouTube and Vimeo videos, as added by individual schools, will require “advertising” cookies to be enabled in order to successfully play them. Schools that, for example, opt to track visitor data using Google Analytics will require “analytical” cookies to be enabled in order to do so. These third party cookies are used to tailor content and information that we may send or display to you and otherwise personalise your experience while interacting with our Services and to otherwise improve the functionality of the Services we provide. We also enable schools to employ cookies and similar tracking technologies in connection with their use of our Services in order to allow them to track visitors to and interactions with their school website.
How eSchools Uses Cookies
eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. The cookies differ depending on the information. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
User Embedded Content
Our Services allows schools to embed code which may potentially contain cookies. Please note embedded content, if displayed on one of our websites, has been added by the school and not by eSchools. The embedded content added by the school may require additional cookies or tracking technologies to be enabled in order to function.
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How often will you update this Cookie Statement?
We may update this Cookie Statement from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this Cookie Statement regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The date at the bottom of this Cookie Statement indicates when it was last updated.
Where can I get further information?
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at support@.eschools.co.uk.