Growing in Confidence, Ready for What’s Next

Year 1 is an important step after Reception—and at Bawnmore, we make sure it’s a smooth, positive and exciting one.

We understand that children are still young learners who need time to explore, play, and learn in different ways. That’s why we keep many elements of Reception in the early part of Year 1, before gently introducing more structure and whole-class learning as they’re ready.

 A golden thread runs through everything we do—just as in Reception: the belief that emotional wellbeing, strong relationships and a love of learning help children to thrive.

Our aim is to help every child build confidence, independence and excitement about learning—while preparing them for the challenges of Year 2 and junior school.

Intent

We want all children in Year 1 to:

• Continue to love learning and feel proud of their achievements
• Grow in confidence, independence and resilience
• Develop the knowledge and skills they need across the whole curriculum
• Make a smooth, secure transition from Early Years to Key Stage 1
• Be fully prepared—emotionally and academically—for Year 2 and beyond

We know that learning happens best when children are curious, motivated, and supported by adults who know them well. Our curriculum reflects this, offering a rich mix of structured learning and child-led exploration.

Implementation

In the autumn term, we begin with:

• A focus on settling in, routines and relationships
• Continued use of continuous provision, both indoors and out
• Daily phonics, English and maths inputs—short and focused, followed by practical or playful learning
• Weekly Rainbow Challenges to build independence and support a broad range of learning

In the spring term, we begin to increase:

• Group work and longer whole-class sessions
• Opportunities for writing, reasoning and problem-solving
• Use of subject-specific language and knowledge

By the summer term, most mornings follow a more formal structure, with afternoons often including provision-based learning, topic work, art, PE, and PSHE. We maintain a strong focus on positive relationships, wellbeing and self-regulation throughout the year.

Impact

By the end of Year 1, children will:

• Be more confident, capable and ready to learn independently
• Use phonics to read and write with growing accuracy and fluency
• Know key number facts and use them to solve simple problems
• Understand the world around them and ask thoughtful questions
• Be proud of what they know and can do
• Be ready for the expectations of Year 2, both emotionally and academically

Most importantly, they leave Year 1 with a love of learning that we hope will last a lifetime.