Year 1 Homework Suggestions 

This page suggests some ways on how best to support your child at home. 
 
We will not be setting formal homework; however, we know extra support and work at home will help your child progress further in school. With this in mind, we have made a few resources that explain how we teach certain things in school, which could be implemented and practised at home. 

Maths 

In Year 1, there are key skills that can be practised at home to improve your child’s maths fluency. These can be practised on paper, out loud on the journey to school, whilst eating breakfast, or even during bath time! Please look on the website for the ‘Quick maths’ document. 

1 Minute Maths

Playing quick 1-minute maths games at home is a fantastic way to strengthen your child’s subitising skills and build confidence with numbers! These games can be accessed through the White Rose Maths website using the 1-Minute Maths tool.

Try practising addition games such as ‘Add 0, 1 or 2’, ‘Add within 10’, and ‘Bonds to 10’, as well as subtraction games like ‘Subtract 1’ and ‘Subtract 2’. They are recommended to be played during the Autumn and Spring terms to reinforce key number skills. For more guidance, please refer to the yearly maths overview.

Use the hint button for extra support or allow your child to use manipulatives like counters or blocks to help them visualise the numbers. Alongside these games, encourage your child to practise handwriting numerals correctly, as neat number formation supports accuracy in maths.

Numbots

Your child also has access to a program called NumBots. NumBots is an online game and playing little and often will significantly improve your child’s recall and understanding of number bonds and addition and subtraction facts. These are critical foundations in maths so we are excited by the impact NumBots will have.

The children have brought home a username label. They might need some help navigating to the website and entering the details but once they’re in, they just need some quiet space to get on with the games. Please ask your child’s teacher if they are struggling to login.

Please read the letter below for further information. 

Reading

Reading unlocks to door to everything. At this stage, your child will be relying heavily on their phonetic knowledge to support their reading. The main way to improve reading fluency is to practise, practise, practise. Reading after or before school each day will really benefit your child. 

Please take a look at our Read Write Inc page for information and support, as well as some fluency games.
 
At the beginning of the year, we hosted a reading meeting for parents. You can find the parent presentation at the link below. We have also created a video to provide additional support to parents with reading at home (see below).  

Please log your child's reading at home on Boom Reader. There are numerous incentives in place to encourage and reward your child's reading at home. 

10 reads = 1 merit mark

7 reads in a week (5-10 mins a day) = 1 golden ticket

5 golden tickets = Book Prize from our school vending machine 

If you have misplaced your login or need support with accessing Boom Reader, please speak to your child's class teacher.  

Spelling

At Britannia, we use the Sounds and Syllables method to teach spelling. We have made a video on how to practise this at home.  

Common Exception Words

Another way you can support reading, spelling, and overall confidence in writing at home is by practising Common Exception Words regularly. These are words that children cannot easily sound out and need to learn by sight, such as said, the, come, and where.

Practising these words for just a few minutes each day will help your child to:

• read more fluently

• build confidence in writing sentences

• improve spelling accuracy

You can make this fun by:

• using flashcards or writing the words on paper

• playing quick games like “word hunt” or “read and write race”

• displaying the words around the house for your child to spot.

Handwriting

Handwriting is an important skill that supports reading, spelling, and overall confidence in writing. Using the handwriting poster at home is a great way to help your child practice correct letter formation in a fun and consistent way. Just a few minutes each day can make a big difference!

Please also make sure your child is sitting correctly at the table—feet flat on the floor, back straight, and paper at a comfortable angle. Good posture helps with control and neatness. Encourage your child to start each letter at the correct point shown on the poster.

We appreciate that home life is incredibly busy, so we thank you for your support!