Ashurst Primary School

Year 1 class  

'Excellence Everyday'

'Learn, Live, Laugh and Love Ashurst'

Learn to be inspiring and make a difference to this world, we know how amazing you are,

Live with understanding and compassion for others, knowing we are all different and special in a community where equality stands tall,

Laugh and listen to the enjoyment of learning and excitement of everyone celebrating their achievements,

Love Ashurst, our special school and the hub of supportive staff, parents and children who aim high to be the best they can be.

About the class...

In Year 1 we believe that children learn best when they feel safe and secure, in an environment where their ideas and opinions are valued.

We also believe that enjoying learning and having fun is key to their ability to succeed.

Therefore all of the lessons are interactive, exciting and engaging and involve the children in as many ways as possible.

The children also still have plenty of opportunities to learn through play while accessing our wonderful areas of continuous provision. We have areas such as a reading corner, numeracy area, writing area and role play.

We believe that a great resource can be each other, so discussions and questioning are encouraged in all aspects to allow the children to learn from others to build up their own understanding.

Giving consideration to mental health and well-being is very important in Year 1.  We work together with the children to create a classroom where all  children can  be happy and free from worry and anxieties.  We support this by promoting positive self-talk and  help children to build up their resilience and self-esteem.  We always have the time to support children to deal with any difficulties that occur. This year we have sourced some wonderful new stories that we will be using to explore and support positive  mental health and  well-being. 

All individuals

Each child enters Year 1 at a different stage; some are ready for the National Curriculum, whereas others will require a little support to achieve the Foundation Stage Profile objectives from Reception.

To continue the learning journey we take assessments made in Reception and identify the next steps for each child.

We see every child as an individual, not just a year group. We understand that every child learns in a different way and has different interests and it is our aim to adapt our teaching to suit the children.

We encourage their independence throughout, allowing them to take ownership of their learning and achievements and to understand how to solve problems on their own.

Rules and Routines

 At the beginning of the year, children are encouraged to contribute to our class rules and vision. This runs alongside the schools  policies and procedures and is expected to further improve the learning environment for all and in turn develop strategies for 'Behaviour for Learning'. Conversation and discussion are encouraged in Year 1 and is balanced with dedication to learn and succeed through quiet and independent work.        

Routine

• Doors open 8:45am
• Registration for Year 1 takes place at 8:55 am and the school day ends at 3:15pm 

What do we learn?

We have daily RWI Inc sessins,  Maths Mastery sessions and English/SPAG lessons.  We have exciting books on our class reading spine which give children a breadth and depth of literature. We use the Talk for Writing approach, which starts with oral rehearsal moving into innovated pieces of writing and finally independent pieces of writing.  We have reading lessons to help us work on year group reading objectives. We have daily opportunities to read across the curriculum.  In Maths, we use a mastery approach to enable all children to gain a deep understanding of the unit of work. The activities we complete range from practical to written in order to cater for the different learning needs of the children.  

We have an action packed curriculum with lots of exciting learning.  We work as scientists, historians, artists , musicians and much more! In Year 1 we can be whatever we want to be. 

 September 2024

Important things to remember: -

•  

• • Please provide a healthy snack for your child to eat at playtime.
  • Each child can have their own water bottle , please provide these with their name on.
  • PE for this year is on a MONDAY and TUESDAY, please ensure that your child comes into school wearing their PE Kit on these days.  Children will continue to come into school in PE kits on their days for PE.  On these days children must wear the following PE uniform: Black jogging bottoms or black sports leggings , white PE tops, black hoody tops . Or a Summer PE kit : the usual red shorts and the white PE top .
  • Weekly homework will be set on Friday and is to be handed in on the following Friday. Homework will be set on Seesaw ( log in and password details will be provided) or on paper. Seesaw enables staff to set work, monitor work and provide feedback online.   The homework will be a consolidation of work already done in class. Later in the year English homework will be set on SPAG.com (online), again log in and password details will be sent.  Homework used to support phonics screening will also be sent throughout the year.
  • We will begin to send home reading books out as soon as we have assessed your child’s reading level. Your child will need to return their home reading book/s every Friday, they can then select a new home reading book from the school library.  We encourage the children to read at home every night but at least three times each week. This is part of the homework expectations and we appreciate your support with this. Your child has their own personal reading record for you to record their reading journey. We expect these to be completed every time your child reads their school book. 
  • Topic webs will be uploaded onto this class page in the first week of each half term. Topic webs will inform you of the learning taking place and will provide a list of project homework activities to complete at home.  
  • Children are asked not to bring any other personal items into school; we will provide all necessary stationery.

Year 1 Long Term Plan 2023-2024

Year 1 Topic Webs

Learning 2023-2024

Autumn Learning

English

In Autumn 1 we look at 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. We use Talk4Writing to imitate, innovate and invent our stories. The children loved taking part in role play. 

Visitors and Trips

Tatton Park Christmas Experience

We visited Tatton Park for Christmas this year. We loved exploring the grounds, the immersive Christmas decorations in the house and we even got to meet Father Christmas. It was very magical!

Design and Technology

In DT for Autumn term, the children will be designing, making and evaluating a fruit salad. As part of their research, children tasted and rated different fruit. 

Maths

In Maths we have been looking at place value within 10. The children love using concrete resources to support their learning of new concepts. 

Life in Year 1

We often go to the school library to have a quiet read and change our tray books. 

PE

History

Why is St Helens important to us?

As part of our enquiry question we looked at how St Helens was a mining town. We were lucky enough to receive a visit from the North West Miner Association who shared stories of their times working in the mines at Sutton Colliery. 

Art

In Autumn term our focus artist was Kandinsky. We created our own winter landscapes inspired by his artwork and the use of cool colours.

Spring Learning

English

 Our model text this half-term is 'The Tiger Who Came Tea'. We loved innovating the story and creating our own version where the Rhino came to tea.

Geography

What makes the United Kingdom?

Maths

 Numbers within 50

Art

In Spring term our focus artists was Andy Goldsworthy. We look forward to creating some collaborative artwork inspired by him. 

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Science

In science we have been focusing on materials and their various properties. We enjoyed carrying out investigations. Have a look at some of our findings!

Design and Technology

In Spring term we had to design, make and evaluate a zoo enclosure for an animal of our choice. We loved designing our zoo enclosures using cardboard and recycled materials. We showed, resilience, teamwork and enthusiasm but most of all we had fun!

World Book Day 2024