Walnut - Year 1
Welcome to Year 1
Walnut Class
Meet The Team
The Year 1 teacher is Mrs Salt
Our Class TA's are
Mrs O'Malley Monday - Wednesday
Mrs Porter Thursday & Friday
Mr Van de Leew - Wednesday PM
This term we are also welcoming Miss Gibbs, a 2nd year Teacher Trainee from Oxford Brookes,
who will be with us until 14th March.
Important Information
PE - Spring Term
Monday and Friday
Please ensure the children come to school in their P.E kit on these days.
Please note
Year 1 have an additional PE competitive sports session booked for the following date,
Thursday 26th March.
Children will need to wear their PE kits in on this date too.
Forest School and Music
Alternate Tuesdays - Commencing Tuesday 3rd March 2026
Waterproof and Wellies are needed for Forest School.
Please ensure all items are named.
Reading & Library Books
Children will take part in a variety of reading practises throughout the week that include;
daily phonics lessons, timetabled class reading sessions
and individual 1:1 sessions with the teacher or TA.
Our regular book change day is Wednesday.
Please return their named envelopes containing reading & library books on this day.
Books will be updated and returned on Thursday.
Two new Bug Club reading books will be issued each week and your child's own choice of library book.
Please ensure you have ticked or commented in the reading records to let us know books need changing.
Regular reading practise is vital to help the children retain the individual sounds taught in class, to build their confidence to blend sounds together and to develop fluency as they read sentences.
Your help with this will be key to their success.
Online Access to Bug Club
Please remember to access your child's online Bug Club Account.
Additional books, videos of the phonemes and actions, as well interactive games specific to your child's reading level are available to further consolidate and enhance your child's reading confidence.
Whilst learning, children can accumulate points for their efforts and can choose to spend them in the online tree house, the pit stop or sticker factory. (This sometimes proves an added incentive for those reluctant readers.)
User names and passwords have been placed in the front of your child's reading record.
We would love to welcome in parent helpers with a little spare time
who are interested in listening to readers in class.
Please speak to Mrs Salt if you can help.
Curriculum Information
Spring Term
English
In Phonics, we will be learning the phase 5 alternate ways of reading and spelling previously taught phonemes and digraphs. We will look at spelling patterns and how to determine where best to use each option when writing our words and sentences.
We will continue to learn new tricky words and word endings that change words to the past tense and from singular words to plurals, learning rules that help us decide when to use s or es and the use of exclamation and question marks. We will be combining words into sentences and joining them to make short narratives. We will practise composing sentences orally before writing them down and ensure they can be properly read by others by including correct letter formations, capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.
Our Topic of Space continues this term.
We will be using the poetry book 'Zim Zam Zoom' by James Carter as an inspiration for making up a poem of our own and looking at how poems can be be performed to show the emotions and feelings intended by the writer. We will investigate how the use of actions and changes of voice can make the experience more exciting to the listener.
We will also be looking at non-fiction books about the solar system and space and writing fact-files with the information we have discovered.
Maths
In maths we will continue to use the 'White Rose maths' scheme to fully develop the children's understanding of number and shape using a CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) approach.
This term we will be looking at addition and subtraction of numbers to twenty including doubles, near doubles and using number lines to count backwards and find the difference between numbers. We go on to look at number related facts and solve number problems within twenty and then move onto place value of numbers to fifty before investigating measurement as we look at length, height, mass and volume.
Humanities - Geography
This term we will return to our Geography module. The children will learn to identify and locate the four UK countries, recognise their own country and describe locations using basic compass directions. They also measure different types of weather, using symbols used in weather forecasts, describe seasonal changes and suggest appropriate clothing and activities for each season.
Science
This term we will be investigating animals, looking at the features of different animals and how to identify which classifications they belong to.
DT
Design and technology is our focus this term and we will be putting the children's imaginations to good use by getting them to design and make alien puppets.
They will investigate how to join materials together with pins, staples and glue before deciding upon the best method to use when making their own puppet. They will make a design template and plan how they want to decorate it, before cutting out the material, joining the pieces together and decorating them to match their designs.
PE
In PE this term, the children will be learning to 'attack, defend and shoot'. They will be defending a target and will learn to roll and slide balls and beanbags. They will be working with partners to shoot and score points and will use attacking and defending skills within their games.
They will also be exploring ranges of motion whilst developing strength, power, speed and agility.
PSHE
Personal, Social, Health & Economics
We use the 'Jjigsaw' scheme of work and this term will be focussing on the 'Healthy Me' module. The children will be learning ways in which they can 'be and keep themselves safe and healthy'.
RE
In RE we will continue to discuss world views and our investigations on what different groups of people believe God looks like. We will look at viewpoints from Christian, Hindu and Muslim faiths and explain some of the different names people use for God.
Computing
We will continue to investigate programming skills and will be looking at virtual assistants and the types of input and output devices in use. The children will also look at decomposition and how programmes need to be broken down into small steps so they can be recreated by others or errors can be more easily assessed and solved.
Music
This will be taught by our music specialist Mr Lee on alternate Tuesday mornings. This term the children will be learning to use their voices expressively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
Parent Partnership
We are always happy to discuss anything with parents and carers to help to support children in learning or to provide pastoral support. If you would like to meet, please contact the office to arrange this.
Phonics Screening Check
Year 1 Curriculum Overview
Useful learning resources for parents for English and Maths
Bug Club Sounds and Actions
In their phonics lessons, the children are taught the letter sounds along with a matching action. This helps many children remember the individual letters or combination of letters more readily. It is important that the children use the 'pure' sound as they read each letter, this will ensure the words makes sense when blended back together. Phases 2, 3 & 4 are taught in Foundation and phase 5 in Year 1.
(Please note there are no new sounds taught in Phase 4.)
Bug Club Phonics Sound Board
Click on the link below to watch a video of the sounds and actions as they taught in each phase.
Phase 2
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/bcpafsp2
Phase 3
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/bcpafsp3
Phase 5 (Set A)
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/bcpafsp5a
Phase 5 (Set B)
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/bcpafs5