Year Group Skills Ladders – Foundation Subjects
Year One
Art
DT
History
Drawing
To represent objects
To draw an enclosed space
Painting
Mix colours for a
reason/that are appropriate
for a purpose
Sculpture
Explore modelling materials to
develop fine motor skills
Analysis
Make comments about
their own work, likes and
dislikes.
New Curric. Requirements
Use a range of materials
Use drawing, painting and
sculpture
Develop techniques of
colour, pattern, texture,
line, shape, form and space
Learn about a range of
Artists, crafts persons and
designers.
Design
Make
Evaluate
Technical Knowledge
Design purposeful,
Use a range of tools and
Evaluate existing products and Food: Use measuring
When approaching the
functional and appealing
materials to complete
own ideas
spoons and bowls
investigate and disassemble
products. Generate, model practical tasks.
Understand where food comes appropriately.
part of design please try to
and communicate ideas
Build and improve structure from.
To see the changes in
identify and use real life
3d construction and
and mechanisms
Food: Have an awareness of
properties of food
examples which can be
deconstruction: Use
Cutting and joining
hygiene
(freezing).
broken down with the
construction kits to build
materials: Children need to To classify foods (meat,veg)
group.
shapes up in stages in
be able to: Cut, join, score
To discuss full and empty.
The NC requires every year
order to form a solid shape. and hole punch.
Design and evaluate
group to look at real existing
Lego, Duplo, Clixi
Make things by selecting
Describe and draw what you
products.
Investigate and
appropriate materials.
plan to do.
Your topic/subject of study
disassemble:
Identify materials.
What do you like and dislike?
should steer you towards
To recognise the
Mechanism and control: To
professional makers,
characteristics of products
make a simple electrical
designers and artists of
and to gather ideas from
circuit.
products.
experiences.
Skills to cover
New curriculum requirements
Topics Suggestions
Use everyday terms about the passing of time (e.g. yesterday, Changes linked in living memory. Linked to aspects of national Bonfire night
today, tomorrow, past, present).
life where appropriate.
Events of local
Place a few events or objects in chronological order – e.g.
Lives of significant figures, including those from different
importance
sequencing photographs and artefacts from their own life.
periods.
Recognise the distinction between past and present in their
Significant local people.
own and other’ lives.
Know and recount episodes from stories about the past.
Use stories to distinguish fact and fiction.
Geography
Find answers to simple questions about the past from sources
of information e.g. artefacts.
Local Knowledge
Place Knowledge
Progression
Use globes to
Progression
Through discussion
Name and
locate UK
Understand
use geographical
locate four
Use world and
geographical
vocabulary to
countries and
Europe maps to similarities and
describe local and
capital cities of
locate UK Use
differences
familiar features (eg
UK.
UK map to
through
visit to the beach,
Use atlases and
locate countries studying the
park, Broadway)
globes
and capital
human and
Describe where
cities of UK
physical
they are, using
Name UK
geography of a
everyday terms and
countries and
small area of
follow
capital cities
the United
directions.Introduce
and record on a Kingdom, and of N.S.E.W
blank map
a small area in a Draw a simple map
contrasting nonEuropean
country
Find
information
from a map and
be aware of
compass
directions.
Physical Geography
Progression
Keep a weather
Identify
chart for a time
seasonal and
during each
daily weather
season to
patterns in the
compare later in
United
the year.
Kingdom and
Look at weather
the location of
charts for rest of
hot and cold
UK discuss how
areas of the
it changes from
world in
north to south
relation to the
Identify North
Equator and
and South poles
the North and
and equator and
South Poles
how
Use basic
temperature
geographical
changes from
vocabulary to
equator to the
refer to:
poles. Hot and
key physical
cold regions/
features,
countries of the
including:
world.
beach, cliff,
Use
coast, forest,
geographical
hill, mountain,
vocabulary
sea, ocean,
relevant to local
river, soil,
area valley,
vegetation,
season and
weather key
human
features,
including: city,
town,
Skills & Fieldwork
Progression
Use globes and
identify the
maps to identify
United
places studied
Kingdom and
Use simple
its
compass
countries, as
directions and
well as the
simple
countries,
directional
continents and language to
oceans studied move around the
at this key
school
stage
environment.
Use simple
Begin to
compass
recognize the
directions
location of
(North, South,
familiar places.
East and West) Draw simple
and locational
local
and
environmental
directional
features
language [for
observed.
example, near
Use simple
and far; left
measurements
and right], to
With help ask
describe the
some simple
location of
questions.
features and
Make simple
routes on a
observations
map
indoors and
outdoors.
Use simple
Find answers to
fieldwork and
simple questions
observational
about places
skills to study
using resources
the geography
provided.
of their
Draw simple
school and its
maps adding
grounds and
pictorial features
the key human
and physical
features of its
surrounding
environment.
Use aerial
photographs
and plan
perspectives to
recognise
landmarks and
basic
human and
physical
features;
devise a simple
map; and use
and construct
basic
symbols in a
key
PSHE
MFL
Skills to cover
New curriculum requirements
Toipc Ideas
Take and share responsibility, for example, for their own
Approximately 45 minutes per week.
People who keep us
behaviour.
Modelling, circle time and reflection.
safe.
Recognise why we have rules and expectations.
Children need to discuss situations to develop language to
Recognise what they like and dislike, what is fair and unfair.
communicate how they feel.
Begin to make simple choices that improve their health and
Actions and responses need to be discussed too.
well-being.
Somebody hurts us we…
Begin to maintain personal hygiene.
Before we eat we…
Recognise how to keep themselves safe in school.
Role-play and stories are another effective way of discussing
Develop positive relationships through work and play.
challenging situations.
Listen to other people, and play and work co-operatively.
To read
To write
To speak
To understand the culture of the
fluently
imaginatively
confidently
countries of lang. spoken
Read out loud everyday words and To write of copy everyday words
Understand spoken phrases
Identify countries which speak the
phrases (greetings)
(greetings)
(greetings, classroom instructions). language.
Read and understand short written
Label item
Be able to ask for a word to be
Show an awareness of the customs
RE
(See Medium
Term plan for
ideas/details)
phrases (greetings)
repeated.
Read out loud familiar words and
phrases (greetings, colours, family
members, classroom objects)
Special Times/
Belonging
Christmas
Understand what it
Understand how and
means to belong.
why people
-Belonging to a family celebrate.
and groups in and
-How and why do we
outside school
celebrate? What do
Understand why
people wear, eat?
religion is important
-Focus on a religious
for others.
festival and explore
-Welcoming
the story linked to
ceremonies, for
that festival.
example:
Celebrating
Christmas: focus on
gifts and giving.
Correct pronunciation.
Worship
Learn about some of the
features of worship in
Christianity and another
religion
-Explore why and how
places of worship are
special.
- Make links with their own
experiences of worship in
school.
- Reflect on and talk about
places that are special for
them.
Who is special?
Identify people who
are special and
explain why
-Learn about people
who lead religious
communities and
what they do.
-Learn that such
people often wear
special clothes and
that these may have
special meanings.
of countries that speak the
language. (songs and festivals)
Special Books
Identify the
significance of
special texts both to
themselves and
others
-Identify the
importance of the
Bible for Christians
and other sacred
texts in the religions
studied.
-Make links between
religious language
and stories and the
beliefs which lie
behind them.
-Reflect on what is of
value in their own
lives
Who cares for the
World?
Identify people who are
special and explain why
-Learn about people who
lead religious
communities and what
they do.
-Learn that such people
often wear special
clothes and that these
may have special
meanings.
Year Group Skills Ladders – SCIENCE
Science Topics – statutory units to be covered in each year group
During years 1 and 2, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of
study content:
asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways
observing closely, using simple equipment
performing simple tests
identifying and classifying
using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.
Year 1
Units to be covered in school year
Everyday Materials
Plants
Animals
 identify and name a variety of
common wild and garden plants,
including deciduous and evergreen
trees
 identify and describe the basic
structure of a variety of common
flowering plants, including trees.
 identify and name a variety of
common animals including fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals
 identify and name a variety of
common animals that are carnivores,
herbivores and omnivores
 describe and compare the
structure of a variety of common
animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles,
birds and mammals, including pets)
 identify, name, draw and label the
basic parts of the human body and
say which part of the body is
associated with each sense.
 distinguish between an object and
the material from which it is made
identify and name a variety of
everyday materials, including wood,
plastic, glass, metal, water, and rock
describe the simple physical
properties of a variety of everyday
materials
compare and group together a
variety of everyday materials on the
basis of their simple physical
properties.
Seasonal Changes
 observe changes across the four
seasons
 observe and describe weather
associated with the seasons and how
day length varies.