Year 1
We are committed to safeguarding; if you have any concerns about the well being of a child in school please contact a member of staff.
**PE DAYS FOR AUTUMN 1**
PE days for Autumn 1 will be Monday & Friday. The first PE lesson will be on Friday 4th September.
Monday - Gymnastics (Shape and Travel)
Friday - Real PE (Footwork and 1 leg balance)
Welcome Year 1
A very warm welcome to all our Year 1 families! We are looking forward to an exciting year of learning.
We will use this page to share important information throughout the year, including key dates, important reminders and what we are learning in class. Please check the page regularly for updates and useful information to help you support your child at home.
We are very excited for the year ahead and look forward to working together to make it a wonderful one for your child!
ZONES OF REGULATION
We will continue our learning about the Zones of Regulation. The children were introduced to this during Transition Week, so they will already have some familiarity with the different zones and the language we use to talk about emotions. We will build on this understanding, helping children to recognise and communicate their feelings and explore strategies they can use to support their emotional wellbeing and self-regulation.
Children learn about four different Zones, which are represented by colours:
- 🔵 Blue Zone – feeling tired, sad, worried, or low in energy.
- 🟢 Green Zone – feeling calm, happy, focused, and ready to learn.
- 🟡 Yellow Zone – feeling excited, frustrated, nervous, or unsettled.
- 🔴 Red Zone – feeling very angry, overwhelmed, or out of control.
The aim is not for children to stay in the Green Zone all the time. Every Zone is okay, and we all experience different Zones throughout the day. Instead, children learn to recognise their emotions and develop strategies to manage them safely and appropriately.
In Year 1, we use age-appropriate language, stories, activities, visuals and discussion to help children build their emotional vocabulary and develop the skills they need to regulate their emotions.
Our Zones of Regulation books are-
🔵 Bea's Bad Day
🟢Hanna Asks for Help
🟡 Ruby's Worry
🔴 Ravi's Roar
We encourage families to use the same language at home, as this can help children talk about their feelings and understand what strategies might help them.
Welcome Section
Reading books
Children will receive their phonics book and library book every Tuesday and both must be returned the following Monday.
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The phonics book is for your child to show off their fluent reading to you.
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The library book is for you to share and enjoy together.
Please remember:
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The phonics book and reading record must be returned daily so your child can take part in their reading group.
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The library book, phonics book, and reading record must all be returned the following Monday.
Parents/carers should write the titles of their child’s books in the reading record:
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Phonics book title goes at the top of the page.
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Library book title goes at the bottom of the page.
Thank you for supporting your child’s reading journey!
The Year 1 Team
Your Year 1 team for the year will be:
Miss Thackray - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Mrs Hesketh - Alternate Wednesday PM, Thursday and Friday
Miss Richards - Class Teaching Assistant Mon-Fri AM and Mon-Thurs PM
Upcoming Events
Wednesday 2nd September - First Day of Year 1
Friday 4th September - First PE lesson (please come in PE kit)
Friday 25th September - PTA Colour Run Event
W/C 12th October - Assessment Week
Friday 23rd October - Training Day
Homework
Homework will be live on a Thursday morning and the completion date will be stated as this can change. Please note that nothing will need to be 'handed in'. Children will complete a 'Writing Task' every Monday and information about the write is always set for homework so children can prepare.
If you need any help or support with homework please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team.
Instead of sending home a homework pack this year, we have added a dedicated phonics section to the school website. Here you can find a range of resources and select the ones that are most useful for you and your child.
Phonics and Early Reading (Parents menu tab)
Autumn 1 Homework
Tricky Words
In Little Wandle, children learn tricky words within their phonics phases. When teaching these, we explain to the children which part of the word is tricky and how to remember it.
We will keep you updated through homework on:
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Which tricky words we are learning in school.
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Which words need to be practised at home.
Please remember that these can be found on the phonics section of the website.
https://www.collinghamschool.com/phonics-early-reading/
Thank you for practising these at home — it really helps to build your child’s reading confidence.
Core Books and Poems
This year we will continue looking at 5 core books and poems as well as revisiting books read in reception. This will continue throughout the year with the aim of the children having a deep understanding of these core books and poems. We will refer to these books as their 'special books' and they will have access to them during provision time. Everyday we will look at one of the books and poems. Please note that this year we have changed 2 of our core books to 'The Tiger who Came to Tea' and 'What happened to you?'.
Year 1 Core Books:
The Tiger who Came to Tea (Judith Kerr), Snail and the Whale (Julia Donaldson), The Selfish Crocodile (Faustin Charles), What Happened to you? (James Catchpole), Jack and the Beanstalk
Reception Core Books:
Peace at Last (Jill Murphy), Superworm (Julia Donaldson), The Lion Inside (Rachel Bright), And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson), The Three Little Pigs
Year 1 Core Poems:
Nursery Rhyme - 10 green bottles, Michael Rosen - Do I know you?, Nonsense - On the Ning Nang Nong, Alliterative - Tim the Terrifying Tiger, RESPECT Code - Kind Hearts are the Gardens
Reception Core Poems:
Nursery Rhyme - Polly Put the Kettle on, Michael Rosen - Lunchtime, Nonsense - Hey Diddle Diddle, Alliterative - Peter Piper, RESPECT Code - Look After Your Friends
Letter and Number Formation
This year, to support children with letter formation, we will be using the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes. These are available in the phonics section of the school website.
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Children will practise handwriting for the first ten minutes of every day, focusing on both letter and number formation.
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Once the children have learned the rhymes for lowercase letters, we will move on to capital letters.
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To support at home, you can download the letter formation sheets from the phonics section of the website.
Phonics and Early Reading (Parents menu tab)
Thank you for practising at home — it makes a big difference in helping children develop neat, confident handwriting.
Our learning in Autumn 1
Phonics - Review Phase 3 and 4 (including tricky words)
Start Phase 5 - ay play, ou cloud, oy toy, ea each.
Handwriting - For handwriting, we will start with the formation of lowercase letters using the Little Wandle handwriting books. Please note the formation rhymes can be found on the 'Phonics and Early Reading' section of our website.
Writing - In writing, we will focus on the correct use of capital letters, finger spaces, full stops, letter formation and ensuring letters sit correctly on the line. These skills will be reinforced through regular dictation and proofreading activities.
Each Monday, the children will also complete a longer writing task, giving them the opportunity to apply these skills and develop their ability to write independently for a sustained period.
Grammar - In grammar, we will develop the children’s understanding of what a sentence is and build their confidence in composing sentences orally before writing them down. We will explore nouns, verbs and adjectives, helping the children to identify and use these word types in their own sentences. We will also introduce using ‘and’ to join clauses, enabling the children to extend their ideas and create more interesting sentences.
Reading - In reading, we will introduce the Year 1 core texts and work to develop a love and enjoyment of reading, as well as motivation to read independently. We will focus particularly on developing vocabulary and supporting the children to deepen their understanding of the texts they read.
Maths - In maths, we will begin by recapping and consolidating learning from EYFS. We will focus on place value within 10, as well as addition and subtraction within 10. There will be a daily focus on developing rapid recall of number bonds within 10. Our sticky learning focus will be 2D and 3D shape, providing opportunities for the children to develop their understanding and use mathematical vocabulary.
Science - In science, our focus will be materials. Our key question will be 'Why do we use different materials for different things?'. We will explore the different materials that everyday objects are made from and investigate their properties. The children will learn to:
- Identify and name a variety of everyday materials, including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock.
- Describe and compare the properties of different materials.
- Explore why particular materials are suitable for different purposes.
- Investigate and discuss how the shape of solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, stretching and twisting.
We will encourage the children to ask questions, make observations and carry out simple investigations to help them understand the materials they encounter in everyday life.
R.E. - Our focus this half term is God. Our enquiry question will be 'What do Christians believe God is like'.
History - Our history focus this half term will be Events Beyond Living Memory (Toys). Our enquiry question will be 'How have Toys changed in the last 100 years?'.
Geography - Our geogrpahy focus this half term will be Locational Knowledge - The United Kingdom. Our enquiry question will be 'What is the United Kingdom?'.
Computing - Our focus this half term will be Computing Systems & Networks with a focus on improving mouse skills.
P.E. - Our PE focus on a Monday will be gymnastics (shape and travel) and on a Friday will be a Real PE lesson focussing on footwork and 1 leg balance.
PSHE - Our topic this half term will be 'Family and people who care for me' our enquiry question will be 'Who can I trust to keep me safe, and how can I talk to them about my feelings or worries?'. Our other topic will be 'Caring Friendships' and our enquiry question will be 'How can I keep myself and others safe in friendships, recognise unkind or bullying behaviour, and speak to a trusted adult when something does not feel right?'.
DT - Our DT focus this half term will be Textilesand we will be making puppets
Music - Our music focus will be 'Keeping The Pulse' and the theme will be 'My Favourite Things'.
French - In French we will be looking at french food and birthdays.
British Values - We will recap the 4 British Values (individual liberty, democracy, rule of law, mutual respect & tolerance). We will do this through stories.
Worship - Monday: Whole school worship with focus for the week shared. Tuesday: Newsday Tuesday (in classrooms). Wednesday: Whole school worship. Thursday: Biq Question Thursday (in classrooms). Friday: Whole school worship.
Summer 1 Blogs
Week 4:
English Support
Questions for Reading with Children