Welcome to the Year 1 webpage. We will use this page to keep you informed about events and learning in Year 1!

This half term we learnt about bears. They are such interesting animals and are found in every continent, except Africa. We learnt about polar bears, panda bears and spectacled bears. We looked at how bears are similar and different to each other and found out what they eat. Bears are omnivores which means they eat meat and plants. We thought about other animals and what they ate too.

In English, we used Paddington Bear to inspire much of our learning. We learnt all about Paddington Bear’s character and pretended to be him by writing diary entries and letters to his Aunt Lucy. We also learnt how much Paddington Bear loved Marmalade sandwiches! Because of this, we learnt how to make our own sandwiches and wrote instructions. We even tried hard to use bossy verbs. 

In Maths, we developed our understanding of counting in groups and how to solve practical multiplication problems. We investigated how we could make arrays for different numbers by arranging equal rows and columns. We also practised learning to double numbers and find half of a number.  

We also had a lot of fun on Maths Day where we started off by playing maths games during our family morning where grown ups from home are invited into class. Our theme this year was developing our understanding of how maths is everywhere, such as in cooking, art, games and in nature.  We did a range of activities linked to maths.  We made very tasty biscuits where we had to use our maths measuring skills and created beautiful art where we had to use our knowledge of shapes.  

What is the Year 1 phonics screening check?

The Year 1 phonics screening check is a short assessment for all Year 1 children.  It is a statutory requirement for all schools in England to carry out the phonics screening check. 

When does it take place? 

It takes place the week beginning the 9th June.  If a child is absent, they will be assessed when they return to school.  

How long does the check take? 

Every child is different, but most children will take between five and ten minutes.

How is the check structured? 

Children will be given 40 words to read, including non-words (‘alien’ words). The check will take place one-to-one with your child’s teacher. The children are very familiar with the format and the check is administered in a very relaxed, informal way.

How will the results from the phonics screening check be shared? 

A letter will be sent home after the assessment which will inform you whether your child is working at the expected level. 

What happens if a child is not working at the expected level? 

Children will retake the assessment in the summer term in Year 2. Children will be supported in school to improve their phonics skills and we will share with you what has been put in place to help your child.

If you have any questions please speak to your child’s class teacher.   

Many thanks, Year 1 Team

Thank you to all the year 1 parents who came in for our Opal Pop-in event last Friday. It was so lovely for the children to share this with their parents and great to see so many parents getting stuck in with the all the imaginative play! 

During the event we shared a booklet called 'The Power of Playtime'. This may be of interest to all parents as it contains some top tips for outdoor play at home! Click here to see a copy.

Dear Year 1 Parents/Carers, 

Please find attached a letter from Ms Ellis, our Maths leader regarding fluency tests the children will be completing this half term and how you can help them at home.

Y1 Maths Fluency Test letter Summer 1

Thank you and best wishes, 

Burlington Infant & Nursery School

Dear Year 1 Parents, 

Please find attached the Year 1 newsletter for the first half of the Summer term.

Year 1 Summer 1 2025 Term Newsletter

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team

We kicked off our new Pirate and Explorers topic with a treasure hunt around the school. We followed a series of clues which led us all around the school, until finally we ended up back at the classroom and found the treasure! We have been reading The Great Explorer, an exciting story of a boy called Tom that searches for his missing dad in the North pole.   We wrote some excellent diary entries about Tom’s adventure and retold parts of the story.  Finally, we learnt about the most terrifying pirate of all… Blackbeard!

This half term we celebrated Book Week, with a whole school focus on poetry. Each class looked at a different poem, they learnt about features of their poem, wrote their own poems, and did a performance in front of children from the Juniors. Well done for all the fantastic costumes on Book Day!

In Geography we have been learning about human and physical features and maps. We started off by walking around the playground, identifying human and physical features, before heading on a local area walk, which included Beverley Park and other local features. While on the walk we identified our location on a map and when we returned we drew our own maps showing the route that we had taken.

We have become materials experts over the last few weeks! We began with a classroom hunt to identify which objects used which materials, after that we  looked at the properties of the different materials. Working scientifically, we classified and grouped different materials and compared them to say how they were the same and different.  After all that hard work we became materials experts and we decided to carry out an eggs-periment… Looking at a variety of materials, we predicted which one would best protect an egg when dropped from a height. I think a lot of us were quite surprised by the results.

In maths we started off by looking at one more and one less with numbers up to 50. We compared numbers using the correct vocabulary, greater than, less than, and equal to. Over the half term we also completed several problem solving activities, using different skills to help us find the answer. We also learnt how to measure length and height, using both standard and non standard units of measure.

Year 1 children had so much fun on Friday 21 March taking part in lots of pirate activities! It was wonderful to see the children dressed up in their amazing costumes - thank you to parents for making so much effort! 

Dear Year 1 Parents, 

Please find attached the Year 1 newsletter for the second half of the Spring term.

Year 1 Spring 2 2025 Term Newsletter

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team

Every half term the children in KS1 learn about a Scientist. This half term, the children have been learning about Dr Sheila Kanani.  We were very lucky that Dr Sheila Kanani visited us on Thursday. She told the children all about her job and answered their questions about space. She was very impressed by their space models, writing and their knowledge about the planets. To read more about her, please click on this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Kanani

Dear Year 1 Parents, 

Please find attached the Year 1 newsletter for the first half of the Spring term. 

Year 1 Spring 1 2025 Term Newsletter

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team

We have really enjoyed learning about Toys this half term.  We read the story Traction Man and linked this to different areas of our learning.  We wrote our own Traction Man stories such as: Traction man saves Salt Pot Stan from the Boiling Soup.  We also enjoyed making a stocking for Traction man.  We designed our stocking and then had to use our sewing and cutting skills to create it.  We all felt very proud of our hard work!

We even made vehicles for Traction Man.  We remembered our woodwork skills we learnt in Reception.  

In our Toy topic we looked at the history of toys and used our history skills to order toys from oldest to newest.  I think we all agreed we are lucky that we have the toys we do today that we can play with.  We linked our learning about toys to Geography.  We learnt that there are different games played around the world and we got the chance to create different images using Tangram shapes.

In Science, we learnt about materials.  First we learnt the different types of materials we have and then thought about how we could describe them.  Finally, we used our knowledge to investigate which material would be best for a reindeer’s coat.  We decided it should be waterproof.  We tested different materials until we found the best one.  

In Maths, we have been using our knowledge of addition and subtraction to find fact families and find the missing part from a part part whole model.  We have also learned the names and properties of 2D and 3D shapes and have been comparing them.

This half term we learnt about Diwali - The Festival Of Lights. We were visited by Earth Song who told us the story of Diwali. The children acted out the story together through movement and dance.

In History, we learnt about Remembrance Day. We talked about why people wear poppies at this time and what they symbolise. The children created poppy artwork and showed it in a whole school assembly.

Dear Year 1 Parents, 

Please find attached the Year 1 newsletter for the second half of the autumn term. 

Year 1 Autumn 2 2024 Term Newsletter

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team

Dear Year 1 Parents/Carers, 

Please find attached a letter from Ms Ellis, our Maths leader regarding fluency tests the children will be completing this term and how you can help them at home. 

Year 1 Maths fluency test letter Autumn 2024

Thank you and best wishes, Burlington Infant & Nursery School

We have had a fantastic start to the year, enjoying our topic Paws, Claws, Whiskers and Wings! We started the year with a safari in the Orchard, hunting for different animals and noting down what we found. We read several different books linked to the topic, including Croc and Bird, Tad, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, and many more. Unfortunately one of the owl babies went missing, but we helped find him by creating missing posters! This half term we became bird experts, learning lots of new facts, going bird watching and creating our very own non-fiction bird books. We even turned ourselves into birds and took flight in the playground! We also learnt about reptiles and fish, creating ‘guess the reptile’ quizzes, and fish collages with accurate labels.

Near the end of the half term we had lots of different visitors in the classes as it was our Pets in School Week. We met lots of pets including friendly dogs, a cute tortoise and a fluffy guinea pig.  We were very sensible, making sure to be very gentle with the animals and asking lots of interesting questions. Thank you to any of the parents who came in with their pets!

In science we learnt about the human body and different types of animals. We discussed the different body parts and linked them to the five senses. We took part in a senses walk in the playground, where we identified what we could see, smell, touch, and hear. We also learnt that there are many different types of animals and learnt how mammals have fur or hair and produce milk for their young.

We finished the half term by being lucky enough to take part in an Earth song workshop that helped us to understand and learn about many of the different instruments there are around the world.#

Thank you to all the Year 1 parents who attended the talk on Friday morning. We hope you found it useful. If you were unable to attend, please click below to see a copy of the presentation.

Welcome to Year 1 presentation for parents - September 2024

If you would like a copy of the handouts which were given in the meeting, please speak with your class teacher.

Dear Year 1 Parents 

Please find attached the Year 1 newsletter for the first half of the autumn term. 

Year 1 Autumn 1 2024 Term Newsletter

Thank you and best wishes, Year 1 Team