Skip to content ↓

Owl Class - Reception & Year 1

Welcome to

OWL CLASS 2026-27

Owl Class (Reception) is taught by:  

Ms Emma Mills (Monday to Friday) for Autumn Term 1

Then return to 

Mrs Samantha Bell (Monday to Wednesday)

Mr Charley Brown (Thursday and Friday)

Teaching Assistant in Owl Class: 

Mrs Helen Lay will be with us all week!

Our email:

owls@bledington.gloucs.sch.uk

Welcome to our new Reception pupils

AND

Welcome back to our Year 1 pupils!

We hope you have all had a wonderful summer break!!

This term we will be exploring "The History of Toys". We will be focusing on the timelines, artefacts and comparisons. We will be linking humanities, art and DT to support our learning. 

In English lessons, we will be completing lessons linked to a book of the week. These will develop reading and writing skills. We will continue with our dedicated spelling/phonics and handwriting lessons.  Year 1's will also develop punctuation and grammar skills through a writer's toolkit lesson.

In Maths lessons, we do numeracy lessons three days a week and shape, space or measurement lessons for two days. Problem-solving and reasoning activities will be incorporated into lessons. We also completed 4 Mastery Maths sessions which will focus on mental maths skills.

In Science, we will be exploring everyday materials, which will include identifying, naming and understanding properties.

Useful things to know:

  1. Please name all school clothes and items... it will make it much easier for us to find items when they get lost. 
  2. A healthy snack is provided and is eaten in the morning. No nuts are allowed. If, for some reason, we are not sent fruit, we will message you. 
  3. Send water in a named bottle every day – we will encourage your child to drink it. 
  4. Forest school is on Wednesday afternoon – children will need long sleeves and waterproofs. If you are able to volunteer for a session, please let us know.
  5. PE is on Thursday. The PE kit (kept in a drawstring bag) is a white T-shirt, black shorts, black joggers and trainers/plimsolls. Children will change for their lesson and develop their independence/organisational skills. We will also be doing the daily mile up to 3 times a week. 
  6. Reading Books will only be changed on a Monday (2 books and 1 Twinkl Phonics Book). This allows you to set your reading routine and time for your child to re-read the book which is recommended in the curriculum. READ comprehension tasks are identified next to the title in your reading record diary. 
    • In reception, we ask parents to write their child's response to the READ (comprehension) task. 
    • In Year 1, we ask children to write their own response to the READ (comprehension) task. 
  7. Library Books will be selected and swapped on a Friday. Return on a Monday
  8. Homework: 
    • In Reception, phonics homework is sent home on a Monday. 
    • In Year 1, spelling homework and spelling tests are on a Monday.  We will let you know the score and your child should know which they got correct or need to work on.
  9. Please do not send things into school as we cannot guarantee their safety. We do "Magical Me", where your child will have the opportunity to bring something in from home to share with our class.
  10. Lunches – you can find the menu on this website. Staff will read the daily options and then your child will be able to choose the one they like. Our lovely lunch staff encourage and support the children through lunch.

The main thing is that if you have any questions please do not hesitate to come and ask myself (Mrs Bell), Mrs Lay, Mr Brown or Ms Mills. We are here to help you and your children.

If you can't speak to us, send an email and one of the team will get back to you as soon as we can.

Well-being is important to us, so we encourage children to talk to an adult they feel comfortable with if they have any problems. This can be any staff member in our class or any staff member in the whole school.

Useful Links & Information

English and Maths

  • https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/ The website "Oxford Owls" will give you free access to e-books for reading. You will need to register and create your own username and password.
  • Alphablocks Play along with the Alphablocks and have fun with the letters of the alphabet.
  • Phonics Play - Phonics Games Come and play games with phase 2 and 3 sounds and words
  • Top Marks Maths Games to support your child in Early Years

50 Things for children - activity lists

Cookie Policy