Prep 1 Curriculum Brief

This term in English, Prep 1 will continue to develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. We will explore stories with familiar settings, traditional tales, and simple information texts. Phonics will continue through our Read Write Inc. groups, with a focus on digraphs, suffixes, spelling choices, and spelling patterns. We will continue to practise using capital letters, finger spaces, and full stops in their writing, and will begin to use a variety of adjectives to make their sentences more descriptive and engaging.

Children will further develop handwriting skills, focusing on correct letter formation, spacing, and writing simple sentences with increasing independence. Regular reading and weekly spelling tests will take place throughout the term to support ongoing progress.

This term, Prep 1 will be exploring a range of key maths topics to build confidence and understanding. We will focus on multiplication and division, using grouping and sharing to solve simple problems. In fractions, we will learn to find halves and quarters of shapes and amounts. Our place value work will continue within 100, learning to read, write, and order numbers confidently. We will also look at money, identifying coins and notes and solving practical problems. Finally, we will work on telling the time, focusing on reading o’clock and half-past times.

This term, Prep 1 will be exploring the exciting topic of planting. We will learn about the basic needs of plants, including water, sunlight, and soil, and how these factors help plants grow and stay healthy. We will investigate the life cycle of a plant, from seeds to fully grown plants, observing how plants change over time.

As part of our learning, the children will observe the inside of seeds and bulbs, describing how they grow into mature plants. We will also explore the different ways seeds are dispersed in nature. Through hands-on activities such as planting seeds and tracking growth, the children will develop important scientific skills, including observation, prediction, and recording results.

Our Geography lessons this term will focus on Africa. We will explore climate, landscape, people, animals and tourist attractions. The challenges of living there will be contrasted to the challenges of last term’s polar lands environment. We shall also compare life in Africa with life in England, specifically looking at people’s lives in Kenya and explore the savannah and its animals, including the big 5.

This term in History, our topic is ‘Castles, Kings, and Queens,’  where we will explore life in medieval times and learn about important historical figures. We will discover why castles were built, their key features, and how they provided protection. The children will explore what life was like inside a castle, including the roles of kings, queens, knights, and servants.

We will also study some famous rulers from the past, such as William the Conqueror and Queen Elizabeth I, and learn how they influenced history.

This term, we will continue to build confidence in speaking and writing French through engaging activities such as games, role-play, and singing. Our topics will include classroom objects, my family, food and drink, and items found in a pencil case. Students will learn to respond to questions about themselves in French and follow simple teacher instructions. We will also enjoy learning some new songs, including ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon’ and ‘Joyeux anniversaire.’

This term we will continue to build on our knowledge of Jesus and how we can follow his teachings. The children will look at the leadership of Jesus and the importance of prayer to Christians.

This term, our focus in PSHE is on Health and Wellbeing and Living in the Wider World. We will explore the importance of keeping healthy through food and exercise, learning how a balanced diet and staying active support our bodies and minds. Children will also develop an understanding of hygiene routines, such as handwashing and dental care, to help prevent illness. As the weather gets warmer, we will discuss sun safety, teaching children how to protect themselves from the sun. Alongside this, we will cover topics such as managing feelings, asking for help, and staying safe in different environments, including home safety and what to do in emergencies.

This term we will continue learning to construct with a purpose to achieve a planned effect, with the emphasis on the process they go through; taking pride in their creative achievements. We will experiment with different materials, tools and techniques, including exploring colour combinations and mixing to create different effects in our art work.

Our art work will be based on farming, seaside and summer themes.

During the first half of the term, we will be learning about rhythm. The children will explore quavers, crotchets, and minims, understanding that each has a different duration. They will practise identifying a variety of long and short sounds and discover how to create them using both instruments and body percussion. By the end of the topic, the children will have composed and performed their own rhythm patterns.

In the second half of the term, we will focus on performance techniques through a song and story series based on ‘The Enormous Turnip.’ The children will learn a variety of songs, actions, and movements, developing their understanding of pulse, duration, and pitch in a fun and engaging way.

This term we will continue to focus on developing children’s creativity and problem-solving skills through hands-on projects. Children will explore the design process by planning and creating their own designs, using the equipment safely and confidently. Through these engaging, practical activities, the children will build confidence and develop a good understanding of how things are made.

This term pupils will be able to understand about algorithms in computing and how to de-bug any mistakes using a variety of coding activities. They will be able to search the internet appropriately to research for a project.

During the summer term, Prep 1 will continue to develop their drama skills

through games and exercises. We shall have particular focus on empathy and
emotions within our story based work. The children shall also prepare for and
perform in our poetry assembly.

Developing athletic skills, through a collection of track events – which will include sprints, hurdles and relays.

Swimming: Based on guidelines laid down in the ASA ‘National Plan for Teaching Swimming’. Activities designed to develop watermanship, confidence and stroke technique will be used.