20/10/2025

The children have been exploring toys from the past, evaluating their freestanding structures, and investigating the fascinating mathematical world of 'fact families'. We continue to be impressed by how the children approach their learning during discovery time, and we're thoroughly enjoying this learning journey together.

Key Notices

Reading Groups

The Little Wandle phonics scheme allows us to be responsive to the needs of individual children. We've completed our first assessments in Year 1, and some children may be moved to a different reading group based on their outcomes. It's important that children develop fluency in Year 1 to help them draw meaning from texts. If you have any questions, please speak to your child's class teacher.

We Need Your Help!

Shoeboxes: We're in need of cardboard boxes for our upcoming Sculpture Week project. Please hand any shoe boxes or similar-sized boxes to your class teacher. Ideally, we'd like one for every child.

Junk Modelling: Please continue to bring in recyclable materials for our Design and Technology areas. Thank you for your ongoing support!

This Week's Learning

Discovery Learning

This week, we'll be looking at old toys and considering who might have played with them. This will help children understand their place in history and recognise toys that have been played with by many generations, but recreated with new materials.

Writing

In Drawing Club, we'll use the 'Guess How Much I Love You' stories to inspire our writing. We continue to practise using our 'Always Toolkit' to include capital letters, full stops and finger spaces.

We've sent home 'tricky word' lists. Please support your child to write these words correctly every time they write.

Phonics

This week we'll be learning new alternative graphemes: 'ir', 'ie', 'ue' and 'u'. We'll also learn the tricky words: 'here', 'today', 'one', 'their', 'people', 'oh' and 'your'.

Handwriting

We'll be writing the vowel sounds 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o' and 'u'. The children have made excellent progress with their letter formation, which is helping them on their journey to becoming more independent writers.

Maths

This week's maths continues to focus on addition, using word problems to put our new skills into context. We'll continue to write simple number sentences to record our learning.

We look forward to seeing you next week.

The Year 1 Team

13th October 2025

What an exciting week in Year 1! The children have been fascinated by their history topic, exploring toys from the past and comparing them to the toys they play with today. A huge thank you to families who have kindly shared old toys with us – these treasures have really brought our learning to life and sparked wonderful conversations!

In Design and Technology, we've been amazed by the children's creativity. They've designed and built fantastic mini playground equipment, demonstrating their understanding of freestanding structures. It's been wonderful to see them experimenting with different joining techniques and problem-solving when things didn't quite work as planned.

Key Notices

Historical Toys

We'd love to enrich our history learning with real artefacts. If you have any old toys from your childhood (or your parents' childhood) that we could borrow, or photographs of you playing with toys as a child, please send them to your class teacher. We promise to take great care of precious items and can keep them as 'look but don't touch' items if needed.

Donations Needed

Shoeboxes: We're preparing for an exciting Sculpture Week project and need cardboard shoeboxes (or similar sized boxes). Ideally, we'd like one per child. Please hand any donations to your class teacher.

Junk Modelling: Please continue sending in clean recyclable materials (boxes, tubes, bottles, etc.) for our Design and Technology area. The children love using these for their creative projects!

Our Learning This Week

Discovery Learning (History & DT)

This week, children will evaluate their mini playground equipment by testing whether their structures are strong enough for their chosen user. We'll also continue our history journey, learning about the toys our grandparents played with and discovering how toys have changed over time.

Writing

In our writing sessions, we're using the lovely book 'Toys in the Museum' to inspire our stories and descriptions. The children continue to practise using their 'Always Toolkit' – remembering capital letters, full stops and finger spaces in every piece of writing.

Home support: We've sent home 'tricky word' lists. Please encourage your child to practise writing these words correctly.

Phonics

This week we'll be assessing the children's phonics progress so far this term. During lessons, we'll revisit important skills including:

• Breaking longer words into chunks
• Understanding plurals
• Practising tricky words
• Learning alternative graphemes (different ways to write the same sound)

Handwriting

We're focusing on the 'zig zag' letter family this week: v, w, x and z. Using our Little Wandle letter formation rhymes, we're making sure all letters sit neatly on the line and are the right size.

Maths

Our maths focus is addition. Children are learning important vocabulary including 'add', 'altogether', 'sum' and 'total'. They'll practise writing number sentences correctly and use bar models to help them visualise and solve calculations.

We look forward to seeing you all next week.

The Year 1 Team

6th October 2025

We've enthusiastically embraced our new learning topics of 'Toys' and 'Freestanding Structures'. The children have enjoyed sharing their favourite toys with the class, which we're using as a starting point to compare with historical toys.

Key Notices:

Feeling Good Week: 6th-10th October As part of our continued commitment to promoting positive mental health, we're participating in Feeling Good Week. Goslings, Ducklings and children in Reception to Year 6 are invited to wear their own clothes on Monday 6th October to mark the beginning of this special week. Goslings and Chicks are invited to wear their own clothes on Friday 10th October to celebrate World Mental Health Day.

Individual Photographs Children in Year 1 will have their individual photographs taken on Thursday 9th October. Please ensure your child wears full school uniform on this day, including their school jumper. Thank you.

Historical Toys Children will be learning about toys from the past. For Year 1 pupils, this relates to toys that their parents and grandparents played with. If you have any old toys that could be used as artefacts, or perhaps photographs of toys (or even pictures of you as a child playing with your toys!), please share these with your class teacher. We're happy to keep precious items as 'viewing only' for the children to learn from if necessary.

Superhero Day We'll be launching our 'Heroes' topic with a Superhero Day at school on Tuesday 11th November. Children are welcome to wear superhero costumes and/or accessories on this day.

Donations:

Shoeboxes We need cardboard boxes for our Sculpture Week project. Please give any shoeboxes or similar-sized boxes to your class teacher. Ideally, we need one for every child.

Junk Modelling Please continue to bring in your recyclable materials for our Design and Technology areas. Thank you.

This Week's Learning:

Discovery Learning This week, we'll be exploring how we can tell whether toys are new or old, and challenging misconceptions that dusty or dirty toys are always old! In Design and Technology, we'll be bringing our playground equipment designs to life using art and craft materials and construction toys.

Writing We'll be using a short animation from the 1990s called 'Old Bear' to inspire our writing. Children will continue practising using our 'Always Toolkit' to include capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We're ensuring that we spell 'tricky words' correctly.

Phonics This week we'll be consolidating our learning so far, revisiting our newly learnt sounds 'ea', 'oy', 'ou' and 'ay'.

Please visit the Little Wandle website for additional information. We recommend downloading the 'Year 1 Sounds' document and watching the videos on 'Phase 5 sounds' and 'How we teach Phase 5'. After half term, children will continue to learn up to 4 new alternative graphemes each week.

If you would like further support, please contact your child's class teacher in the first instance.

Handwriting We'll be learning the 'one armed robot' letters m, k and p using the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes. We've been focusing on ensuring all our letters are 'on the line' and of an appropriate size.

Mathematics Children will be using a 'part whole' model to partition numbers and recognise 'fact families'.

For example:

• 3 + 5 = 8
• 5 + 3 = 8
• 8 – 5 = 3
• 8 – 3 = 5

Have a wonderful weekend.

The Year 1 Team

29/09/2025

Our Year 1 children have had a fantastic time exploring different types of bulbs—thank you so much for your generous donations! The children loved planting these in our outdoor areas and were thrilled to discover a toad hiding in our compost bag. Miss Harris has kindly given our toad a new home in her garden.

Last week, we enjoyed a wonderful walk to Ifold Road Playpark. The children returned bursting with ideas and have been busy painting, drawing and writing about their favourite playground equipment as part of our Design and Technology (DT) project. This week, we’re combining our DT learning with our history topic, ‘Toys’.

Key Notices

Toys Day:
On Wednesday 1 October, children are invited to bring their favourite toy to school.

• If your child’s toy is very large (like bikes or scooters) or electronic (such as iPads or game consoles), please send a photograph instead.
• Please ensure all toys are clearly named.
• Note: We can’t take responsibility for any lost or broken toys.

Historical Toys:
We’ll be learning about toys from the past, especially those that parents or grandparents played with.

• If you have old toys we could use as artefacts, or photos of these toys (or of you as a child with your toys), please send them in.
• Precious items can be ‘viewing only’ for the children to learn from.

Superhero Day - 11th November:

• To kick off our exciting new ‘Heroes’ topic, we’ll be holding a Superhero Day on Tuesday 11th November. All children are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite superhero or to wear superhero-themed accessories. More information will be shared soon.

Reading:
Please read with your child every day and record it in their reading record. It’s important that children read their Little Wandle reading books daily for 10 minutes to support their progress.

Donations for Junk Modelling:
Please keep sending in recyclable materials for our DT activities—thank you for your ongoing support!

This Week’s Learning

Discovery Learning:
We’ll talk about our favourite toys and learn that everyone’s favourites can be different. Children will also explore how the toys we play with can change as we grow up.

Design and Technology:
Children will be designing their favourite playground equipment. We’ll think carefully about which materials to use and how big our models should be.

Writing:
Following our school policy, children are now using green pencils for capital letters and red pencils for punctuation. They are showing great independence with this new routine!

Phonics:
We’re starting Phase 5 phonics this week, which introduces alternative graphemes (ay, ou, oy, and ee).

• Please visit the Little Wandle website for more information, including the ‘Year 1 Sounds’ document and helpful videos.
• After half term, children will continue to learn up to four new alternative graphemes each week.
• If you need further support, please contact your child’s class teacher.

Handwriting:
We’ll be learning the ‘one armed robot’ letters (r, b, n, and h) using Little Wandle letter formation rhymes. The focus is on keeping our letters on the line and a consistent size.

Maths:
This week, we’re practising ordering and comparing numbers using a number line and consolidating vocabulary such as ‘more’, ‘few’, ‘same’, and ‘less’.
Here are some easy ways to support maths at home:

• Counting forwards and backwards to 20
• Counting items in the shop (“Can you choose 8 apples, please?”)
• Simple subtraction (“We had 10 grapes, you ate 3… how many are left?”)
• Adding money (“I’ve got £3, you’ve got £5, how much do we have altogether?”)
• Lego towers (“Build a tower of 10 bricks, now another with 5 more”)
• Playing board games like snakes and ladders

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another exciting week ahead.

The Year 1 Team

22/9/25

Our new Discovery Time routines are already having a positive impact—the children are thriving and enjoying independent learning as they explore their environment. Soon, we’ll be moving on to our next topic, which will focus on ‘Freestanding Structures’ and ‘Toys’.

Key Notices

Local Area Walk
Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to join our local area walk on Wednesday 24th September.

• Hare and Badger classes will leave at 9:30am.
• Fox and Mole classes will leave at 11:00am.

Reading
Please remember to read with your child every day and record it in their reading records. We’re excited to be awarding clothes for our Reading Teds as the children make progress!

Seasonal Change
As autumn arrives, we encourage children to bring in natural autumnal items—such as leaves and conkers—that they find while out and about. These will help prompt discussions about seasonal changes in class.

Donations

• Spring Bulbs: Thank you so much for the bulbs you’ve already donated! The children have loved observing time-lapse videos and learning about roots and shoots. If you’re able, we would really appreciate further donations of spring bulbs (e.g., daffodils, tulips, crocuses, hyacinths).
• Junk Modelling: Please continue sending in recyclable materials for our Design and Technology area. Our budding engineers are making fantastic creations!

Our Learning This Week

Discovery Learning
This week, we’ll be exploring direction and making our own compasses to identify north, south, east, and west. We’ll wrap up with our local area walk and start our DT project on freestanding structures, encouraging children to think about their favourite playpark equipment.

Writing
We’ll use the story of Hansel and Gretel to inspire our writing. Children are working hard to include capital letters, full stops, and finger spaces.

Phonics
Children will revisit Phase 4 phonics, focusing on reading and spelling longer words like ‘chimp’ and ‘appear’. We’ll also revise the tricky words: was, they, some, come, were, there, sure, and pure.

Handwriting
Our focus is on ‘long ladder’ letters: l, t, u, j, y, and i, using the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes. We’re practising keeping all letters ‘on the line’.

Maths
Through practical activities, children will compare quantities using key vocabulary—‘few’, ‘more’, and ‘same’—and begin using ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’. We’ll also consolidate our understanding of ‘one more’ and ‘one less’.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

The Year 1 Team

15/09/2025

The children have settled in well, continuing their phonics journey with the Little Wandle programme. We have been so impressed with their confident, focused approach! We have enjoyed exploring our school grounds, including a visit to see our new chickens. 

Key Notices

• PE Days: PE sessions are every Tuesday and Friday. Please ensure your child comes to school in their PE kit, including black trainers, on these days.
• Coats: As our weather can be unpredictable, please make sure your child brings a coat to school each day.
• Local Area Photographs: Thank you to everyone who has already sent in photos. We’d love to see more examples of your child exploring the local area to support our class learning.

Upcoming Event: Local Area Walk

Our Local Area Walk will take place on Wednesday 24th September.

• Badger and Hare classes: leave at 9:30am
• Mole and Fox classes: leave at 11:00am
  All children will return in time for lunch.
  If you are able to help on the day, please let your class teacher know.

Donations:

• Spring Bulbs:
  As part of our ‘Plants’ topic, we are making the most of the changing seasons for some real-life learning. It’s a great time to plant spring bulbs, so if you can donate any tulip, daffodil, hyacinth or crocus bulbs, we’d be very grateful. This will give every child the chance to plant their own bulb and brighten our outdoor areas in the new year.  
• Junk Modelling Materials:
  We are always in need of clean, recyclable materials (cardboard and plastic packaging) for our Design and Technology workshops. Any contributions would be gratefully received.

Our Learning This Week

Discovery Learning

This week, we’re continuing our exploration of “Our Local Area.” The children will be learning to identify and sort human and physical features, grouping them to help deepen their understanding of the world around them.

Writing

In Drawing Club, our focus remains on writing simple sentences. We’ll be practising using finger spaces, capital letters, and full stops. Our story this week is “The Billy Goats Gruff.” Traditional tales like this are fantastic for developing early writing skills - feel free to share your own favourites at home!

Handwriting

We are concentrating on the ‘curly caterpillar letters’: e, f, s, and o. Children will work in small groups with an adult, practising correct letter formation, writing on the line, and starting each letter in the right place. You can find helpful letter formation rhymes to support your child on the Little Wandle website.

Maths

Our focus in maths is on recognising numbers as words and becoming confident with ‘one more’. You can support your child at home by asking questions like, “What is one more than…?” and using everyday objects to practise counting one more than a given number.

We look forward to another exciting week ahead!
The Year 1 Team

Welcome to Year 1!

We’re delighted to welcome your children into Year 1. The children have settled in brilliantly and are already exploring all the new resources and equipment available in our outdoor areas during ‘Discovery Time’.

Key Notices

• PE Days: Our PE sessions will take place every Tuesday and Friday. Please send your child to school in their PE kit, including black trainers, on these days.
• Coats: As the weather can be unpredictable, make sure your child brings a coat to school every day.
• Local Area Photographs: To support our topic work, we’d love photographs of your child enjoying the local area. This could be at the park, by Earlswood Lakes, outside your home, or visiting other local attractions. Please email photos to the school office or hand them to your class teacher.
•  

Upcoming Event: Local Area Walk

We’re excited to take Year 1 on a Local Area Walk on Wednesday 24th September. This will help the children spot human and physical features around us and kick off our DT learning on freestanding structures. We’ll finish our walk with a visit to Ifold Road park!

If you’re able to help on the day, please let your class teacher know. More details will follow soon—thank you in advance for your support.

Our Learning This Week

Discovery Learning

Our topic this term is ‘Our Local Area’. This week, we’ll move our learning outside the classroom to explore the Infant School site. The children will take a walk around the school and practise designing simple maps.

Writing

In Drawing Club, we’ll be writing simple sentences inspired by Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. We’ll be practising using finger spaces and making sure we spell tricky words correctly.

Handwriting

We’re focusing on the ‘curly caterpillar letters’—c, a, d, and g. Children will work in small groups with an adult to practise correct letter formation, writing on the line, and starting in the right place.

Maths

This week, we’ll consolidate our previous learning by sorting and counting objects accurately.

We look forward to seeing you next week!

The Year 1 Team