Year 1 2024 - 2025

Phonics and Early Reading for KS1

In EYFS and KS1 we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme (SSP). We start teaching phonics in Nursery and Reception and continue phonics into KS1. This ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

During their time in Year 1, the children will recap over previously taught phases 2,3 and 4 before continuing with Phase 5.

In order to support your child, please continue to read at home regularly. Your child will be given a reading book, which has been carefully matched to your child’s current reading level. If your child is reading it with little help, please don’t worry that it’s too easy – your child needs to develop fluency and confidence in reading.

Listen to them read the book. Remember to give them lots of praise – celebrate their success! If they can’t read a word, read it to them. After they have finished, talk about the book together.

In order to encourage your child to become a lifelong reader, it is important that they learn to read for pleasure. Sharing books with them is key to promote a love of books. Discuss the pictures, enjoy the story, predict what might happen next, use different voices for the characters, explore the facts in a non-fiction book. The main thing is that you have fun!

 Please click on the link below for more information. 

 https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/?

Welcome to Year 1

“We Share, We Value, We Respect”

                                                                                                                September 2024

   Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to Year 1, we hope that you had a lovely summer and that your child is looking forward to the year ahead. As you may know, Year 1 work on a different curriculum to Nursery and Reception and there is less free play. The children gradually move towards more structured learning, however hopefully, they should continue to find it engaging and fun. The main difference is that instead of working in a small group with an adult, the whole class will often complete tasks at the same time, which of course requires more independence.  The children are usually ready for the challenge and settle very quickly into the new routines.

Arrival & Dismissal

All pupils to be dropped off and collected in the Foundation stage playground.  We use the reception classroom doors in the morning and at hometime we use the library doors, to ease the congestion.  Start time is from 8.45 to 8.55am and hometime is 3.25pm.

To keep children safe, it is essential that we are informed if an adult other than the usual person is collecting your child from school.  Please do let us know in the morning or phone the office to let us know of any changes, otherwise we are unable to send a child home until we have contacted parents to confirm the arrangements.

Staffing

The class will be taught by Mrs Potts, the deputy headteacher, on Monday's and Mrs Cox for the remainder of the week.  Our teaching assistant Mrs Smyth will be based in Year One every day.

Uniform

Thank you for the effort which has gone into preparing your child for the start of the new term. We will do our best to support your children to look after their belongings and return home with the things they came with. Please help us with this by ensuring that all items of school uniform and belongings are clearly labelled with your child’s name; this also includes coats, PE kits, shoes and water bottles. We also ask that you continue to support the school policy by removing earrings from your child before sending them to school. To keep children safe during PE and whilst on our playground equipment, our policy is no earrings at all.  If they have been pierced recently children may wear plasters over them for a few weeks whilst needed, however please ensure plasters are applied at home.

P.E.

The children do PE on Monday and Thursday.  Please ensure that your child has a full kit (white T-Shirt, blue/black shorts and pumps) in school.  Kits will be sent home at the end of each half term to be washed.

We always support the children when needed, but would be grateful if you could help your child to become independent at dressing and undressing. This really helps us to make the most of our PE lessons. Can we also ask that children only have shoes with laces if they are able to tie them.

Homework

Starting next week, homework will be sent home each Tuesday and collected in the following Monday to give you plenty of time to support your child with it.  It will consist of an online maths game to pratice learning from the previous week.  There will be a phonics activity sheet which also follows on from the phonics lesson that week.  These activities are intended to be very short as we would very much like reading to be the focus.

Reading Books

Please aim to read every night with your child. Reading for 5-10 minutes a day, frequently, is the most effective way to build their reading confidence. Please note that for early readers it is also important to ask your child to re-read the same book as this helps them to build self-esteem and enjoyment as they begin to recognise more words.

During a normal school week your child will read once individually and twice during group reading sessions.  Please continue to send your child's reading folder to school every day.  Children will be given two new books linked to the letter sounds they know and the aim of home reading is to build confidence, fluency and a love of reading.  Th

Please could we remind you to record in the Reading Diary when your child has read, along with any other comments you wish to add. Please do not be afraid to ask if you need any advice in supporting your child’s reading. The children should be able to read these books with around 90% fluency, so that they just have the occasional word to 'decode' and work out.

Please could we remind you to record in the Reading diary when your child has read, along with any other comments you wish to add about their reading.  Please do not be afraid to ask if you need any advice in supporting your chitinued support and should you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Birthday Sweets

Parents are welcome to send in treats when it is their child's birthday, if they wish to. We are however unable to distribute anything containing nuts (or traces of nut) or small candy lollipops, due to the choking hazard.

It has been lovely getting to know the children, they have had a fabolous start to the year and have arrived each day with lots of smiles and enthusiasm.

Thank you for your continued supporr and should you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate in contacting us.   You can speak to us at the start or end of the school day or alternatively send a message to the office, who will forward them onto us.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Cox, Mrs Smyth and Mrs Potts