In Class 1, we have Reception and Year 1 children. We strive to make every child's learning journey exciting, memorable and meaningful, providing a nurturing, inclusive environment where children feel safe, valued and inspired to learn.

Our curriculum is carefully designed to build strong foundations for future learning, following both the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and the Key Stage 1 National Curriculum. We place a strong emphasis on developing children's confidence, independence, communication skills and love of learning, ensuring they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Each day, children take part in high-quality phonics, mathematics and English lessons. We follow the Read Write Inc. programme to develop early reading and writing skills, helping children become fluent and confident readers. In mathematics, we use the Mastering Number programme to develop strong number sense, mathematical fluency and problem-solving skills.

Our Year 1 children are taught separately by Miss Hewitt and work closely with the Year 1 children in Class 2, following the same Key Stage 1 curriculum. This ensures consistency, challenge and progression while allowing children to benefit from strong relationships across both classes.

Alongside the core curriculum, children enjoy a rich and varied learning experience that supports their development across all areas of learning. Through engaging topics, practical experiences and purposeful play, children develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them, express themselves creatively, build positive relationships, strengthen their physical skills and grow in confidence as learners. We place great importance on children's personal, social and emotional development, recognising that happy, secure children are best placed to thrive and achieve.

We firmly believe that children learn best when they are engaged, curious and actively involved in their learning. Our indoor and outdoor environments provide opportunities for exploration, investigation, creativity and problem-solving, allowing children to apply their learning in meaningful and enjoyable ways. Learning through play remains an important part of our provision, encouraging children to develop resilience, independence and a lifelong love of learning.

Every day in Class 1 is busy, purposeful and fun. We put children at the heart of everything we do, celebrating their achievements and supporting them to flourish both academically and personally.

We share daily and weekly updates through photographs, videos and other snapshots of learning on ClassDojo, allowing families to see and celebrate their child's experiences in school. Parents and carers can also contact us through the app, helping us to maintain strong home-school partnerships that support every child's success.

In the Early Years at Woodthorpe C of E Primary School, we have designed a broad, ambitious and inclusive curriculum that is rooted in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. We believe that children learn best through planned, purposeful play, meaningful experiences and positive relationships, enabling every child to flourish and achieve their very best.

The EYFS framework identifies seven areas of learning and development, underpinned by three Characteristics of Effective Learning:

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creating and Thinking Critically

These principles form the foundation of our curriculum and guide our teaching, learning and provision throughout the year.

At Woodthorpe, we have carefully adapted and sequenced our curriculum to make it meaningful, relevant and engaging for our children. Our learning journey begins with the child themselves, helping them to understand who they are and what makes them unique. From there, children explore their families, relationships and celebrations before developing an understanding of right and wrong, kindness and the impact of their actions on others. As their knowledge grows, they learn about the natural world, where food comes from, their local community and, ultimately, their role as global citizens who can make a positive difference to the wider world. 

Across the year, our enquiry questions include:

• What makes me super?
• How are our families special?
• How can we show kindness?
• How do things grow?
• What happens in our community?
• How can we care for our world? 

Children develop their knowledge and skills across all areas of learning, including Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, and Expressive Arts and Design. Through carefully chosen texts, visits, visitors, community links and hands-on experiences, children learn about themselves, their local area and the wider world while developing curiosity, resilience, independence and a lifelong love of learning. 

As a Church of England school, our curriculum is underpinned by our vision. We strive to create a nurturing environment where every child feels valued, included and empowered to flourish academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually.