Holy Cross Catholic Primary School

Year 1

Mrs A Wilson
Class Teacher

Mrs M Downton
Teaching Assistant

Mrs S Stoneham
PPA Cover

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.

Year 1 Curriculum Overview
Spring Term 2024

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.

Spring Term 2024

EnglishOur focus texts will be The Winter Sleep and Lilia and the Secret of Rain and through them we 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 introduce alternative pronunciations for graphemes and learn more tricky and exception words for spelling.
Reading- We will continue to increase familiarity with a range of books, explain and discuss understanding and discuss the sequence of events in them. We will continue to answer and ask questions about what has been read. We will predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read, draw inferences on the basis of what is being said and done and express views and opinions about reading. We will try to link what has been heard or read to own experiences and discuss favourite words and phrases.

MathsAddition and Subtraction- We will add by counting on, find and make number bonds and add by making 10. We will learn about subtraction (not crossing 10) and subtraction with crossing 10. We will study related facts and compare number sentences.
Place value- We will count forwards and backwards within 50, introduce tens and ones, represent numbers to 50, learn about one more and one less, compare objects and numbers within 50, order numbers within 50 and count in 2s and 5s.
Length and heights- We will compare lengths and heights and begin to measure length.
Weight and Volume- We will introduce weight and mass, measure and compare mass. We will introduce and measure and compare capacity.
REWe will know that we all belong to God’s family and how God will look after all of us, and how we can look after and love each other. We will be listening to some simple Bible stories about Jesus, including when his family took him to the Temple. We will be learning about the sacrament of Baptism and will be able to talk about why this is important. We will hear how Jesus chose his first disciples and think about how we choose our friends. We will learn about Good Friday and explore the hope Jesus’ Resurrection gives us.
ScienceWe will be learning about different materials, and be able to identify and name a range of everyday materials including wood, glass, metal and plastic. We will be describing the simple properties of everyday materials. We will be comparing and grouping a variety of everyday materials based on simple physical properties. We will be learning about how the weather changes across the seasons and how weather can vary within a season.
History/ Geography Lovely Lewisham – We will learn that our school is located in the London Borough of Lewisham, and to locate London and England on a map of the British Isles. We will recognise and name significant human landmarks within Lewisham, such as parks, churches and shops. We will be identifying significant physical features within Lewisham such as the River Quaggy. We will identify the UK and Kenya on a map and name the continents to which they belong. We will identify different physical and human landmarks in Kenya, for example Lake Victoria, and Mombasa Tusk. We will be explaining some of the similarities and differences between Lewisham and locations within Kenya.
ComputingWe will understand that an algorithm is a set of precise instructions, and how to create and debug a set of instructions. We will learn how to change and extend the algorithm list. We will be looking at and understand what an e-book is.
PEGymnastics – we will be learning how to apply fundamental movement skills, and become becoming increasingly competent and confident in agility, balance and co-ordination, individually and with others.
Dance – we will know how to put a sequence of actions together to create a motif (movement idea that is repeated and developed).
Games – we will know how to travel with a ball, and how to pass the ball to another player in a game. We will begin to know the terms and basic skills of attacking and defending, and understand how to follow rules to play games including team games.
ArtCollage – we will be exploring a range of materials and know that a variety of materials can be used to create a picture and different textures. We will learn the difference between a landscape / cityscape is, and know of the work of Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Long and other land artists.
DTFood and Fruit Salad- We will try to understand where in the world different fruit comes from, name different fruit and explain how it grows and that everyone should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day and start to explain why. We will also learn to follow a simple recipe and to select from a range of hand tools and equipment. We will learn to use hand tools and kitchen equipment safely and appropriately and learn to follow hygiene procedures. We will also cut, peel and grate ingredients, including measuring and weighing ingredients using measuring cups.

MusicWe will be learning how to use core rhythms for louder/quieter, and exploring the speaking voice, shouting voice, whispering voice, singing voice and thinking voice. We will know how to create musical effects and short sequences of sounds in response to stimuli. We will learn call and response songs from an African Heritage, and be able to move to or clap a steady beat to the songs.
PSHE/RSEValuing difference – we will be learning that everybody is different and that we should celebrate everyone’s differences. We will recognise the importance of being close to and trusting special people and telling them if something is troubling them. We will also be learning about behaviour that affects other people and different types of bullying.
Keeping myself safe – we will be learning that some situations are safe and unsafe, including online situations. We will learn some basic principles of First Aid. We will understand that medicines are drugs but not all drugs are good for us. We will also learn that we are entitled to bodily privacy.

Spring Term Knowledge Organisers

Useful links:

For speech and language resources and advice and tips for parents working at home with children who have SLCN visit:

https://speechandlanguage.info/parents

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!

KS1