Year 1

Year 1 at Holy Cross is exciting and part of an incredible learning journey where every child is provided with the best opportunities to achieve their full potential. 

We provide engaging, ambitious and nurturing experiences so that our children develop as critical and creative thinkers, who can work cooperatively, solve problems, express themselves with confidence, engage with the wider world and contribute to creating an equal and fair society. 

In September we develop the classroom environment to support a smooth transition from Early Years and to continue to promote independent learning. 

Most importantly of all, we always have children’s happiness and well-being at the heart of everything we do.

Curriculum Intent

Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is a unique and special place where our faith is at the heart of all we do. Our children learn to live the Gospel values of love, forgiveness and peace.  Within our federation of Aspire London we use the National Curriculum and believe that our children deserve for it to be tailored to their needs.  With this in mind we have prioritised the things we want our children to enjoy, experience and remember during their time with us. 

Our curriculum at Aspire London has a set of ‘drivers’ developed from the deep knowledge of the pupils and their families within our School community.

The drivers which shape our curriculum ensure we give our pupils aspirational opportunities throughout their primary school years.  We provide our children with the wealth of knowledge required to be informed and thoughtful members of our community and wider world.  The breadth of our curriculum encourages pupils to be ambitious, develop an inquiring mind and a life-long love of learning.

Curriculum Drivers

Significant People: Aspire London will: Develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world and people, past and present, who shape it Provide identifiable role models to raise ambition and aspiration

Community: Aspire London will: Immerse the children in the historically rich and diverse nature of London Give pupils an understanding of the positive impact of migration and a cultural appreciation of our community

Equality & Justice: Aspire London will: Empower pupils to be advocates who address issues of prejudice and discrimination Ensure pupils value fairness and resolve differences through positive discussion

Environmental Responsibility: Aspire London will: Educate children of the need to protect God’s planet from environmental damage Create eco- friendly citizens who are aware of the impact of their individual actions and those of the wider world.

Summer Term 2024

English	Our focus texts will be Astro Girl and Pattan’s Pumpkin and through those texts we will continue to will draft and write by noting ideas, key phrases and vocabulary, and composing and rehearsing sentences orally. We will sequence sentences to form short narratives, write for different purposes including about fictional personal experiences, poetry, non-fiction and real events. We will re-read and evaluate writing to check our writing makes sense and make simple revisions and read writing aloud with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear. We will learn to use new and familiar punctuation correctly, expand noun phrases to describe and specify, use past and present tense and use simple conjunctions to link subordinate and co-ordinating clauses. Phonics- We will continue to practise alternative pronunciations for graphemes and learn more tricky and exception words for spelling. We will also introduce alternative spellings for different phonemes. Reading- We will continue to develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which children can read independently, being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own experiences. We will learn to understand both the books children can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known, predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far, being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways,
Maths	Multiplication and Division- We will count in 10s, making equal groups, add equal groups, make arrays, make doubles, make equal groups by grouping and sharing. Fractions- We will be halving shapes or objects, halving a quantity, find a quarter and a quarter of a shape or object. Position and Direction- We will describe turns and position. Place Value- We will be counting to 100, partitioning numbers, comparing and ordering numbers and finding one more one less within 100. Money- We will be recognising coins and notes. We will also be counting in coins. Time- We will be learning to understand before and after and dates. We will tell time to the hour and the half hour. We will also be writing time and comparing time.
RE	We will learn that we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus at Easter, and know that through the Resurrection Jesus has made a way for us to be with him one day. We will talk about the times when we have experienced great joy and surprise. We will understand that Jesus helped the disciples to understand that he was truly risen and that when Thomas heard Jesus was alive he did not believe it. We will learn that we can ask Jesus to help us when we are afraid, and that Jesus showed his love for sick people when he cured a paralysed man, and he has great love for people who are sick today. We will think of ways that we can trust Jesus in situations of need.
Science	We will be learning about plants and identifying and naming a variety of trees. We will describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants and trees, and know that plants and trees change as they grow through watching a seed grow and flower. We will learn about how the weather is different around the world, and the process of sunrise and sunset. We will also understand how to keep safe in the sun.
History/ Geography	Explorers – we will learn what an explorer is and does, and know the achievements of Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong and the impact they have had on our world. We will begin to understand the concept of migration. We will learn that there are other significant explorers (Mae Jamison, Valentina Tereshkova) and that exploration of the earth and space continues
Computing	We will learn what coding means, including block code, and be able to define the term ‘algorithm’. We will learn the save, print, open and new icons. We will understand what a spreadsheet program looks like, and be able to explain what rows, columns and cells are.
PE	Gymnastics – we learn how to apply and link fundamental movement skills, and become increasingly confident to extend our agility, balance and coordination, individually and with others. Dance – we will learn how describe a performance, and recognise how to improve on a performance based on suggestions and observations. Athletics – we will know how to describe how the body feels before, during and after exercise. We will learn how to run with different techniques, controlling speed and directional change, and how to jump in different ways, landing safely and with control.
Art	Sculpture – we will understand what sculpture is, and to know that sculpture is 3D. We will be using a variety of natural, recycled and manufactured materials to create sculptures using a range of techniques. We will learn about and describe the work of artists such as; Barbara Hepworth, Anish Kapoor and Giacometti.
DT	Making Rockets- We will explore and evaluate different types of rockets in order to know what criteria is needed to create a good rocket. We will create a design based on research, using computer software. We will talk about ideas and design a simple rocket through annotated drawings. We will learn to follow a simple plan and we will make a cylinder and cone from card, using a range of hand tools and equipment. We will learn to assemble, join and combine materials, components and use simple finishing techniques to improve the appearance of a product, such as adding simple decorations. We will also build simple structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.
Music	We will be learning to recognise core rhythms when played at pitch, and to know how to create simple patterns using body percussion and instruments. We will learn songs about explorers, for example Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, and we will listen to Also Sprach Zarathustra and The Planets. We will also learn some sea shanties.
PSHE/RSE	Being my best – we will learn about the importance of fruit and vegetables in our daily diets, and how eating five portions of these help to maintain our health. We will understand how germs are spread and some simple strategies for preventing the spread of diseases. We will also learn simple strategies for resolving conflict situations. Rights and responsibilities – we will learn who cares for and looks after the school environment and what it means to look after something. We will understand that we need to look after things and why we need to look after things. We will learn that we have a duty of care for our world, and to know what harms and improves the world we live in.  We will discuss were people get their money from and how we can keep money safe, including ‘saving money’.

Summer Term Knowledge Organisers

BBC Bitesize and Purple Mash are excellent resources for you to use. Click on the icon, have a look and see what you can learn!