Class 1
Class 1
Class 1 is Reception and Year 1. This is taught by Mrs Hayley Kingdom.
Class 1
Class 1 forms our Foundation Stage Unit at Culmstock Primary School, consisting of Reception and Year 1 children. Our learning environment consists of a classroom and an outside learning space, providing opportunities for different styles of learning and exploration through both play and more structured learning.
Being a mixed Foundation and Year 1 class provides the opportunity for all children to access their learning through a play-based curriculum. As the year becomes more structured, particularly for Year 1, this helps prepare children for their next year or class.
A typical day in Class 1 consists of phonics, guided reading, maths and literacy activities in the morning. Reception and Year 1 receive their input learning on the carpet during separate sessions for maths and phonics and then receive their input learning on the carpet jointly for literacy. After their inputs, Reception children explore their learning through continuous provision throughout the learning environment and through group activities. Year 1 explore their learning through more structured table tasks. Once Year 1 have finished their activities, they can then further their learning through enhanced provision.
During the afternoon we cover topic work, PE sessions and any extra reading. If the children are not working with an adult, foundation children continue to focus on different areas of EYFS curriculum, using their curiosity to explore learning through play with adults using effective questioning to broaden their understanding and learning. Year 1 children also have the opportunity to extend and consolidate their learning through teacher led activities and additionally through a variety of independent and play-based learning opportunities.
In Class 1 we aim to create a friendly and stimulating learning environment where all of our children can be happy and confident to learn. We encourage our children to become both independent learners and team players who use their creativity, imagination, curiosity and prior knowledge to build their learning through a variety of adult led and child-initiated activities.
Reading
In Class 1 we teach reading through the Little Wandle phonics scheme. Year 1 are joined for their phonics session with Year 1 children from Class 2. During guided reading, children read a phonics book matched to their phonics knowledge. This book is then taken home for them to read at home. Every week, the children take home a library book of their choosing.
Literacy
We explore a wide range of texts in Class 1, including fiction and non-fiction. We use these texts to inspire our learning through topics, drawing links between our learning across subject areas or learning goal areas. We use our phonics to help us with our reading and writing. In Class 1 we also have many opportunities throughout the learning environment to explore reading and writing further in continuous provision time. A key focus in Class 1 is communication and language. Throughout the day we take every opportunity to develop our communication and language skills.
Maths
We follow the White Rose maths scheme for both Year 1 and Reception children. Reception children explore their maths learning through carefully planned continuous provision where they can apply their maths skills to different problem-solving situations as well as more group focussed maths activities too. Year 1 children can also explore enhanced provision after their more focussed maths work to help them build their skills further.
Science
In Class 1 we use our scientific working skills daily, observing the changes in weather and seasons, exploring the natural world around us, asking questions and investigating. We also explore lots of non-fiction texts linked to our topics to help us build our knowledge further alongside our focussed science lessons too.
Foundation Subjects
Our foundation subjects are taught on a rolling programme. We explore foundation subjects through carpet input teaching, just like our other subjects and explore structured activities too. However, our learning environment is also set up to enable children to explore their knowledge and skills in foundation subjects further through continuous provision. We also teach PE twice a week and children have the opportunity to explore forest school during the year as well.