As the children move from Early Years to Year 1, we aim to make the transition as smooth as possible for them. We believe in ensuring there is a clear balance of practical and physical activities that supports pupils in moving towards a more formal and structured school day. Each day, the children will take part in phonics lessons and they will be split into groups based on the phonic phase they are working at.
Please view the Year 1 Meet and Greet presentation for this academic year. This will provide you with key information regarding your child’s curriculum for the academic year.
If you have any questions regards the presentation, please speak to your child’s Class Teacher.
Phonics Screening
During the Summer Term, pupils will also take the Phonics Screening Test.
By visiting the learning tab on the school’s website you will be able to find videos for further information.
Autumn Term
During the first few weeks of the Autumn Term, pupils will learn all about themselves through our topic ‘What is it like to be in Year 1?‘, finding out what makes them unique and the similarities and differences we have with each other. Children will learn about the importance of teamwork and communication.
In Science, pupils will learn about Materials and their properties. They will explore toys and what they are made from and how this has changed over the years.
During the second part of the Autumn Term, pupils will travel back in time to learn about toys of the past in their topic ‘How Have Toys Changed?’. Pupils will explore a range of toys and games learning how to play them, what makes them work or move and what they are made from. Parents and grandparents will also be invited to our Toy Discovery Afternoon to share their toys of the past.
During this topic we look at the book ‘Traction Man’ and join him on some action adventures around the classroom.
In DT, pupils will design and create their own moving vehicle toy.
Spring Term
During the first part of the Spring Term our big question is ‘What is it like to live somewhere cold?
We look at the Arctic region of Alaska and learn about what life is like there. What clothing people would wear and how they travel around etc. We learn all about Polar Bears and write our fact file about these fascinating creatures. We even use the scooter boards to go dog sledding across the playground!
In Science we learn all about our fascinating body during the first part completing lots of investigations to test out our senses. In the second half term we learn about animals; naming lots of different types and grouping them based on their features.
Spring 2
During the second half of the term, we learn all about life in Kenya, Africa, this is to support our big question ‘What is it like to live somewhere hot?’
We board an imaginary plane to Africa and go on a safari using maps and plans to mark where we located the animals on our checklist.
We look at the story Handa’s Hen and learn about African animals and the African landscape and people. We then begin to look at meerkats and follow Sunny the Meerkat on his holiday adventures. We write postcards to him explaining how life is different in the UK compared to Kenya.
In DT, we make fruit smoothies, learning how to use a knife safely to cut the fruit.
Summer Term
The Summer Term begins with the topic ‘What Is It Like To Live On The Coast?’ Pupils will learn about the Lighthouse Keeper’s daughter Grace Darling. In addition to this, pupils will develop their geographical skills by naming and locating different seaside towns around the United Kingdom. We follow this up with a trip to the beach to identify all the landmarks we have learned about e.g. pier, coast, promenade etc.
In science, pupils will identify the basic structure of common plants and trees. We also look in detail at our school environment and think of ways we could improve it.
Summer 2
During the second part of the summer term we answer the big question ‘How have seaside holdays changed over the years?’
We look at holidays of the past and how holiday camps like Butlins have changed. We look at how people travelled to their holiday and how places are connected with other places in the world. We talk about the holidays we have had today and draw on the children’s memories of their holidays.
In DT we build structures after looking at the pier carefully on our visit to Bognor Regis beach we plan and build our own pier out of blue tack and lolly sticks making it as strong as we can.
In science, pupils will identify the basic structure of common plants and trees. We also look in detail at our school environment and think of ways we could improve it.
Reading Suggestions
Please find below reading suggestions for 5 and 6 year olds:
Online Safety
Please find information and links to our Online Safety page of our school website.