Year 1

2024-25

Welcome to Year 1! 

We are looking forward to an exciting year that will build upon your child’s wonderful experiences and achievements in Early Years. Children will continue to access a rich environment that stimulates their curiosity and learning whilst keeping them safe and happy.  

Year 1 is an exciting time as children become familiar with a more formal way of learning. This is a time when we celebrate their learning with a lot of different opportunities and experiences, from day trips to celebratory events in school.

At the end of the year, we want each Year 1 child to be ready to move on into Year 2 prepared for the exciting challenges that await them there.

The Year 1 team consists of; 

Vice Principal for Year 1, 2 and 3 - Mrs Parmley
1 Dahl Class Teacher and Year Team Lead - Mrs Quinn 
1 Wilson Class Teacher - Mrs Sharma
1 Rosen Class Teacher - Miss Reis

HLTA - Mrs Madigan
Key Workers - Miss Ali, Miss Pavey, Mrs Groom, Mrs Flanagan, Mrs Ahmed

Phonics

Children will continue to follow the Essential Letters and Sounds and will build upon what they have learnt in Reception. During daily lessons, your child will learn to read and write words with taught sounds. We encourage the children to use the sound mats below to consolidate their understanding when writing. Children will have the opportunity to consolidate what they have learnt with their reading books which closely match their phonics learning.

Here is a sound pronunciation video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCI2mu7URBc  

In June, the Phonics Screening Check is taken individually by all children in Year 1 in England. It is designed to give teachers and parents 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. You can support your child by reading with them every day.

You can find out more information about the phonics scheme we use, Essential Letters and Sounds here: https://essentiallettersandsounds.org

Reading

Reading continues to be a crucial part of your child’s learning and it is important that they read daily, or as regularly as possible, to help build their confidence and fluency. It is also important to share stories with your child and ask them questions about what they have listened to. Your child will read regularly with an adult in school and their reading books will be changed every Friday. Please ensure that your child’s reading diary and book are in school every day.

The importance of reading for children cannot be underestimated.

We recommend 15 minutes of reading daily. Re-reading the same book allows children to practise key skills such as decoding, fluency and the use of expression.

When reading with your child, ask questions about what they have read.

In addition to your child’s reading book, they will be set a different ebook each week which will closely match what they have learnt during their phonics sessions.  You can access these books via the link below: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/login?active-tab=students

Please speak to your child’s teacher if you need new log in details.

Curriculum 

We aim to offer children in Year 1 inspiring, relevant topics that engage, motivate and challenge them. This year, your child will start to follow the National Curriculum and will be taught through a range of subjects including Art, History and Geography (to name a few!). Each half term a key text will be used in both our reading and writing lessons which will also support the teaching of key subjects.

Key Information

Homework

Each week children will be set 8 words to learn to spell correctly. These words will closely match the words that they are learning to read and write during their phonics lessons. When practising at home, we encourage you to use the sound mats provided to support your child to learn how to spell the words. On a Friday, we will have a spelling test to see how the children are progressing. We expect a minimum score of 6/8 each week. 

Homework books will be given on a Friday and must be returned by the Wednesday of the following week. The work set will help to consolidate what we have been learning in our English and Maths lessons.

Communication

We strongly believe that communication between home and school is key. If you need to contact a member of the team, please do so using the following email addresses: 

1rosenwha@theparkfederation.org 

OneDahlWHA@theparkfederation.org

onewilsonWHA@theparkfederation.org 

School diary 

The school diary is another form of communication between home and school. If you would like to give a message to your child’s class teacher, please write it in this diary.

This diary will also become your child’s reading record. Please sign and write a comment about how your child is getting on with their reading. 

PE

PE takes place on Tuesdays with Mr Walters and on a Thursday with your child's class teacher. Please ensure that your child comes into school dressed in their full PE kit. 

We look forward to working closely with you to ensure your children have a successful year.