2026 - 2027

Year One begins the children's journey into Key Stage One, so it's a very important year!

We offer whole-class teaching and continuous provision with enhanced learning opportunities alongside precision group teaching. There is plenty of hands-on learning through our inspiring and creative curriculum.

Meet the Team 

Mrs Kirkham (Class Teacher)

Miss Higham (Teaching Assistant)

Mrs S Wyne (PPA teacher)

Our door is always open.

Do not hesitate to ask if there is anything else you need.

Thank you for your support

Mrs S Kirkham and the Year 1 Team

Mrs Kirkham                                             Miss Higham

                                      

Our class page is an area where you will find out about learning this term, also our fantastic Facebook page and Class Dojos if you are already a parent/carer. 

Please read our newsletters at the bottom of our page to find out more!     

 

Autumn Term 2026 - Is an exciting term as the children are starting to apply prior learning, they're developing into independent learners, grasping new concepts and consolidating friendships.  

                                          

             

Scroll down to see 'A day in the life of Year 1'

Working together, learning together, having fun together – that's our aim this term!

    

    PE 

PE will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. Please ensure your child has their full PE kit in school on those days if wearing the older uniform.  This consists of a white T-shirt, black plain shorts and black or white trainers. Please ensure earrings/jewellery are/is removed. 

 

Forest school

Outdoor Learning sessions will be held on a Tuesday afternoon. These sessions will go ahead unless there is extreme weather.  The children can bring their wellies into school and these will be kept in school during the term, enabling the children to access our outdoor learning area weekly.

The children will need to bring long trousers or leggings and a warm coat, hat and gloves (weather dependant) each Friday.

                 

Things you can do to help your child at home : 

• Counting to 100 and beyond both forwards and backwards. 
• Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.
• Spotting numbers when you are out and about.
• Reading the words and sounds which your child will bring home each week.
• Reading your guided reading book which will come home on a Wednesday and is to be returned the following Monday.  This book will have been specifically matched to your child's ability, enabling them to read to you fluently and expressively – using the phonics skills taught to them earlier that week in school.
• Reading and enjoying your child's chosen library book with them   

   A taste of life in Year 1:

Discover Our Engaging KS1 Classroom Environment 🏫✨

At Holme Slack, we believe that a well-structured classroom is the key to unlocking every child’s potential. Our carefully planned environment provides a safe space where children can explore, learn, and grow through activities linked directly to the KS1 curriculum.

                        

Science

We are focusing on 'Seasons'

 🍂 Autumn Hedgehog Baking! 🦔
Today (5/10/26) we explored some of the animals we might see around us in autumn, with a special focus on hedgehogs! 🦔

We got busy in the kitchen weighing, mixing and kneading our bread dough. The children particularly enjoyed kneading the dough into a ball before creating a round hedgehog shape with a little nose. They then carefully used scissors to snip the dough, creating the hedgehog’s spines. ✂️🦔

Finally, we brushed our hedgehogs with egg and popped them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. 🍞

Unfortunately, our delicious hedgehogs were still a little too hot to come home at the end of the day! 🔥 So they will be coming home tomorrow instead. We can’t wait to see the finished, edible creations! 🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔 

                   

 Geography

We are focusing on our local area

(28/9/26) We have focused on different types of homes, the weather was so nice and we had enough staff to be able to take the children out into the local area. Then the children could see first hand some of the types of homes we had been looking at in class.
Detached
Bungalow
Semi-detached
Terraced
Flats

It’s was such fun, some of the children even came across their own homes. Please help your child learn their own address, house number and road.  

                    

 

🌟 Key Highlights of Our Classroom:

• Safety First: A nurturing atmosphere where every child feels secure to express themselves.
• Challenging Activities: We offer a variety of engaging tasks designed not only to stimulate curiosity but also to encourage critical thinking.
• Fine Motor Skills Development: With specific areas dedicated to enhancing handwriting, we focus on building essential skills for future academic success.
• Talk Time Opportunities: Linking to the new writing framework, we prioritise discussions that enhance language development and confidence in verbal expression.
• Child-Led Learning: Our environment nurtures individual interests, allowing children to engage with tasks that spark their curiosity.

Join us on this exciting educational journey where learning is fun, and every day presents a new adventure! Let's inspire the next generation together! 🎉🚀                                

 

English - writing 

To enable our children to write effectively and coherently, we teach writing using The Write Stuff approach by Jane Considine. This approach is used across school and allows children to apply basic skills, vocabulary and grammar knowledge to write effective sentences which are full of impact and keep the reader interested. The Write Stuff brings clarity to the mechanics of teaching writing. It is introduced through the Writing Rainbow, using the three zones of writing.

From The Writing Rainbow, symbols are used to support children on their writing journey and to ensure that all children can use them in context as they move through school.

As part of the teaching sequence, teachers plan experience days; sentence stacking lessons and independent writing sequences. Experience days immerse children in experiences linked to their writing and drench them in vocabulary linked to the lenses in The Writing Rainbow. From the experience days, children take part in sentence stacking lessons. Sentence stacking lessons include effective demonstration writing by the teacher and the writing of three high-quality sentences with focus on the lenses of the rainbow. Children are also given the opportunity to deepen the moment and add more to their writing using a lens of their choice. Independent writing sequences give children the opportunity to showcase everything they've learnt in their experience days and sentence-stacking lessons.

Over their time at Holme Slack, children will write a range of genres focused on high-quality texts. The chosen texts and genres cover a wide range of themes, including cultural, social and physical diversity.  All fiction texts are explored through a central character, where the children put themselves in their position and focus on the highs and lows of story events and discuss the range of emotions from plot point to plot point.

   

Handwriting in Year 1 (age 5–6)

In Year 1, your child will learn to:

• • sit correctly and use the right pencil grip
  • form lowercase letters in the correct way: starting in the right place, moving the pencil in the correct direction and finishing in the right place
  • form capital letters in the correct way
  • forming the digits 0–9
  • understand which letters are formed in similar ways
  • to leave a space between words.

Phonics Screening Check

Please view below a parent guide to further explain the phonics screening check, as well as a recommended website to play related games with your child.  

Information

How will the children know which words are ‘alien’ (nonsense) words?

The made-up ‘alien’ words are always presented with a picture of an alien, so the children know that they are not real words that they might recognise. They are very familiar with this concept.

How will the phonics screening be administered?

Each child is taken through the screening check by a teacher on a 4:4 basis. This will be in a quiet area and there is not a time limit.

Will we be told about our child’s results?

The results of the check will be issued in the end of year reports.

 

What is the pass mark?

The standard threshold pass mark for this year’s phonics screening check will be published after the children have sat the check. In previous years the pass mark has been 32 out of 40.

What happens if my child doesn’t pass the phonics screening check?

Any child that does not reach the standard threshold will sit the screening check the following year. 

When will the phonics screening take place?

The government requires that the check must be taken during the week commencing 9th June. A pupil may only take the check the following week if they were absent during check week.

How can we support our child out of school?

Support your child by sharing their reading books at home and practice unknown sounds. 

An excellent website for phonic games is: http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ All phonics phases are covered on this website.

Read as much as possible to and with your child. When children become more capable readers they develop the skill of word recognition. However, it is important that children continue to practise good sounding out and blending so they don’t fall into the trap of guessing the wrong word.

Which phonics phase will the phonics screening check focus on?

The check includes graphemes from all of the phases taught to the children since they started school. (Phases 4-5).