Our class authors are Jill Tomlinson and Julia Donaldson. Our classes are named after these influential writers, because they have an excellent and high-quality range of Children's Literature. 

At the start of the day, the gates are open at 8.45am. Pupils and their adults are to line up by the Year 1 paddock gate. A member of Year 1 staff will be at the gate to welcome the pupils into school. Any messages can be passed onto the member of staff who will relay this back to your child's class teacher. 

The bell at the end of the school day is 3.20pm. The school gates will be open at 3.15 for parents to begin to line up outside the Year 1 paddock gate. Pupils will be released through the gate at 3.20pm. 

During release, it is vital that safeguarding is maintained and pupils are collected promptly and safely. If for any reason, you have to send an alternative adult to collect your child, please ensure you inform the school office. They will ensure this information is passed onto the Year 1 team. 

These are extracts from our Positive Interactions Policy

Protective behaviours 

We have a Protective Behaviours culture and pupils regularly identify and update their Network Hand. This ensures that pupils know which adults they can approach if they are worried, however ‘awful or small’.

Proactive social media reminders

We send regular and proactive reminders to parents regarding social media and always request you check pupil's devices regularly and have full access to all their devices and accounts. By working together in this way, we work towards keeping pupils safe.

Learning 4 Life 

Our Learning for Life lessons allow us to be proactive with teaching children how to keep themselves safe, learn about relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education.

Throughout Year 1, pupils are exposed to a balanced and varied curriculum which has been carefully planned to meet the needs of the pupils.

At the end of Year 1, normally the second week of June, pupils will sit the Phonics Screening Test. This seeks to test whether pupils have learnt to decode words using phonics to the required level. Pupils are expected to sound out and blend graphemes to read simple words. Throughout the year, we will be sitting various practice tests to help prepare the pupils and every day pupils will be taught two Phonic sessions. Below you will find some Phonic assessment materials that may support you at home to help your child.

Towards the end of the academic year, there are transition days allocated where the pupils will have the chance to meet their new Year 2 Teacher and get to know them. 

There will also be a "Meet the Teacher" evening where you have the chance to listen to the teacher discussing the changes/transition to the new year group and allow parents to ask questions. 

Reading is more than just decoding a text and ‘reading’ the words on the page. Reading is all about being immersed into another world – a world of fantasy, magic, heroes and villains; a world of exploration and discovery; a world in which to escape reality, exploring emotions and supporting well-being.  Reading is an essential life skill that we strive for all our pupils to master by the time they leave us at the end of Year 6. Therefore, we need you to work in collaboration with us.

Home learning

Pupils will receive a piece of Phonic and Maths home learning linked to what they have been doing in class. This will be sent home on a Friday and pupils will need to return it on a Wednesday for the class teacher to mark. 

Please find some links to support your child with home learning

Maths:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=Year%201

https://www.youtube.com/user/JackHartmann (Really useful songs to learn numbers/shapes ect)

https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/

English:

https://www.hamilton-trust.org.uk/blog/learning-home-packs/

https://www.spellzone.com/word_lists/games-5454.htm

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar

Phonics:

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

https://phonicsplaycomics.co.uk/

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

Pupils must bring a water bottle every day with water. As we are a healthy school, we encourage all pupils to only bring pure water and not bring in squash or flavoured water. 

Pupils are allowed to bring in a healthy snack during tuck time.  There is also free fruit available. 

Our Year 1 PE day is Tuesday, so please make sure your child's PE kit is brought to school on the first day back and stays in school until the end of the half-term. This is then sent home over the holidays to be washed and must be sent back in on the first day back to school. .

• Black or navy shorts and a white t-shirt, or black or navy tracksuit bottoms and sweatshirts. Tracksuits must be plain and not have logos. 
• Properly fitting black pumps or plimsolls. 
• No jewellery to be worn. 
• Everything should be labelled with your child's name. 
• P.E. kit should be in school every day. 

Throughout the year we host a variety of parent Phonic parent workshops. These will take place at different points in the year and staff will make parents aware of these through a letter. 

If there is any support that parents need with anything, staff are always available for a chat at the end of the day. Any messages can be passed onto other members of staff if your child's teacher is not on the gate in the morning.

As a school we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised Scheme. For handwriting, we use the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes to help support our pupils with letter formation. 

For parents | Letters and Sounds (littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk)

Year 1 have been busy using natural materials to make land art inspired by the artist Andy Goldsworthy.