Welcome to Year 1
Our Year 1 teacher is Miss Jones and our teaching assistants are Mrs Wallace, Miss Fuller and Mrs Moher.
Our team email is Year1@maryexton.herts.sch.uk
Year 1 is an exciting time for our children as they begin their transition from the Early Years into more formal learning in the Key Stages. We support this though providing daily opportunities for play-based learning in the autumn and spring term and ensure that many activities are practical, engaging and build on all the wonderful learning that has taken place in Reception.
The curriculum focuses on developing core skills in English, Mathematics, and Science, helping pupils to become confident readers, writers, and problem-solvers. Our learning journey starts in the autumn term with securing fundamental skills developed in Reception, such as letter formation, reading and writing simple sentences, and counting and using numbers to 10 in Maths. These skills are then embedded and developed throughout the year in preparation for Year 2.. Alongside these core subjects, children enjoy a broad range of foundation subjects including History, Geography, Art, Design and Technology, Music, Computing, Physical Education. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE) and Religious Education (RE) are also woven throughout the curriculum, supporting children’s personal growth and understanding of the wider world.
Children also take part in a range of exciting extra-curricular learning opportunities. These include an interactive toy workshop, local area visits to enhance topic learning, and a memorable summer term trip to a wildlife park, where pupils can explore and learn about animals and their habitats in a real-world setting.
Learning in Year 1 is creative, hands-on, and engaging, encouraging curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.
Curriculum Maps
Please see below for our curriculum mpas. These documents outline the learning that will take place in each subject. These documents are sent out to parents at the beginning of each term.
English in Year 1
Recommended Reading
Please find a recommended reading list from 'The School Reading List' here. The website includes some brilliant books which are age appropriate with some for new authors and other stories you'll remember from your own childhood. THere will be something for everyone!
Reading in Year 1 is exciting! The vast majority of children will be reading by the end of the year and the change is always incredible. At this age we want to foster a love of reading and so it is important that they are enjoying the sessions with you. Remember that they don't have to read every word - enjoy the books together. If you have any questions on how to support your children with their reading, do see the class teacher or visit our reading curriculum page for further support.
In writing, the children continue to develop their early writing skills and begin to see themselves as confident, independent writers. They build on their phonics knowledge to segment and spell words, form sentences, and use basic punctuation such as capital letters and full stops. Through a range of engaging texts, topics, and experiences, pupils learn to write for different purposes — including stories, letters, instructions, and poems. Handwriting is a key focus, with children practising correct letter formation and developing fluency and stamina. Creativity is encouraged through imaginative writing activities linked to class themes and high-quality books. By the end of Year 1, children are beginning to write more independently, with growing confidence, enjoyment, and pride in their work.
Maths in Year 1
By the end of year 1, children begin to solve simple problems involving addition and subtraction in familiar contexts such as going shopping, using a range of hands-on equipment, symbols, images and pictures. They begin to use what they know to tackle problems that are more complex and provide simple reasons for their opinions.
At Mary Exton we use Hertfordshire Maths Essentials to support our planning. We make maths as practical as possible, using real life situations. In Year 1 we focus heavily on number and place value to ensure that our children are secure in the basics.
Children will identify and represent numbers using objects, pictures and models, such as the number line, and use ‘equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most and least.’ Children will accurately count numbers to, and across, 100 forwards and backwards from any given number with increasing understanding. They count, read, write and order numbers in numerals up to 100 and from 1 to 20 in words. When given a number, they can identify one more and one less. They can count in multiples of twos, fives and tens.
Within number and place value, chidren begin calculating. By the end of Year 1 children will understand known addition and subtraction facts within 20, including zero. They will demonstrate an understanding of multiplication and division through grouping and sharing using hands-on resources, pictorial representations and arrays (2, 5 and 10). They understand doubling and halving small quantities.
Knowledge Organisers
Please find below our knowledge organisers for all of our foundation subjects. Our knowledge organisers are a simple, clear guide that highlights the key vocabulary, concepts, and important information for each topic our chidlren are learning. It outlines the learning for our children so that they understand what they need to know and makes it easier for families to support their learning at home. By using the organiser, parents can see the key facts and ideas, making it easier to reinforce and discuss learning together. It’s a useful tool for both school and home, ensuring students are confident in what they’ve learned.
Autumn Term 1 Knowledge Organisers
Art -
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
Autumn Term 2 Knowledge Organisers
Art
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
Spring Term 1 Knowledge Organisers
Art
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
Spring Term 2 Knowledge Organisers
Art
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
Summer Term 1 Knowledge Organisers
Art
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
Summer Term 2 Knowledge Organisers
Art
Design Technology
Geography
History
Music
PE
PSHE
RE
Science
