Welcome to Year 1

Autumn 1 2025

Useful Documents 

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We wish you a warm welcome back after the summer holidays. We hope you have had a restful and enjoyable time with your families. We look forward to the exciting term ahead of us. The children will be reminded of our school values of Respect, Good Manners, Patience, Perseverance and Honesty and they will continue to earn dojo points for good behaviour, attitudes and effort. Punctuality and good attendance is key to supporting your child's education and ensures they do not miss vital learning.

As part of our school expectations, we will continue to remind pupils of our school values of Respect, Good Manners, Patience, Perseverance and Honesty and they will continue to earn Dojo points for good behaviour, attitudes and effort.

Our topic for Autumn 1 is 'Penguins, Possums and Pigs'. 

Homework

Your child’s homework grid will be sent home at the beginning of the term and will focus on reading, phonics and handwriting plus support for maths. 

Please encourage your child to complete their homework each week.  Homework is given out on a Friday and is expected to be completed and returned no later than the following Wednesday.  We do encourage adults to support with homework so as to develop your child's understanding of skills and strategies to fulfil the task.  

It is important that your child learns to practice their phonic sounds as this will support their blending skills for reading and with spelling. It is crucial that you read with your child as much as possible at home to support their phonics and also their understanding of different texts. I must impress on you the importance of your child reading regularly as this supports their development in their oracy and writing skills as well.  It is vital that they learn their weekly vocabulary as this is linked to the book they will be reading in class the following week.

P.E.

P.E. will take place on Thursday afternoons. Please ensure your child comes to school in their full P.E kit - Yellow P.E shirt with the school's logo, black joggers or shorts or leggings, black pumps and their school green sweatshirt. Also make sure that your child has their earrings removed or covered by plasters from home on this day. 

English 

In English this half term, we will be writing our own stories based on the story ‘Lost and found’ by Oliver Jeffers to develop our use of capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. We will explore the text and use the Talk 4 Writing approach to retell, innovate then invent our own story based on the original.

As we have the phonics screening test approaching this year we would we grateful if you could practise reading as much as possible with your child at home. Phonics will continue throughout the day and there are some links in the website star for you to support your child at home.

Maths

We will begin by exploring numbers to 10. We will be counting using one-to-one correspondence and ten frames to represent numbers. We will also be learning to write numbers using both numerals and words. The children will be  introduced to the concept of 0 by counting backwards from numbers below 10. We will then move on to comparing numbers using the terms 'greater than', 'less than' and 'as many as'. We will explore which numbers are greatest and smallest in a series, and order numbers to show value. Finally, we will focus on '1 more' and '1 less' using concrete materials.

Science

This half term we are identifying and naming a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.  We will discover which of these animals are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.  We will also be learning about the seasons with a focus on describing features of autumn and winter.

Geography

Our Geography focus will be on the countries in the UK, and to know that there are five oceans in the world and seven continents. We will be using maps to identify the four countries in the UK and their surrounding seas and where they are on a map. Then we will discuss what a continent is and identify the seven continents of the world. After that we will look at the five oceans of the world using an atlas. Then we will learn what the equator is and how countries may be hot or cold depending on where they are located. Next we will identify the weather patterns in the UK. Lastly we will use all of our knowledge to compare two different continents.

Computing

In computing this term our topics are ‘online safety and exploring’ and ‘grouping and sorting.’ In our online safety topic the children will be learning how to log in safely. They will be using Purple Mash to log in and out as well as find and submit their work. Children will be able to find different topics in Purple Mash and find messages that teachers have put on their work. They will also be able to use tools and find the games section on Purple Mash. In the grouping and sorting topic children will be sorting various items using different criteria.

Art

In art we will be focussing on the work of the sculpture Tanya Russell. We will draw arctic animals using lines and shapes. There will also be a focus on tones, tints and shades. We will add charcoal using these features on our drawing. We will then experiment with clay to create our own arctic animal. We will be mixing and using different paints to paint our sculpture and complete our project by evaluating our work. 

RE

This term, we will be exploring the beliefs and identity of Christians, with a particular focus on the significance of the Harvest Festival. As part of our studies, we will develop an understanding of how food is harvested and examine the differences in harvest practices around the world. We will also consider how we can support others during harvest time. In addition, we will study the Jewish festival of Sukkot to gain insight into how different cultures and religions celebrate the harvest.

Music

This term we will be exploring a range of different music genres, traditions and cultures. We will find the pulse of music through moving and clapping. We will copy simple rhythms by listening to them.

If you have any concerns, do not hesitate to discuss these with us at the beginning or end of the school day or arrange an appointment through the school office. We hope your child has an amazing first half term being the best that they can be.  As always, we all hope that you stay healthy, safe and happy!

From all the Year 1 team:

Mrs Smith - Class Teacher (Tuesday-Friday)

Mrs Begum - Class Teacher (Mondays)

Mrs Ali - PPA Teacher 

Mrs Haji - Teaching Assistant 

Miss Iqbal - Special Support Assistant