Year 1

Autumn Curriculum Newsletter 2024

Year One Curriculum

In Year One, we adopt a ‘play-based’ approach to learning during the first term so that children find the transition from EYFS to a more formalised curriculum less daunting. We usually work this way until Christmas, however our aim is to ensure a full transition is made as soon as possible after half-term although this depends on how quickly the children adapt.

The first few weeks will be spent supporting the children as they adjust to life at school; familiarising themselves with new rules and routines and the demands of the school day. In Year One, children move away from the Early Years Framework and onto the National Curriculum, the program of study that they will follow until they eventually leave school.

Phonics

Children will participate in daily phonics lessons from September, linked to the Letters and Sounds programme produced by Little Wandle and recently validated by the Department for Education (DfE). As in Reception, children will work through the phases of the programme, learning to read and write words / sentences with different sounds. This includes ‘tricky’ words that can’t be sounded out. After reviewing phase 3 & 4 phonemes, children move onto phase 5. In June 2023, children will be expected to complete a phonics screening check required by the DfE. This will assess if children have reached the expected standard in their reading.

Reading

Children will take part in weekly reading sessions that allow them to practise the skills they have learned in their phonics lessons. These sessions are also used to develop early comprehension skills and textual understanding. Comprehension and reading aloud with expression is difficult to do if children are having to continually decode words. As in Reception, children are assigned books that they can read fluently – requiring some occasional decoding.

It is good practise for children to re-read books that they are familiar with or have read before. Therefore, it is likely that children will be given books that they have read before. Books will be sent home each week and should be returned each Wednesday.

Writing

In Year One, we use ‘Write Stuff’ to support pupils with their writing. Initially, children will explore a text and learn a variety of linguistic features to write sentences each week before using their own creativity to adapt features of the text such as the characters, settings or plot to generate a story of their own. Children are encouraged to use their phonics knowledge to write, with expected outcomes dependent on each child and what they achieved at the end of Reception.

Children will be encouraged to include phonemes and tricky words they have already learned and will start including particular spelling patterns later in the year. During the year, we will start to look at basic grammar including more technical aspects such verbs and adjectives.

Maths

In year one, we use the maths scheme ‘Maths – No Problem’. Children focus on number recognition, counting and place value, and addition and subtraction calculations. Children are encouraged to make representations of different amounts using concrete objects or pictures. When objectives have been achieved, children then answer questions or set tasks that allow them to explain or deepen their understanding.

By the end of Year One, children are expected to quickly recall their number bonds to both 10 and 20, solve problems with addition and subtraction and start to multiply and divide numbers, again using objects or pictorial representations. They will continue to develop their knowledge of shape and measures after Christmas.

Science

The first four weeks of the autumn term will be spent looking at ‘Ourselves’. Pupils will practise naming and locating key parts of the body as well as looking at our senses. This will be followed by an exploration of animals – classifying a variety of animals in different ways and examining the differences between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.

Geography

This term we are learning about Weather and Seasons. This unit continues the work carried out in Reception by linking months to each season and exploring the impact of weather and how it affects us in different ways.

Computing

The first half term of Year One is spent practising key skills such as using a mouse or trackpad and logging on to devices safely without adult support. Later in the term, children will apply the skills they have learned by creating a Publisher document all about themselves, using WordArt and copying / pasting images to make their individual pages. These skills are all underpinned with a developing understanding of E-Safety.

PSHE

This year, Chad Vale will be using a new scheme of work for PSHE called JIGSAW. Six units of work or ‘puzzles’ are broken down into weekly lessons – the first of which is called ‘Being Me in My World.’ In this puzzle, children talk about themselves, their feelings and working cooperatively with others.

R.E.

At Chad Vale, children follow the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus where children learn about the 24 dispositions. This half-term children look at ‘Cultivating Inclusion, Identify and Belonging’ before moving onto ‘Being Thankful’. Each disposition is used to learn about different faiths and practices.

P.E.

P.E. is taught every Tuesday and Thursday. Lessons mainly take place in the Hall or Dance Studio but during the summer months, children are taken outside onto the MUGA or the field. As in Reception, children should come to school dressed in their P.E. clothes.

If you do have any questions or if there is anything you would like to discuss with us, especially if you have a talent in one of the above areas, then please come and see us or email us at: