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Year 1

  1. Year 1 Expectations
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Welcome to Year 1!

Hello and welcome to Year 1! I’m Miss Shen, the Year 1 class teacher. The children in our class are curious, enthusiastic and full of creativity. We love exploring new ideas and developing our skills through fun, hands-on learning every day.

In Year 1, children continue their exciting journey from the Early Years Foundation Stage, building greater independence and confidence as they discover more about the world around them. Our classroom is a happy, nurturing and lively space where every child is encouraged to try their best, share their ideas and celebrate their successes.

Please take a look below to find out more about our curriculum and what we’ll be learning throughout the year.

 

Religious Education – To Know You More Clearly

At Holy Cross, we follow the RED Religious Education Directory: To Know You More Clearly, which supports children in deepening their knowledge and love of God through scripture, tradition and lived faith.

The curriculum is structured around six branches, one per half term:

  • Creation and Covenant
     

  • Prophecy and Promise
     

  • Galilee to Jerusalem
     

  • Desert to Garden
     

  • To the Ends of the Earth
     

  • Dialogue and Encounter
     

These branches help pupils explore salvation history, the life and mission of Jesus, the story of the Church, and the call to live out their faith today. Each year group builds upon this foundation, encouraging children to reflect, question and grow spiritually. The curriculum is closely linked to the liturgical year and supports our prayer life, worship and Catholic mission throughout the school.

 

Home Reading

Reading is a very important aspect of learning, so we actively encourage children to read every evening. It is vital that your child has a book bag, so they are able to bring home their reading record and reading books. Book bags can be purchased from the main office. Book bags are to be brought to school each day. In Year 1 your child shall be given a book each week alongside their reading record for home reading.  Please comment in the reading record every time you listen to your child read.

We shall listen to your child read  in school through their home readers, as well as this we will have guided reading lessons to assess their progress. The children will also have lots of opportunities independently to read and enjoy books throughout the week in school. Reading is essential to progress so please try and listen to your child read as often as possible.

Your child will learn to read following the Read Write Inc scheme. We will hold a phonics session at the start of the year and again before the Phonics Screening. This will go through how your child learns and answer any questions that you may have about phonics. If you need any further assistance please let me know.

 

Phonics

Phonics is at the heart of our early reading and writing. This term, we continue learning Set 2 and Set 3 sounds, practising how to blend them together to read words. We are also building confidence in writing sentences using these sounds.

Daily phonics lessons along with regular reading at home help children become fluent and enthusiastic readers.

 

English

Throughout the year, children in Year 1 explore a wide range of engaging texts and genres, developing their love of reading and confidence in writing.

Genres include:

  • Retelling a story
     

  • Writing labels, captions and lists
     

  • Writing letters
     

  • Character description
     

  • Setting description
     

  • Story planning and extended writing
     

  • Poetry and expressive writing
     

  • Phonics-based sentence construction
     

  • Instruction texts writing
     

  • Information texts writing
     

  • Writing fantasy story
     

Selected texts include:

  • Autumn 1 – You Be You, All Are Welcome, We’re All Wonders
     

  • Autumn 2 – Stick Man, Red and Lulu
     

  • Spring 1 – Float, Singing in the Rain
     

  • Spring 2 – Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and the Jelly Beanstalk
     

  • Summer 1 – Where the Wild Things Are, Zog
     

  • Summer 2 – Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, Africa Is Not a Country
     

Through these texts, children develop essential skills such as word reading, comprehension, text mapping, sentence construction, planning, editing and re-drafting. Drama, role-play and discussion are embedded to enhance vocabulary, understanding of characters and engagement with stories.

Each half term, the curriculum focuses on specific genres and learning outcomes. This ensures pupils experience a broad and balanced English programme, engaging with different styles, purposes and audiences while building knowledge of grammatical structures and genre-specific features. Our aim is to nurture confident, imaginative writers and enthusiastic readers who are inspired to explore language in all its forms.

 

Mathematics

Maths in Year 1 follows the White Rose Maths scheme, providing children with a strong foundation in number, place value, and calculation through practical, hands-on learning and reasoning tasks.

Throughout the year, children will learn to count forwards and backwards, recognise and order numbers to 100, and identify missing numbers and number patterns. They will also develop fluency in addition and subtraction, particularly recalling number bonds to 20.

As the year progresses, we will explore a range of mathematical topics, including:

  • Place value to 10, 20, 50 and 100
     

  • Addition and subtraction
     

  • Shape, position and direction (2D and 3D shapes)
     

  • Length, height, mass and volume
     

  • Multiplication, division and fractions
     

  • Money and time
     

Children will apply their learning by tackling word problems and explaining their reasoning using mathematical language. By the end of the year, our Year 1 pupils will have grown into confident, curious and resilient problem solvers who see themselves as super mathematicians!

 

Science

Science in Year 1 encourages children to be curious and explore the world around them through hands-on investigations, observation, and questioning. Throughout the year, children study four key areas:

  • Seasonal Changes: Naming and recognising the four seasons; observing and recording changes in weather and daylight throughout the year using weather charts; and presenting simple weather forecasts.
     

  • Animals Including Humans: Identifying, naming, and comparing a variety of common animals (birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals); classifying them as carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores; and identifying body parts and the senses they are associated with.
     

  • Plants: Identifying and naming a variety of plants and trees, classifying them as deciduous or evergreen, and observing how they change over time.
     

  • Everyday Materials: Identifying and naming different materials such as glass, wood, metal, and plastic; describing their physical properties; and comparing materials through simple investigations, including testing which materials are waterproof for a “Design an Umbrella for a Minion” challenge.
     

These topics are revisited throughout the year to allow children to compare observations across the seasons and deepen their understanding of the natural world.

 

History

In History, children develop their understanding of chronology, historical enquiry, and interpretation through engaging topics across the year.

  • Autumn: Changes within living memory
     

  • Spring: Significant people – David Attenborough and Mary Anning
     

  • Summer: Local history – Kitty Wilkinson
     

Throughout these topics, pupils use historical sources to ask and answer questions, compare past and present, and explore how people have shaped our community and the wider world.

 

Geography

In Geography, pupils learn about the world around them and their place within it. They develop their understanding of locational and place knowledge, human and physical geography and geographical skills and fieldwork through a range of engaging topics across the year.

  • Autumn: Continents and oceans; countries, capital cities and surrounding seas of the United Kingdom; and the characteristics of the UK.
     

  • Spring: Hot and cold locations, exploring seasonal and daily weather patterns.
     

  • Summer: Human geography in the local area, including mapping and fieldwork.
     

Throughout the year, children learn to use maps, atlases and globes, recognise the four compass points and apply directional language to describe locations and journeys. Fieldwork activities help pupils connect their classroom learning to real-life geographical features within Liverpool and the local community.

 

Art and Design Technology

Art and DT lessons encourage creativity, imagination and problem-solving. Children work with a range of media and materials across the year.

Art:

  • Autumn: Drawing
     

  • Spring: Painting
     

  • Summer: Textiles
     

Design and Technology:

  • Autumn: Preparing fruit and vegetables (Food)
     

  • Spring: Wheels and axles (Mechanisms)
     

  • Summer: Sliders and levers (Mechanisms)
     

Each unit builds technical skills and encourages children to design, make and evaluate their work with purpose and pride.

 

Computing

In Computing, children explore the foundations of digital literacy and computer science. They learn to use technology safely, respectfully, and purposefully, while developing early programming and problem-solving skills.

Children will:

  • Use technology to create, organise, and store digital content
     

  • Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school
     

  • Understand, create, and debug simple algorithms
     

  • Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
     

  • Learn about online safety, understanding the importance of staying safe in the virtual world just as they do in the real one
     

Throughout the year, children are taught how to use the internet positively and responsibly, developing the knowledge and confidence to keep themselves safe online and become responsible digital citizens.

 

Physical Education (PE)

PE takes place every Monday. Children should come to school in their PE kit. Please ensure that your child's clothing is clearly labelled to avoid any lost items. It is vital for health and safety reasons that your child has the correct PE kit. Children develop coordination, balance, teamwork and confidence through:

  • Dance – expressing ideas through movement and rhythm
     

  • Gymnastics – balancing, stretching and body control
     

  • Athletics – running, jumping and throwing skills
     

  • Games – teamwork and simple tactics in invasion and striking games
     

  • Outdoor adventurous activities (OAA) – cooperation, communication and problem-solving outdoors
     

PE lessons promote enjoyment, fitness and wellbeing through active participation.

 

PSHE / RSHE

PSHE supports children’s personal development, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Lessons cover three main areas - Relationships, Living in the Wider World, and Health and Wellbeing - and encourage pupils to celebrate diversity and reflect the Gospel values that guide our Catholic school community.

Themes include:

  • Understanding ourselves and others
     

  • Friendships and families
     

  • Health, wellbeing, and safety
     

  • Respect, kindness, and inclusion
     

  • Emotional regulation and resilience
     

For our RSE lessons, we follow the programme Journey in Love, and for RSHE, we use Life to the Full. These programmes help children learn about themselves, others, and God’s love in a way that is age-appropriate, nurturing, and rooted in faith.

 

Music

Children explore songs from different cultures and traditions. They develop their skills by using instruments, keeping rhythms and experimenting with sounds.

In the second half of the Autumn term, the class will focus on preparing for the Christmas performance, sharing their musical learning and creativity with the school community.

 

Spanish

In Spanish, children are exploring basic vocabulary including colours, numbers and common animals. They build confidence through songs, interactive games and hands-on activities, gradually learning to use Spanish words and phrases in simple sentences and everyday contexts.

 

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