Welcome to Year 1

Autumn 2 2025

Useful Documents 

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We wish you a warm welcome back after the half term break. 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 2 is 'Fire! Fire!'

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 of 'Zog' by Julia Donaldson. We will be focusing on using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops when we write our sentences. We will be using the Talk for Writing approach to retell, innovate and invent our own stories.

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 position. We will learn to use positional language such as first, second, third, last as well as directional language such as left and right. The children will then move onto looking at numbers up to 20 and will focus on numbers between 10 and 20. They will be counting and writing numbers to 20, comparing and ordering numbers, and see patterns within 20. We will be using concrete resources to help us as well as number lines. 

Science

This half term we will continue to learn about animals. We will be exploring the different habitats that animals live in and what they need in order to survive. We will also be learning about the seasons with a focus on describing features of autumn and winter.

History

Our History will focus on the Great Fire of London. We will be learning about the facts and the events that took place in the Great Fire of London in 1666. We will look at what London was like in the past and what it is like in the present. We also be learning about Samuel Pepys and his importance in London back in 1666. 

Computing

In computing the children will be learning about pictograms. They will be looking at data and how it can be represented using pictures. They will be collecting data as a class, recording the results and representing them as a pictogram. They will then move onto looking at Lego Builders where they will learn about instructions and the importance of following instructions. They will be following and creating simple instructions on a computer program. The children will learn to debug and correct errors in an algorithm.

DT 

Our DT project will be linked to our History topic. We will be picking a key event from the Great Fire of London and re-telling it by creating a moving picture using different mechanisms. The children will start by exploring existing mechanisms, picking a mechanism that they like, create the mechanism and then incorporate it into their pictures. They will complete the unit by evaluating their moving pictures.

RE

This term we will be focusing on Christmas and what it means for Christians. The children will be learning about gifts and how they make us feel. They will understand why gifts are given and received during Christmas.

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 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)

Ms Begum - Class Teacher (Mondays)

Mrs Ali - PPA Teacher 

Mrs Haji - Teaching Assistant 

Miss Iqbal - Special Support Assistant