Friday 6th November 2026
Dear Parents/Carers of Year 1,
RE: Y1 Curriculum Letter, Autumn 2 ‘Toys, Past and Present’
We hope you had a lovely half term.
This term, our topic is ‘Toys Past and Present’, where the children will step back in time to explore Victorian toys and compare them with the toys they play with today!
In Science, we will be identifying common everyday materials and investigating their physical properties (such as hard, soft, transparent, and absorbent). We have attached a key vocabulary list to help you discuss and reinforce this learning at home.
English
This term, our English learning will be built around two key texts: ‘You Must Bring a Hat’ and ‘The Leopard’s Drum’. The children will learn to write step-by-step instructions as well as creative narratives. Across all our writing, we will be focusing on constructing clear, coherent sentences with correct capital letters and full stops.
Maths
The focus in Maths this term is numbers to 20. Children will carry on counting forwards and backwards fluently within 50. We will continue to work on addition and subtraction as well as measurement (height, length, weight, and mass). Each day, we will continue to do fluency sessions where the children will develop their understanding of how numbers can be partitioned, as well as subitising.
Reading at Home & Reading Competition 📚
We would greatly appreciate your continued support with reading at home. Sharing a book with your child daily makes a wonderful difference and helps them make as much progress as possible throughout Year 1!
Each time you read together, please record the story in their reading diary as this will count towards our class Book Reading Competition of reading 20 books!
Please ensure your child brings their book bag to school every day. Reading books will be collected on Wednesday and new books will be handed out every Friday.
PE: Thursdays
Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit every Thursday. The school PE kit consists of a plain white T-shirt, a red school jumper, plain black or grey shorts or trousers, and trainers or plimsolls. We kindly ask that children do not wear non-uniform clothing on PE days. Thank you for your support.
PE kit is also required on alternate Wednesdays
We also have PE on the following Wednesdays:
Wednesday 11th November
Wednesday 25th November
Wednesday 9th December
Dates for your diary
| Date | Event | Time |
| Monday 16th November | Phonics workshop led by Ms Abey on how to support your child with their Phonics. | 2.30pm |
| Monday 7th December | A pantomime company will be visiting our school to perform a Christmas show for all Early Years and Key Stage 1 children. Please see the letter linked here for further details. | PM |
| Friday 4th December | Stay and share craft activity; come along at drop off to make a fun winter craft with your child. | 8.40am – 9.10am |
A separate letter will be sent out in the next couple of weeks with all dates for festive events later this term.
Important reminders
Uniform
As the weather becomes colder, please ensure your child has a warm coat and that all jumpers, hats, scarves and gloves are named.
Snacks & Water bottle
Please ensure your child brings a filled and labelled water bottle to school each day. We provide fruit every day as a morning snack so you do not need to provide any snacks.
A reminder that children should not bring in toys from home as these can get lost or broken.
Forest School
Your child has been assigned to either Group A or Group B for Forest School; please refer to your letter for their specific session dates. On these days, please send your child to school wearing their normal school uniform and bring their waterproofs and wellies in a labelled bag.
Thank you in advance for your continued support.
Year 1 Team
Vocabulary for our Science Topic ‘Uses of Everyday Materials’.
