Year 1
Welcome to Our Lady of the Rosary Year 1!
Year 1 is a wonderful year of growth, confidence, and new learning. It is where children begin to make the exciting transition from the Early Years into more structured learning, while still benefiting from rich opportunities for exploration and creativity. We believe that every child is full of God-given potential, and in Year 1 we nurture this through high expectations, purposeful teaching, and a curriculum designed to inspire curiosity and independence.
Our Learning Environment
The Year 1 classroom is a calm, engaging, and well-organised space where children feel ready to learn. While routines become more structured, the environment still offers opportunities for independence, investigation, and hands-on learning. Children are encouraged to take pride in their work, develop resilience, and approach challenges with confidence. Adults use clear modelling, skilled questioning, and encouraging guidance to help children develop as capable, thoughtful learners.
Our Curriculum and How We Support Learning
Year 1 follows a bespoke, carefully sequenced curriculum that builds on children’s prior learning and supports strong progression into Key Stage 1. Knowledge and skills are introduced gradually and revisited often so that learning becomes secure and meaningful.
Our core learning includes:
- Little Wandle Phonics, building on Reception learning and supporting children to become confident, fluent readers through daily explicit teaching and practice.
- White Rose Maths, providing well-structured small steps, practical resources, and problem-solving to develop deep understanding in number, shape, measure, and reasoning.
- Letter-join handwriting, supporting children to develop clear, fluent letter formation through consistent modelling, practice, and high expectations for presentation.
- A broad and rich curriculum across subjects including science, history, geography, art, design technology, computing, music, and PE.
- Regular opportunities for reflection, creativity, talk, and writing across the curriculum.
We also begin to introduce SOLO taxonomy in an age-appropriate way, helping children recognise how their ideas can grow from simple recall to deeper understanding. Through modelling and discussion, children learn how to build on their knowledge and make links across subjects.
Support is carefully tailored so that every child, regardless of their starting point, can access the curriculum and feel successful. Children are supported through small-group teaching, guided practice, visual scaffolds, and responsive feedback.
Learning Behaviours and Independence
As children move through Year 1, they develop important habits for learning: perseverance, independence, pride in presentation, and confidence in sharing their thinking. Adults encourage children to articulate their ideas, listen respectfully to others, and take increasingly responsible roles in the classroom. This growing independence supports them as they move through Key Stage 1.
Religious Education in Year 1
RE continues to be central to school life. Children explore Gospel stories, Church teachings, and the liturgical seasons in greater depth. They reflect on how we are called to live out the values of Jesus in our daily lives, learn simple theological ideas, and take part in prayer and class worship. Through discussion, stories, and reflection, children grow in faith, understanding, and compassion.
Partnership With Parents and Carers
We value strong communication with families. Each week, parents/carers receive a Google Classroom update outlining what the children have been learning, key vocabulary, and simple ways to support learning at home. These updates help families feel connected to the classroom and confident in supporting their child’s progress.
We also welcome conversations with families and offer opportunities to visit school events, look at children’s work, and celebrate their achievements.
Faith Life in Year 1
Faith is part of everyday life in Year 1. Children take part in class prayer, reflection, and simple acts of worship that help them grow in awareness of God’s love. They think about how Gospel values guide the choices they make, and they join whole-school liturgies, celebrations, and charitable projects. These shared experiences help children deepen their sense of belonging within our Catholic community.
A Place to Grow
Year 1 is a year filled with curiosity, challenge, and joy. Children build firm foundations in reading, writing, and mathematics, while continuing to explore the wider world through a rich and engaging curriculum. Our aim is for every child to leave Year 1 feeling confident, proud of their progress, and ready for the next steps in their learning journey.
Little Wandle - resources for parents/carers
Year 1 Phonics Check - information for parents/carers
White Rose - resources for parents/carers
Year One 'Meet the Teacher' Presentation
Our Autumn Curriculum Newsletter