Autumn Curriculum 2026
Welcome to the Autumn term in Year 1!
We are so excited for the wonderful learning opportunities that lie ahead for our Year 1 children this autumn! It is going to be a busy, inspiring and action-packed term.
Our literacy journey this term will be inspired by the much-loved traditional tale The Magic Faraway Tree. The children will be transported into a magical world of adventure, which will provide fantastic opportunities to develop their reading skills and spark their imaginations. Alongside reading the story, the children will use it as inspiration to write character and setting descriptions, thinking carefully about vocabulary, adjectives and descriptive language to bring their ideas to life.
In maths, the children will learn all about place value and develop an understanding of what each digit in a number represents. They will discover why place value is so important and how it helps us to read, build, compare and work with numbers. Through practical activities and mathematical challenges, the children will develop a secure understanding of numbers and the value of each digit.
Our geography learning will bring the children's attention to the world immediately around them as they consider what it is like to live in their local area. They will create their own maps of the classroom and investigate the key features of our playground, developing their understanding of maps, symbols and the places that are important to them.
This learning will link beautifully with our history work, where the children will research their local area and discover how it has changed over time. They will consider what Bollington was like in the past, how and why it has changed, and investigate why some of the buildings in Bollington are historically significant.
Science will be full of hands-on investigations as the children learn more about the fascinating world of animals. They will identify and name a variety of common animals and sort them into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. They will also describe and compare the structures of different groups of animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, with opportunities to consider animals they may know well, including pets.
In Design and Technology, the children will investigate sliders and discover how these simple mechanisms can be used to create movement. They will then put their ideas into practice by designing, creating and evaluating their very own moving picture books.
Our art and design work will focus on line and shape. The children will practise drawing a wide variety of different lines and experiment with how lines can change in length, direction, thickness and movement. Using music as a stimulus, they will respond creatively to sounds and rhythms, developing their confidence and expression as young artists.
And, of course, no autumn term would be complete without our Nativity! This special experience is about so much more than performing on stage. It gives every child the opportunity to develop their public speaking skills, confidence and self-belief, while nurturing and celebrating their individual talents and personalities. We cannot wait to see our Year 1 children shine!
It promises to be a truly magical autumn term, and we are incredibly excited to share this journey of learning, discovery and creativity with our Year 1 children.
