Welcome to
Year 1 – Spruce Class
Autumn letter 2025
Welcome back! We hope you have had a great summer. We have had a lovely first few days settling into Year 1. We have read the book ‘You Choose’ and taken part in some challenges linked to the story. We have also had our first P.E. session where we did some yoga and had our first Forest Friday session, where we went to the wild garden to learn our rules and routines.
We have some exciting topics coming up this year! Our topic during Autumn 1 is ‘To The Rescue!’ It has a history theme where we will be learning about ‘The Great Fire of London’ followed by learning about ‘The Gunpowder Plot, just in time for Bonfire Night. In English, our initial focus will be handwriting, spelling and sentence construction. Later in the term we will look at traditional tales and ‘The Jolly Postman’. Our Maths focus will be place value and we will be building on the Maths skills learnt in reception. English, Phonics and Maths will be taught every morning and foundation subjects and Science will be taught in the afternoon.
This year Mrs Stephenson will teach Mon – Wed and Mrs Jones will teach Thurs – Fri. We are very lucky to be supported by Mrs Calvert (Tues – Fri). She will work in the classroom and with small intervention groups.
We have a P.E. session on a Wednesday and a Thursday. Therefore, please can all P.E. kits be brought into school as soon as possible and they can stay in school for the half term. Please make sure your child has the correct P.E. kit, consisting of blue or black shorts, white T-shirt, Velcro trainers, spare socks and, when the weather gets colder and wetter, tracksuit bottoms, fleece and coat. Children need trainers as opposed to pumps as we aim to be outside for P.E. as much as the weather will allow. Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly named. Long hair must be tied back and all jewellery removed for P.E. If earrings cannot be removed, they must be covered with tape, which needs to be provided please.
On a Friday, Year 1 will take part in Forest Friday. Unlike in Reception, we do not have a class set of waterproofs however we do plan to get out in all but the most extreme weathers. Therefore, please could children have appropriate footwear and waterproof coats / trousers in school every Friday.
We ask that you continue to listen to your child read, out loud, at home as often as possible – ideally daily. This is so important to increase their fluency and to foster their love of reading. Please ensure every time you listen to your children you record this in their yellow reading records. We will continue to send the children home with reading books to suit their ability and we will change books on Wednesdays. We are lucky to have governors who come and listen to the children read on a regular basis, however, we are always on the lookout for parent volunteers so please let us know if you are able to come in and help.
After reviewing the results of the parent survey last year, one of the items mentioned for improvement was to reduce the number of communication methods coming from school (ParentApp, Dojo, letter, email, Facebook etc). Mrs Hudson recognised this and made the following procedure for communication so that this is more streamlined and hopefully clearer for parents…
The school app will be the main form of communication from school to home. Dojo will be used to share photos and celebrate teaching and learning and will continue to be our reward system for pupils. Staff in KS1 will continue to share class stories with photos of the children’s activities and learning. This app will NOT be used to send messages/ reminders home for KS1 classes. The school office will be the hub for communication from home to school. Please contact Joyce Scarr in person, via phone (015396 20510) or email (admin@sedbergh-pri.cumbria.sch.uk) with any other messages, queries or concerns. Any information shared will then be passed to the relevant member of staff. We will no longer be using the class email addresses or messaging via Class Dojo to individual teachers.
We look forward to working with you and your children this year and as always, if you have any queries or concerns please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Mrs Jones, Mrs. Stephenson and Mrs Calvert
