Year 1
Welcome to Year 1. The year ahead provides a wonderful variety of exciting learning opportunities for your child as they begin the next part of their school journey.
Your class teachers:
1T Lindsay Turner (Year Group Lead and English Lead)
1C Becky Campbell (Assistant Head Phase 2 and Early Reading Lead)
1F Louisa Gough
Support staff:
TA: Ada (across whole year group on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)
LSAs: Miss Gill (All day Mon – Weds), Miss Savva Mon - Fri (pm); Maggie (Weds – Fri); Mrs Sheikh Mon, Weds – Friday); Lesley (AM Mon – Thurs).
The transition from Reception to Year 1 is an exciting, but significant step for children. It is completely normal for some children to feel a little overwhelmed by the more formal approach to learning in Year 1, but as they settle into the routines, the children begin to take a more independent approach to their learning. In the afternoons of the autumn term, we will be continuing with child led learning to help with the transition from Reception. Please be assured all staff in Year 1 are experienced in providing support and guidance to help the children settle.
Timetable:
Please download a copy of the year 1 class timetables by clicking on the image:
Learning in Year 1:
English is focused on learning and practising Foundational Knowledge and we use a selection of ‘core texts’, to inspire and aid the children’s writing. Continuing from Reception, the children are taught phonics based on the ‘Read Write Inc’ (RWI) scheme of work. This is a structured reading and writing systematic synthetic phonic programme.
Our maths lessons support and consolidate children’s existing knowledge of mathematical concepts. The aim is mastery in mathematics through exploring concepts in greater depth and being able to reason and problem solve in different contexts. To achieve this, we teach new learning by building on prior knowledge through microscopic steps.
Children will have Music and French once a week, which is taught by our specialist teachers.
The wider curriculum units can be found on the curriculum section of the website.
Reading:
Reading is a key priority in Year 1. Your child will receive weekly phonic sound sheets to complete as homework as well two Read Write Inc take home reading books. A free choice book will be sent home to enjoy over the weekend. We feel that it is important that reading books are sent home for you to enjoy with your child to develop their reading for pleasure alongside the functional teaching of how to read. Research has found that adults modelling reading around the home and sharing high quality texts sets your child up to be a confident, lifelong reader.
Just like in Reception, we encourage you to write in the reading record each time that you have read with your child. Each class teacher will be keeping a log of your child’s reading progress in a separate folder at school as the children are reading daily with a teacher in the Phonics lesson.
Read Write Inc. sound sheets will be sent home during the week that the sound is taught to further consolidate their learning.
Two Read Write Inc. books will be sent home on a Monday and should be returned the following Monday, allowing a full week for reading at home. eBooks are also available on the Oxford Owl website to provide additional reading at their phonics group level. Their log in details will be stuck in at the front of their Reading Diaries (as well as Home Learning folders)
A free choice book will be sent home on a Friday and should also be returned on Monday. Books MUST be returned BEFORE a second book is sent home.
More information will be provided at the ‘Meet the Teacher’ on the 9th September and more specific information around how Phonics is taught, how to support at home in addition to the opportunity to see a live phonics lesson on Tuesday 30th September at 9am in the Downey Hall. Please await further communication for details about how to sign up to this event.
When reading with your child, we will be focusing on decoding and blending of sounds as well as their comprehension. We encourage that you take the time to ask your child questions to gauge their level of understanding of the book.
Home Learning:
For the Autumn term, reading will be the main focus for your child’s home learning. As noted above, each week your child will receive two sound sheets as well as two Read Write Inc. books and a free choice book. We will also be sending home 4 focus red words (non-decodable words) for the children to practise reading by sight. These words are taken from the Year 1 Common Exception Word reading list and are expected to be able to read and spell these words by the end of Year 1.
In the Spring term, we will begin to send home Maths and SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) quizzes, on alternate weeks as well as a few Topic quiz style questions. These are designed to consolidate learning to aid quick recall.
We will be sending home these quizzes in a home learning folder for your child to complete.
N.B Log ins. We will provide log ins for Google Classroom and Oxford Owl week commencing 15th September stuck into your child’s Home Learning folder. We will periodically load useful resources to Google Classroom for you to access along with Home Learning reference later in the school year. Oxford Owl will allow you to access phonics texts in support of reading at home.
PE:
PE is taught by AMSA each week.
1C will have PE on a Wednesday afternoon
1G and 1T will have PE on Thursday and Friday morning
Please ensure your child wears their named PE kit on their PE days and that spare shoes and socks are in their bags.
Afternoon snack:
We provide the children with a fruit snack in the morning and would ask that you please provide a healthy snack for your child to eat mid-afternoon. This can be fresh or dried fruit, vegetables, crackers or rice cakes but not crisps or sweet snacks or sandwiches. Please note that we are a nut free school. We find their energy dips in the afternoon and that a healthy snack is just what they need to keep them going through to the end of the school day.
We look forward to getting to know you and children in the coming weeks.
Very best wishes and thanks,
The Year 1 team
Teacher emails:
lturner@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk
rcampbell@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk
lgough@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk