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Welcome to Class 1

Mrs Walls, Mrs Brindle, Mrs Barratt, Mr Duckworth

Class 1 is a mixed age class of Reception and Year 1 children. We aim to nurture and help your child flourish as they begin their schooling at Bretherton and will support and guide them to achieve their full potential.

We welcome you back into the New Year and into the Spring term. We have lots of exciting activities planned and cannot wait to learn! Below is an overview of what we will be covering:

English

We will be looking at the book ‘The Magic Paintbrush’. This is about a young girl who uses her paintbrush to paint different things, in particular things to help others. It talks about our values of kindness and respect.

We will then look at a book based on dinosaurs.. We will write our own pamphlets based on this book and thinking about how our world has been destroyed by rubbish. We will be thinking about the impact it has and how we need to care for God’s world.

Maths

This term year one will be learning about place value up to 20 and beyond and fractions. We will learn about the value of a 2-digit number breaking it down into tens and ones. Although the numbers may not be large, this gives us a great opportunities to truly understand how numbers are constructed. We will be counting forwards and backwards, finding one more and one less and using language such as greater than and less than. In fractions we will be finding the fraction of a shape and understanding halves and quarters.

In reception we will be subitising (recognising a number of objects without counting) using known patterns e.g. those on dice or those on a tens frame. We will be learning about mass and compacity and comparing quantities and recognising and understanding the value of numbers to ten.

Science

In science we will start the term learning about the weather. We will monitor the weather and consider why the weather is different in different places of the world. We will record the weather using instruments in school to measure rainfall. We will then be learning about forces and how we can apply force to an object but also how the nature and materials of an object can dictate how it responds to forces and conditions. We will also learn about machines and learn about machinery and how it makes it easier for humans to complete certain jobs.  Within the idea of machinery, children can also think about different types of transport and how we use these.

Geography

In geography, we will be learning about the United Kingdom and the four countries that make up the UK. Children will learn their capital cities and use maps to locate them. They will dig deeper and learn about London and the human and physical features of London.

History

We will be answering the question ‘What happened in London in 1666?’. Children will learn about the Great Fire of London using different sources. This will build on the geography topic about our capital city. Children will find out what we have learnt about the fire and will find out about the diary of Samuel Pepys.

RE

In  RE we will be learning about the Easter story and what the important parts were. Children will learn about the main events including the last supper, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. They will also learn about Baptism and why it is special as well as looking how children are welcomed into different faiths.

Music

In music we will be exploring sound and music and movement. We will be finding out about how we can make sounds with our voices, with our bodies and the sounds around us. We will be finding the beat and exploring tempo as well as pitch.

PE

In PE we will be doing dance linked to the Fire of London. We will be exploring how we can move. We will also be completing a gymnastics unit, considering how we can move around the floor and along apparatus.

Art and DT

We will be looking at the London skyline and sketching images of various buildings in London. We will work on our sketching skills and look at the shape and pattern on building. In DT we will be learning about wheels and axles and how they move. We will link this to transport and build our own vehicle with moving parts.

We will also continue to develop our love of the outdoors ensuring we get outside as much as possible to appreciate the world around us.

Our Early Years Provision

At Bretherton Endowed C of E Primary School our key aim is to continue and extend the education which has begun at home and in pre-school provision to enable every child to develop an enthusiasm for learning throughout his/her lifetime. 

Intent for the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

It is our intention at Bretherton Endowed C of E Primary School that children in the Early Years Foundation Stage feel happy, safe and secure. All children are valued as individuals. We aim to deliver a curriculum that provides memorable experiences and firm foundations for learning to enable every child to thrive. We endeavour to give children the Cultural Capital they need for the future by giving them the best start in life to enable them to fulfil their full potential  and achieve future success. 

To ensure the best outcomes for our children we offer a broad curriculum with a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. We provide a stimulating environment and exciting opportunities both indoors and outdoors to promote curiosity, problem solving and imagination. Our children are encouraged to be confident, resilient and independent. 

We continually promote and develop social, personal and emotional skills to enable children to play and learn together. Throughout the curriculum language and communication skills are a key focus as we recognise these are crucial in children’s development, learning and progress.

To enable every child to thrive at Bretherton Endowed C of E Primary School we recognise the importance of forming positive relationships between children, staff and parents.

Early Years Foundation Stage: September 2021

The government has released new guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage for September 2021. We will therefore be following the Early Learning Goals for planning and assessment.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

To prepare for the revised EYFS curriculum September 2021, we  follow the guidance in Development Matters (September 2021) and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage  (September 2021).

The framework sets out the seven areas of learning and development.

The three prime areas of learning that underpin everything in the early years are:

• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development

The four specific areas of learning which help children to strengthen and apply the prime areas are:

• literacy
• mathematics
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design

All of these seven areas are connected together. In addition there are three characteristics of effective teaching and learning which weave through all the areas. These are:

• playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things
• active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• creating and thinking critically , make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things– children develop their own ideas

In planning and guiding what children learn we incorporate the seven areas of learning, take into account the different rates at which children develop and provide the opportunities to encourage the three characteristics of learning.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

The EYFS profile is a statutory assessment at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is comprises of an assessment of the child’s attainment in relation to the seventeen Early Learning Goal descriptors from the seven areas of learning:

• Communication and Language 

Listening, Attention and Understanding

Speaking

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

Self–Regulation

Managing Self

Building Relationships

• Physical Development

Gross Motor Skills

Fine Motor Skills

• Literacy 

Comprehension

         Word Reading

         Writing

• Mathematics 

Number

         Numerical Patterns

• Understanding the World 

Past and Present

People, Culture and Communities

The Natural World

• Expressive Arts and Design

Creating with Materials

Being Imaginative and Expressive

We use our professional judgement to make these assessments based on the knowledge and understanding of what the child knows, understands and can do. These assessments are informal and based on day to day observations of the child.  In addition, comments are added to describe how a child demonstrates the three characteristics of effective learning. The main purpose of this profile is to support a successful transition to Key Stage 1. It is also used to inform parents about their child’s development. Children are defined as having reached a Good Level of Development at the end of the EYFS if they have achieved at least the expected level for the Early Learning Goals in the three prime areas of learning and the specific areas of literacy and mathematics.   

Phonics and Reading in Class 1

• In EYFS and Year 1 we follow ‘Monster Phonics .’
• We mainly use the Monster Phonics Reading Schemes.

Curriculum in Class 1

• Year 1 children follow the National Curriculum Key Stage 1.
• All Class 1 children follow a two year cycle of topics and the Jigsaw PSHE scheme of work . This is an engaging curriculum which offers a variety of experiences and opportunities for the children and is linked to the continuous provision we have in class.

We operate an open door policy at Bretherton Endowed Primary School. Please do come and see us if you have any queries, concerns or just as importantly if you are pleased with something your child has done.