Heyes Lane Primary School

In Year 1 we start the year as geographers as we explore the question ‘Where do I call home?’ We make maps of our school and local area as well as exploring different types of homes around the world. Our class bears also love this theme as they get the chance to go off on an expedition to help us with our learning- sending us lots of postcards from all over the world! In Science we explore our bodies and how we use our senses to understand the world around us.

We then become historians as we learn about toys from the past. This theme starts with the chance to show off our favourite toys to our friends, which we then compare to toys which children in the past would have enjoyed. We investigate similarities and differences between old and new toys and are introduced to timelines. We also explore important developments in toys over the years as we imagine a world with no electricity or internet! In Science we learn about everyday materials and their properties. The fun doesn’t stop there as we apply all we have learned about materials to help Father Christmas on his secret Christmas quest…

G’day! In Spring we will find out what it is really like ‘down under’ as we become experts in all things Australia. We will find out about some of the most famous Australian landmarks and will compare the city of Manchester to Sydney. We will also develop ourselves as ethical learners as we gain an understanding of the damage that pollution is doing to the Great Barrier Reef. We will learn to write persuasively to encourage people to visit this beautiful country and will also explore the Aboriginal style of artwork. In science we will focus on animals as we learn about different animal groups and how they have adapted to their climate.

As the summer sun starts to shine we learn all about the beauty of nature in our Science topic on plants. We also learn where our food comes from and practise making some of our own healthy snacks! In our history lessons we will study the changes in trains over the years. We will look at the achievements of local George Stevenson and the contribution that he made to travel. We will then refine our art and DT skills by making our own clay sculptures.

In Year 1 the children have a Phonics Screening Test.

The Phonics Screening Check is a test for children in Year 1. Children take it during June in a one-to-one setting with a teacher. At Heyes Lane this is their class teacher.

Whilst children learn phonics to help them with both word reading and spelling, the Phonics Screening Check only tests their skills at word reading. This is sometimes called decoding.

During the Phonics Screening Check, children are asked to read (decode) 40 words. Most of these words are real words but some are pseudo-words (words that don’t make sense). Pseudo-words are included to ensure that children are using their decoding skills and not just relying on their memory of words they’ve read before. Because some children may misread these pseudo-words based on their similarity to words in their existing vocabulary, each pseudo-word is clearly identified with an image of an alien. Most teachers and children, therefore, refer to pseudo-words as alien words.

Each child’s end of year report includes their result in the phonics screening test.

If a child doesn’t pass the phonics screening test they will have extra phonics sessions in Year 2 and have the opportunity to revisit the test later on Year 2.

Year One Phonics Screening Check Video for Parents

At Heyes Lane, we follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised which is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme. Our lessons are designed so children can learn, apply and revisit Grapheme Phoneme Correspondences (GPCs) and words, daily, weekly and across terms and years, in order to move their acquired knowledge into the children’s long term memory.

In Year 1, we build upon the work already achieved in the EYFS by revisiting and reviewing phase 2, 3 and 4. The children are then introduced to Phase 5 where they will develop GPC, segmenting and blending to decode words and learn alternative pronunciations of graphemes already taught. Children are encouraged to read at home and are listened to regularly in school. They are given books that match their secure phonic knowledge in order for them to apply their learning with the aim of becoming successful, confident and fluent readers.

We believe reading is the key to all learning and will enable your child to develop as a learner as well as increase in confidence and enjoyment when reading a range of texts.

Reading with your child every night is vital to increase fluency and word recognition. We encourage this alongside the enjoyment of books they cannot yet read. We send home a fully decodable book to practise fluency and phonics as well as a reading practice book that we call a star book. This star book will have unfamiliar words in it so will need to be read with adult guidance. Also, we send home a library book that the child will chose themselves and be able to enjoy with an adult at home. We always encourage discussion before, during and after reading (whatever the text!) This will increase enjoyment, expand vocabulary and comprehension skills. Relating stories to real-life experiences also helps children’s understanding of characters and settings.

Homework is sent in the Autumn term and consists of phonics practice and maths fluency tasks. Completing this homework with your child will reinforce the learning from that week and embed the skills in their long term memory.

Please see the link to access the Phases Powerpoint

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/

Your child will be given an Oxford Owl log in at the start of Year 1. This website is great for encouraging the reading of eBooks and practising a range of genres.

https://numbots.com/

In Year 1 each child gets their own login and password for NUMBOTS. This is an interactive maths platform that enables children to practise skills whilst earning coins to upgrade their character.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/

This website has a wealth of games for children to practise almost any aspect of the curriculum. We particularly like the maths games which increase rapid recall of maths facts whilst having lots of FUN!!!

http://ictgames.co.uk/

This website focuses on Maths and English and has some great interactive games for your child to play and learn!