Welcome to Year 1
'Tell me and I forget.Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.' Benjamin Franklin
Ethos
Our ethos is to inspire our children to find a love of learning and become independent, confident, curious and responsible members of our community.
We have extensively researched and worked hard to develop our provision to a high standard and we are always looking for ways to improve what we have already achieved. We are constantly refining our provision with the aim of developing the whole child.
'Tell me and I forget.Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.' Benjamin Franklin
Ethos
Our ethos is to inspire our children to find a love of learning and become independent, confident, curious and responsible members of our community.
We have extensively researched and worked hard to develop our provision to a high standard and we are always looking for ways to improve what we have already achieved. We are constantly refining our provision with the aim of developing the whole child.
Creative Learning Time
It is important that our Year 1 curriculum builds on the child-initiated ethos of EYFS. We believe that our pupils should be consulted throughout their learning journey. We value their ideas, skills, talents and curiosity which enable them to thoroughly engage in all areas of provision.
Through provision the children are able to test new skills learnt, consolidating their learning through repetition and collaborative play. Through play we see the children’s communication and social skills bloom which is why we see provision as crucial.
It is important that our Year 1 curriculum builds on the child-initiated ethos of EYFS. We believe that our pupils should be consulted throughout their learning journey. We value their ideas, skills, talents and curiosity which enable them to thoroughly engage in all areas of provision.
Through provision the children are able to test new skills learnt, consolidating their learning through repetition and collaborative play. Through play we see the children’s communication and social skills bloom which is why we see provision as crucial.
Phonics
Phonics is the cornerstone of all our learning. The children love our fun, fast-paced Little Wandle lessons with exciting games to help us learn our graphemes. If, for whatever reason a child has gaps in their phonic knowledge, they will take part in Daily Keep Up sessions with a trained member of staff. This ensures no child is left behind and remains a part of the whole class teaching.
Small Group Reading
Year 1 is crucial in the development of children as readers. We use Little Wandle and Harper Collins books to provide three high quality reading sessions per week in small groups. The first session focuses on decoding, the second on fluency and prosody, and finally the last session develops comprehension skills.
Phonics is the cornerstone of all our learning. The children love our fun, fast-paced Little Wandle lessons with exciting games to help us learn our graphemes. If, for whatever reason a child has gaps in their phonic knowledge, they will take part in Daily Keep Up sessions with a trained member of staff. This ensures no child is left behind and remains a part of the whole class teaching.
Small Group Reading
Year 1 is crucial in the development of children as readers. We use Little Wandle and Harper Collins books to provide three high quality reading sessions per week in small groups. The first session focuses on decoding, the second on fluency and prosody, and finally the last session develops comprehension skills.
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Reading
We are constantly encouraging the children to be independent readers as this opens up access to many other subjects. The children enjoy accessing the reading area during creative learning and being read to by the teacher at the end of the day. We also encourage a 'sharing book' to be taken home and read to by an adult. This allows children to hear, enjoy and adsorb richer language and vocabulary that they would not otherwise be able to read on their own. If you would like to read more with your child at home, please see suggested texts for a child in Year 1 here: For early chapter books for pupils in KS1, please see here: |
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Writing It is most important in year 1 that we build a strong foundation for writing that children will use for the future. We continue on where EYFS began by ensuring all children can hold a pencil correctly, form their lowercase and capital letters and write on our handwriting lines. If a child is experiencing any barriers to achieving this, they will engage in daily, high quality intervention to accelerate their progress. Once children have mastered the transcription process, we begin to develop their grammar, sentences and composition . We do this by using high quality texts to inspire writing in a range of genres. We love using our ‘Mighty Writers’ to build and develop our ideas into sentences. The Mighty Writer is a tactile resource which provides a visual and engaging experience. Through collaboration and repetition children embed sentences orally which are then confidently transferred into writing. We use colourful semantics alongside this to help children identify the parts of a sentence and play around with language. |
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Spelling
In Year One, we introduce the children to weekly spellings which link carefully to what they are learning in their Little Wandle phonics sessions. This helps to embed their phonic knowledge and apply it in their writing. Spellings will be sent home weekly and stuck in their planner. Adults help at home by saying the words in a sentence to give context and meaning, and encouraging children to write them out on paper.
In Year One, we introduce the children to weekly spellings which link carefully to what they are learning in their Little Wandle phonics sessions. This helps to embed their phonic knowledge and apply it in their writing. Spellings will be sent home weekly and stuck in their planner. Adults help at home by saying the words in a sentence to give context and meaning, and encouraging children to write them out on paper.
Mathematics in Year 1
In Year 1, children build on their strong EYFS foundations, where they explored numbers, shapes, and patterns through play. Using the White Rose Maths approach, we introduce new concepts in small, carefully planned steps to develop fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
Children begin to work with numbers up to 100, developing their understanding of place value, addition, and subtraction. They are encouraged to explain their thinking, make connections, and use practical resources to support learning.
Alongside daily lessons, children use Doodlemaths at home for short bursts of personalised practice, helping them grow in confidence and enjoyment of maths. All children are expected to complete Doodlemaths at least 4 times a week.
Useful links
nrich.maths.org provides free rich tasks, problem‐solving, puzzles etc. for ages 3-18. Great for building mathematical thinking for all ages.
mathszone.co.uk offers a wide variety of interactive maths games & problem solving, covering tables, geometry, fractions, etc. Useful across Reception, KS1 and KS2.
ICT Games includes games linked to KS1 & KS2 curriculums; with many simpler ones for younger children too.
In Year 1, children build on their strong EYFS foundations, where they explored numbers, shapes, and patterns through play. Using the White Rose Maths approach, we introduce new concepts in small, carefully planned steps to develop fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
Children begin to work with numbers up to 100, developing their understanding of place value, addition, and subtraction. They are encouraged to explain their thinking, make connections, and use practical resources to support learning.
Alongside daily lessons, children use Doodlemaths at home for short bursts of personalised practice, helping them grow in confidence and enjoyment of maths. All children are expected to complete Doodlemaths at least 4 times a week.
Useful links
nrich.maths.org provides free rich tasks, problem‐solving, puzzles etc. for ages 3-18. Great for building mathematical thinking for all ages.
mathszone.co.uk offers a wide variety of interactive maths games & problem solving, covering tables, geometry, fractions, etc. Useful across Reception, KS1 and KS2.
ICT Games includes games linked to KS1 & KS2 curriculums; with many simpler ones for younger children too.
Year 1 Maths Curriculum Map
We also expect children in Year 1 to access Doodlemaths (an amazing personalised maths tuition app) at least 4 times a week or at least stay in the green zone.
Wider Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to develop the whole child and provide opportunities to harness and develop all talents and interests. Through trips, visitors and direct teaching, we ensure all aspects of the curriculum are broad and balanced. We make use of a wide range of teaching and learning approaches that make use of our whole school environment and offer experiences and opportunities that develop their ‘Cultural Capital’. This is the knowledge that develops children into rounded individuals with a rich and deep understanding of the world around them.
Our curriculum is designed to develop the whole child and provide opportunities to harness and develop all talents and interests. Through trips, visitors and direct teaching, we ensure all aspects of the curriculum are broad and balanced. We make use of a wide range of teaching and learning approaches that make use of our whole school environment and offer experiences and opportunities that develop their ‘Cultural Capital’. This is the knowledge that develops children into rounded individuals with a rich and deep understanding of the world around them.
Floorbooks
We take a lot of pride in our floorbook work and have developed our own version based on the founder Claire Walden’s approach. Floorbooks are a great way of recalling prior learning and really help us keep our knowledge sticky. Our children are so enthusiastic when showing their floorbook to visitors and parents. They can easily recall learning from many months ago when looking back through past floorbooks.
We take a lot of pride in our floorbook work and have developed our own version based on the founder Claire Walden’s approach. Floorbooks are a great way of recalling prior learning and really help us keep our knowledge sticky. Our children are so enthusiastic when showing their floorbook to visitors and parents. They can easily recall learning from many months ago when looking back through past floorbooks.
Parent Partnership
We value the importance of family partnerships and promote this throughout the year. Parents and other family members will be invited to be involved to share in their children’s learning at special events: look out for key dates on the newsletter and for letters and invitations to join us in school.
We value the importance of family partnerships and promote this throughout the year. Parents and other family members will be invited to be involved to share in their children’s learning at special events: look out for key dates on the newsletter and for letters and invitations to join us in school.
E-Safety
We regularly teach the children the importance of staying safe on the internet. We take part in e-safety day each year and it provides an opportunity for schools to make the most of the positive opportunities offered online, whilst giving young people the resilience, skills, knowledge and support they need to navigate any online risks they may come across. We also have weekly e-safety circle questions to broaden the children's thinking and raise important topics to keep them safe online.
By clicking on the link below you will see more about Internet Safety at Elloughton.
We regularly teach the children the importance of staying safe on the internet. We take part in e-safety day each year and it provides an opportunity for schools to make the most of the positive opportunities offered online, whilst giving young people the resilience, skills, knowledge and support they need to navigate any online risks they may come across. We also have weekly e-safety circle questions to broaden the children's thinking and raise important topics to keep them safe online.
By clicking on the link below you will see more about Internet Safety at Elloughton.
