Welcome to Year One!

We’re delighted to have you with us as we begin this exciting new chapter in your child’s learning journey. Year 1 is a special and important stage—it marks the start of Key Stage 1 and brings with it lots of opportunities for growth, discovery, and joy.

Throughout the year, we’ll embark on many engaging learning experiences together, helping children deepen their understanding of the world around them and build on the strong foundations developed in Reception.

One key milestone this year is the Phonics Screening Check, which takes place in June. You can support your child by listening to them read their book-bag books regularly and by watching the weekly phonics videos shared on Class Dojo. These small, consistent efforts at home make a big difference.

Please keep an eye on Class Dojo for regular updates about what we’re learning in class, as well as photos and messages about the fun, hands-on activities we’re enjoying.

We’re so excited to work in partnership with you this year—here’s to a fantastic start to Year 1!

Warm regards,

Miss McHale and Miss Lindley 

Our Learning: Toys Through Time

This term, we are going on an exciting journey to discover how toys have changed over time!

We will explore the toys children love to play with today and find out how these compare to the toys our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents played with when they were young. We will discover how films, television programmes, books and even famous people can influence which toys become popular.

We will investigate how toys have changed as technology has developed and how they reflect the world around us. From toy cars and dolls to pretend kitchens, mobile phones and laptops, many toys are inspired by the everyday lives of adults.

We will also discover that some toys never go out of fashion! Teddy bears, dolls and bicycles have been loved by children for generations.

Through sharing our own experiences, looking at toys from the past and comparing them with toys today, we will learn how much has changed — and what has stayed the same. Who knows? We might even discover what your grown-ups’ favourite toys were when they were children!

 

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Toys come in all shapes and sizes, and they can be made from lots of different materials. They can help us to build, create, move, solve problems and have fun!

As part of our learning, we will explore six different categories of toys:

• Soft toys – dolls, teddy bears and cuddly animals.
• Moving toys – toy cars, trains, pull-along toys and battery-operated toys.
• Puzzles and games – jigsaws, board games, card games and video games.
• Outdoor toys – bicycles, scooters, roller skates and balls.
• Building and making toys – building blocks, bricks, construction sets and modelling clay.
• Musical toys – xylophones, rattles and maracas.

We will look closely at different toys and think about which category they belong to. Can you guess what makes each toy special?

Some toys can belong to more than one category! For example, a ball is an outdoor toy, but it can also be a moving toy. A cuddly teddy bear that plays music could be both a soft toy and a musical toy.

Through exploring and sorting different toys, we will develop our observation skills, share our ideas and discover just how many different ways there are to play!

Reading in Year 1

In Year 1, your child will bring home two types of books each week:

• A banded book matched to their phonics level to help develop decoding skills

• A phonics book.

Reading with your child regularly at home plays a vital role in their phonetic development. Even just a few minutes a day can make a big difference in building their confidence and fluency.

Phonics Screening Check

During the summer term, Year 1 children will take part in the Phonics Screening Check. This national check assesses how well children can apply their phonics skills to read a range of real and pseudo (nonsense) words.

To support your child, we’ll continue to provide phonics activities in school and share weekly phonics videos and additional resources on Class Dojo. Continued reading practice at home is especially important—your encouragement and support make a huge impact!

Homework

Each Friday, your child will bring home their homework book, which includes:

• A weekly spelling list on the front cover to practise throughout the week

• Activities designed to reinforce classroom learning

Spelling tests will take place each Friday. Please return completed homework by the following Wednesday so that we can celebrate and review your child’s efforts together.