Spring term 2026

Communication and Language
This term, we will support children in developing confidence when talking and listening during carpet time. They will be encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas during play as well as understanding how to use questions effectively. We will focus on our school values and how these values can help us in our learning and our friendships. Listening skills will be developed through whole-class and small group activities, stories, and play. Children will continue their phonics journey, learning to speak clearly, use full sentences, and practise new vocabulary.

Writing
Children will continue their writing journey by using the phonics sounds they have learned to segment and write words. They will build on their writing skills with a focus on writing simple sentences which are phonetically plausible and which contain some correctly spelled phase two tricky words. There will be a continued focus on correct pencil grip and letter formation of upper and lower case letters. Children will have the opportunity to apply their new writing skills in various ways and using different utensils – chalk, brushes, pencils, whiteboards, clipboards and so on. Each week, learning will be inspired by a new text driver—a carefully chosen book linked to our topic. In Spring 1 our themes are Magic and Machinery, while in Spring 2 we will explore Amazing Animals through a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.

Reading and Phonics

This term, our phonics and reading work will focus on consolidating Phase 2 phonics and beginning to learn Phase 3 digraphs, helping children build confidence in recognising and using a wider range of sounds. We will continue practising blending to read CVC words, while also applying these skills to longer words as children become more secure in their decoding. Alongside this, children will work on recognising tricky words by sight and developing early reading fluency. During reading sessions, children will be encouraged to answer questions about a text and show their understanding by discussing characters, events and key ideas, helping them grow as thoughtful, engaged readers.

Physical Development
Our focus will be on understanding how to lead an active and healthy life using a variety of books and resources. Outdoors, children will use bikes and scooters to build spatial awareness and core strength; they will also have access to large construction resources. Through PE and outdoor play, they will practise ball skills and how to safely use climbing equipment. To strengthen fine motor control, children will take part in activities such as threading, playdough, crafts, cutting, and messy play. They will also enjoy taking part in dough disco and our Write Dance programme—an energetic approach that combines music and movement to build the physical skills needed for writing.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
Children will be encouraged to develop their independence in trying new activities and choosing their own resources. There will be a continued focus on teamwork, turn taking and strengthening relationships with peers and adults within our school. Listening skills will also be a main focus with an emphasis on following instructions. Children will be encouraged to recognise different emotions, how these make them feel and which strategies they can use to manage their emotions.

Mathematics
Our maths learning will involve recognising and writing the numbers 5-10 and understanding the correspondence between the number of objects and the numeral as well as finding different ways to make each number. Children will explore the concept of comparing numbers to ten using the language of greater than, less than and equal to. They will compare items by length using the vocabulary of longer/shorter/taller and shortest/longest/same as.

Understanding the World
Linking to our Magic and machines unit, we will examine how machines have changed through history and how they help people to complete jobs. In Amazing Animals, children will be encouraged to share their prior knowledge, make comparisons of animals from different habitats and examine how we can look after them. In RE, we will explore the idea of Jesus as a storyteller and what Christians believe God is like. As Easter approaches, we will be thinking about new life and why Christians celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Christ.

Expressive Arts and Design
This term we will be joining in with familiar songs and exploring how music can inspire us to move, as we listen to different pieces and create our own dances in response. We will experiment with colour mixing, combining primary colours to make new secondary colours, and take part in a range of creative activities such as making paper lanterns and painting pictures of characters in stories.  We will also make shadow puppets and use junk modelling to create our own robots learning different techniques for joining materials, including using adhesive tape, treasury tags, paper clips and a variety of glues. To support imaginative play, we will use a wide selection of props such as dressing‑up clothes, instruments and puppets. We will also create winter pictures and scenes using a range of artistic materials and techniques.