What to expect in Year 1

Your Year 1 Team

Coming into school Doors open at 8.50 and registration starts at 8.55 ready for a prompt start at 9.00 If you arrive after 9 and find the doors closed you will need to take your child to the office to be signed in. Teachers are available from 8.45 if you need to speak to us or arrange an appointment. Children need their book bags in school everyday. We encourage the children to be independent in Year 1 and be responsible for putting their own things away (lunchbox, book bags etc).

Learning in Year 1 When the school year starts in September many year 1 children have only just had their fifth birthday. We therefore believe it is important that the transition from Reception to Year 1 allows the children the opportunity to continue learning through play and first hand experiences. We continue to provide many of the opportunities that they will already have experienced in Reception, including role play, construction, small world play and where possible outdoor activities.

What does a day in Year 1 look like?  English and Maths are taught daily and our objectives are taken from the National Curriculum 2014  For these subjects we have a short hands on carpet session altogether and then the teacher/TA takes a small group of children to carry out a guided focus activity.  The rest of the children will access independent self directed jobs which are set up for the whole day. In this way children structure their own learning by choosing from a range of activities, including creative, construction, role play, ICT, or imaginative small world play as well as independent reading/writing and maths activities.  As the year progresses children will naturally spend longer on their recorded and curriculum based work and less time playing freely.

Assessment  Please note, the government has changed the way we report assessment, there are now no levels! (1a, 1b, etc.)  We will now be looking at where the children are working within their age related expectations, i.e. Beginning, Demonstrating or Consolidating.

Reading  Your child will be read with every week with either their teacher or TA as part of guided reading. Guided reading records are kept in a separate reading folder which remains in school.  Reading books are changed every Monday and Friday. If you have read with you child at home please record it in their yellow reading diary to ensure that their book is changed. Books and reading diaries must be in your child's book bag everyday.  Don’t worry if your child occasionally gets the same book that they’ve had in Reception. This is to reinforce their reading skills.

Science  In year 1 we will cover a range of different science topics.  This will include;  Plants- identifying common and wild garden plants  Animals including humans- identifying and classifying common animals that are carnivore, herbivores and omnivore.  Materials- comparing different materials, distinguishing between and object and the material it is made of.  Seasonal changes- observing and describing weather and seasonal changes.

Topic  This term our topic is Fantastic Finchley!  We are looking at our local area, school and home locations.  We are looking at photographs, maps, plans and identifying key features.  In history we are introducing the idea of a timeline for our personal history and changes within living memory.  We learn about significant local people, and the lives of significant historical figures such as William the Conqueror.

Home Learning  Home learning is taking on a different format this year. We will be sending home half termly home learning with a variety of different tasks to do.  Some of these tasks will be more conversational than others and will cover a range of different topics.  For example, one of the tasks may be to count how many times you can catch and throw a ball with a friend without dropping it.

Lunchtimes  We are a healthy and nut free school. Please take this into consideration when making your child’s pack lunch. Water  Children need to bring a water bottle with fresh water into school everyday. We have water fountains around the school for the children to use but our classrooms are not provided with drinking water.

PPA  PPA is planning, preparation and assessment time for the teacher.  During PPA, children will be taking part in creative curriculum activities. This in includes R.E, Music, Cooking, Sewing and Art.  Swimming at Frith Manor School will start in Year 2

PE Kit  Year 1 children keep their PE kits on their pegs, ready to change into for PE on Friday afternoon.  Children arrive at school in their uniform.  Children get changed in class after registration in the afternoon.  They will get changed into their school uniform again before they go home. We will send home PE kits to be washed at the end of each half term.

Phonics  In Year 1 we have discrete Phonics sessions which are taught daily for 20 minutes. This builds on what they have already learnt in Reception.  We follow the DFES Letters and Sound programme.  Year 1’s Phonics screening check will take place in June.  There will be a meeting to follow.

Building Learning Power

 We are a BLP school from Nursery through to Year 6.  BLP is a long-term project which aims to encourage children’s attitudes for life-long learning.  These attitudes are becoming embedded within the whole ethos of the school, equipping the children with strategies to cope with the challenges of life and learning (for example, resilience, working in a team, perseverance etc).  This term we are focusing on collaboration, working together as a team.

Learning Partners  We have learning partners within the classroom, which encourages collaboration, teamwork and friendship.  They can ask their learning partners to help them with any aspect of school life.  We change these partners on a regular basis so that all children will have been paired with everyone in their class.

Question Time!  Thank you for listening.  Any questions?