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Year 1
On this page you will be able to find out about all the exciting learning happening in Year 1. Below you will find our year’s planning, half termly newsletter and link to our Twitter page.
Mrs Brownhill
Year 1 Teacher
Mrs Walker
Year 1 Teacher
I am currently in my first year of teacher training at Alexander McLeod Primary School. Although I am at the beginning of my formal teaching journey, I bring a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for working with children. I am enthusiastic about developing my practice and learning from those around me.
I am committed to creating a positive and inclusive classroom environment where children feel valued, supported and encouraged to achieve their best. I am passionate about education and look forward to continuing to build my confidence, knowledge and skills throughout my training year.
Mrs Cole
Year 1 Teacher
I am Mrs Cole and am currently teaching in Apple Class. I have taught EYFS for many years, and have previously taught Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2.
I have been teaching since 2014 and have always loved teaching in the Early Years, my teaching degree also specialised in the Early Years Foundation Stage. I am also interested in Special Educational Needs and how each child can be included within the classroom, but also develop at their own personal rate.
In my teaching career, I have led Computing, RE and Music. At Alexander McLeod I have also been the EYFS Leader of Learning and Key Stage 1 Leader of Learning. I am currently developing my practice and undertaking my SENCO qualification.
If you ever want to speak with me, you will find me in my classroom at the end of each day.
Our Learning
Year 1 is a very exciting year as children move from the Early Years Foundation Stage into Key Stage One. As well as teaching the Year 1 National Curriculum, we will also be recapping important learning from the Early Years Framework.
Albert Einstein stated that ‘play is the highest form of research’. Year 1 will be using a provision based approach to cover our curriculum during the autumn term. We will use child-initiated play, along with small adult led focus groups to cover our curriculum. Each day we will provide various resources for children to explore freely in different areas of the classroom. Each area will be engaging, offer challenge and allow children to develop important life skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, as well as meeting the National Curriculum. As the children learn and develop, our provision will gradually become more formal. This will support children with their transition into Year 2 where all learning is formalised.
Phonics Screening Check
In Year 1, children will complete a Phonics Screening Check at the end of the year. Children will take this test in an informal setting, one-to-one, with a teacher. Whilst children learn phonics to help them with both word reading and spelling, the Phonics Screening Check only tests their skills at word reading. This is sometimes called decoding. During the Phonics Screening Check, children are asked to read (decode) 40 words. Most of these words are real words but some are pseudo-words (made up words). Pseudo-words are included to ensure that children are using their decoding skills and not just relying on their memory of words they’ve read before. As some children may misread these pseudo-words based on their similarity to words in their existing vocabulary, each pseudo-word is clearly identified with an image of an alien. Most teachers and children, therefore, refer to pseudo-words as alien words. Children are taught phonics every day and they will be taught the difference between pseudo-words and real words throughout the school year.