Welcome to Year 1! Our aim is to ensure a smooth transition from the Foundation Stage to Key Stage One, so while we follow a more structured timetable than Reception, we continue to do much of our learning through practical activities.
We aim to make learning fun in Year 1. Every day we use actions, rhymes, songs and stories to introduce and consolidate our learning in the key skills of reading, writing and maths. Phonics is an important part of the Year 1 curriculum and we have daily sessions in smaller groups so that we are well prepared for the statutory Year 1 Phonics Screening Check in June.
Each term we have an overall theme for our English work. This year they are Superheroes, The Toy Box, Jaws, Paws and Claws, Zoom to the Moon, African Adventure and Once There Were Dragons. We love to share and celebrate our work.
Our topic work is then linked to these areas where possible and we start each area of learning with a big question. For example, this year our questions include: Do superheroes have the same bodies as us? How does the superhero find his way? What our toys made from? and Are our toys more exciting than those of our grandparents?
In Year 1 we like to be enterprising. We helped to raise money for our link school in Busyangwa in Uganda through the Key Stage One Christmas play. However, enterprise is not all about raising money – we develop our enterprise skills throughout the curriculum by learning to try new things, working on our own or as part of a team and improving our communication skills. We have six enterprise characters to help us!
We love visitors in Year 1 and are always keen to tell you what we have been learning so you can be sure of a warm welcome anytime.
