St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Admissions

IS YOUR CHILD DUE TO START SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER 2021?

We have made a short video to show you some of the wonderful aspects in our school, looking particulary at Class 1. We hope you enjoy it. 

Please log into Class Dojo in the event your child is not able to attend school due to self isolation, illness or school closure.

Click here to visit our Home Learning Zone for links to additional resources. 

Class 1

EYFS

EYFS Framework Early Adopter

 We have decided to be an early adopter school of the new Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS) framework.

We see the link and letter below for further information. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-adopter-schools-eyfs-framework

NEW BASELINE ASSESSMENT 2021-INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

If you wish to know further information relating to the curriculum in Class 1 please do not hesitate to speak to Mrs Honeyman and Miss Naylor, the class teachers,via Class Dojo.

Literacy (speaking, listening, reading, writing).

 We begin the term by finding out a bit more about our children; encouraging them to talk about themselves and their families and about what they like and what they don’t like. We share books on this theme; including ‘It’s OK to be different’ by Todd Parr and ‘The Great Big Book of Families’ by Mary Hoffman.

The children are already preparing for writing with their ‘Funky Fingers’ activities each morning; developing their fine motor skills through threading, pinching, placing and squeezing. The first couple of weeks will see us work on name recognition and name writing. We will also work on correct letter formation linked to our daily phonics sessions. As the children’s knowledge of letters and sounds builds, along with their fine motor skills, they will be ready to write and we will begin writing words, phrases and sentences linked to our learning inside and outside the classroom.

The children will enjoy a fun phonics session each day, following our new ‘ReadWriteInc’ scheme. They will work on each letter sound and learn how to blend sounds together to make words. Later on, the children may sometimes bring a card home with the sounds they are learning at school. Please go through these each day so the children can recognise and say them quickly and fluently. They should also practise writing the letters as they have been shown at school- one of the best places for this is on a steamed up shower screen or mirror at bathtime! These are the early stages of reading and we will send further information about reading later in the term.

Maths

Our focus this first term is counting and understanding the concept of numbers from 0-10. We will use ‘Numberland’ as our main teaching tool. Number Land is the place where numbers live. This is created by the children over the Autumn term through a carefully sequenced plan.

Each number is introduced and explored in different ways each week through a variety of questions and tasks. As a new number is introduced, the questions and tasks will also include how the new number relates to the previous numbers that have been learned.

R.E.

Our RE focus this term is ‘God’s World’. The children will learn and reflect upon God’s love and care for each and every one of us. They will hear about and respond to the things that God has created for us and understand that He made each and every one of us different and special.

Physical Development

The children have PE sessions twice a week, on Tuesday with Mrs Honeyman and Thursdays with Mr Liburd

For the children who are wearing ear-rings these are the days that ear-rings should not be worn to school.

The fundamental movement skills of hopping, running, jumping, throwing and catching are developed and practised in these sessions through fun activities.

Thank you for making sure that each piece of your child’s PE kit, in addition to all of their regular uniform and shoes/trainers are clearly labelled with their name.

How can you help at home? 

 A strong partnership between school and home is vital for your child’s education. During your child’s time in school, your input will be required in different ways at different stages. You have already done a great job in preparing your children for school; we have had a very calm week so far as your children have arrived with all the things they need, ready to learn! As mentioned previously, your children will start to bring phonics materials home from school; please ask the children to explain what they are all about and practise with them. As we progress through Class 1, the most helpful thing you can do is to read with your child each day.

In September, this is you reading to them; share as many stories as you can; read the same ones again and again; talk about what you are reading, what is going to happen next? Who’s your favourite character? As we go through the year, your child will start to bring books home and will read them to you! How exciting! We aim to develop in our youngest children a love of books and reading that will be life-long.

We hope that this is enough information for now. We will be in touch through Class Dojo with further updates, reminders and information that you will need as we go through the term. Please contact us through class Dojo or through the school office if you ever have any concerns; large or small.

We are really looking forward to getting to know you and your children over the next few weeks and months and thank you all for your ongoing support.

EYFS – Home/School Learning Opportunities to Promote Communication and Language. The PDF below contains suggestions for activities to help with communication and language skills for reception children. 

Please click on the link below to download a copy of -What to expect, when? Guidance to your child’s learning and development
in the early years foundation stage.

EAL ( English as an additional language) RESOURCES for parents

Exploring and making new friends

Our new reception children have been exploring the different areas both inside and outside the classroom and making lots of new friends.

Long Term Planning

Planning

Please find below an outline of the topics covered in your child's class. 

If you wish to know further information relating to the curriculum in Class 1 please do not hesitate to speak to Mrs Honeyman and Miss Naylor, the class teachers.