Year 1
Welcome to Year 1
Welcome to Year 1! We are looking forward to getting to know you and working together so that we have a very exciting and productive year. We hope that you enjoy the new challenges and approaches to learning that Year 1 has to offer!
Our aim is to ensure that the children experience a smooth transition from the Foundation Stage to Key Stage One; this is especially important this year following the long break in learning due to lockdown. The Year 1 curriculum builds upon and extends the experiences that children have had in Reception. Year 1 takes a more formal approach to learning but there are still opportunities to learn through play. We are focused on nurturing a happy class who are motivated, enthused and eager learners.
Reading continues to be a key area of development in Year 1. Each child will take home two reading scheme books with a reading contact book for parents to comment and sign when they have heard their child read. Please listen to your child read as often as you can, every day is ideal even if it is just for five minutes. Comprehension skills are very important so encourage your child to discuss the books at length. The children will select a library book weekly. We welcome all opportunities to read a range of home and school books.
The children have access throughout the day to their water bottles. Please make sure your child’s name is written clearly on their water bottles. These should be school water bottles only.
Our Class Saint
Our class Saint is St Francis of Assisi.
Saint Francis was a Saint who lived in Italy. He is the patron saint of animals, merchants and ecology. He is a very special saint for our Pope, who was inspired by him and his good works.
Feast Day: 4th October
St Francis of Assisi… Pray for Us
Curriculum Overviews
Class Newsletters
Phonics Check
All Year 1 children will take part in the phonics screening check in June.
The purpose of the phonics screening check is to confirm that all children have learned phonic decoding to an age appropriate standard.
With some exceptions, all pupils who have reached the age of 6 by the end of the school year must take the check during that academic year. For most pupils, this will be in year 1.
The phonics screening check contains 40 words divided into 2 sections of 20 words. Both sections contain a mixture of real words and pseudo-words.
Pseudo-words are words that are phonically decodable but are not actual words with an associated meaning. They are included in the check specifically to assess whether your child can decode a word using their phonics skills.
All pseudo-words in the check are accompanied by a picture of an imaginary creature. Children are taught that when a word has a creature next to it, it is a pseudo-word. This ensures that they are not trying to match the pseudo-word to a word in their vocabulary.
The check is designed to give teachers information on how your child is progressing in phonics. It will help to identify whether your child needs additional support at this stage, so that they do not fall behind in this vital early reading skill.
Useful resources: