Year 1

Welcome to our Year 1.

During the year we aim to teach children the skills to help them become more independent within a stimulating and exciting curriculum. We work hard to see happy, self motivated children who want to learn.
Year 1 currently has 3 classes. We are fortunate to have experienced and committed teachers and learning support assistants in all classes.
To ensure a smooth transition from the Foundation Stage (reception class) to Year 1 we continue to provide play and hands on experiences during the Autumn term. Gradually the curriculum becomes more formal and covers all foundation subjects including history, geography, science, PE, art, music, design and technology, ICT, PSHE (personal and social health education).

We are really lucky in Year 1 to have great ICT resources including an interactive whiteboard, a class set of tablets(shared across the classes), laptops and programmable toys. These are all used to extend and enhance learning in many subject areas.

Each half term there are different topics which the children learn about. Parents are kept informed about what these are and ways that they can support at home, via a fortnightly newsletter. Topic webs are available to read on Fronter, which detail the curriculum covered in each subject. . We are committed to providing the children with 2 PE sessions a week which are rotated between dance, gymnastics and games.

During the year we have whole school subject weeks, such as Writing week, Maths and Science week and Arts week. This is aimed to broaden children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and encompass a collective theme which the whole school is part of and can enjoy together. The children love these weeks, finishing them feeling very inspired and passionate about these subject areas.

In Literacy, the children in Year 1 develop their speaking and listening skills. The children work on skills which develop their ability to speak to an audience and respond to others based on chosen subjects. We provide small groups for the children to work in, grouping the children according to their reading ability, We learn phonics systematically following the Read Write Inc programme. In the Summer term the children’s phonics learning is accessed, through the year 1 Phonics Screening test, which all children across the country do. We prepare the children well for this. The children also develop their literacy skills in their classes, during topic lessons and by learning to tell key stories, with actions, we call this ‘talk 4 writing’. When the children know the story really well, using a story map, they perform it and will be given an opportunity to write it. During the year the children will look at a range of different texts including poetry, traditional fairytales and stories from different cultures and will learn to write in different ways. The children will learn to read, write and spell high frequency words. During writing lessons children are encouraged to develop their “have a go” writing skills and use their phonic skills. The children are given many strategies to aid and support their writing and will be given opportunities to draft and edit their work. We have an end of year target for the children to write 3 or more sentences using correct punctuation. We expect children to be able to write letters using correct formation.

In Maths the children will be working with numbers up to 100. They will learn to recall pairs of numbers to 10, doubles and halves up to 20. They will develop skills in mental maths to count on and back from given numbers. The children will be involved in problem solving calculations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, measures, shape and space. By the end of year 1, we expect most children to be able to know their number bonds and doubles and halves to 10 and have quick recall of them. Most children should be able to solve addition and subtraction problems to 20. Most children should be able to name, describe and talk about properties of 2D and 3D shapes eg: A triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners.

Teachers are always available to talk to if you have any concerns or queries although the best time is at the end of the school day.

Year 1 information

In year 1, we aim for children to become more independent within an exciting and creative topic based curriculum. We like to encourage children to become more self motivated in their learning.

How can you help your child’s learning at school?

Your child will bring home a weekly newsletter which will inform you of the activities that they will be participating in. Research from home will allow your child to have more in-depth knowledge of the topics.
Spend time sharing the reading scheme books your child brings home from school. It is our experience that the children who read regularly at home make the most progress.
Working with your child on weekly spellings and homework.
We like to encourage parents to come and help out in their children’s class.

What does your child need to bring to school?

Your child needs to bring their reading book and their reading record book everyday.
We encourage your child to bring in a P.E. kit that can stay in school, and consists of a white t-shirt, black or dark coloured shorts and plimsolls for the summer term.
Your child may bring in a drink of water in a named flask, which they would have access to at all times.