Sir Robert Hitcham CEVA Primary School

Sir Robert Hitcham CEVA Primary School and Nursery
Debenham

'Striving to be more like Jesus'

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Indigo Class / Year 1

Welcome to Indigo Class 

Indigo Class Timetable Summer 2026

Knowledge Organisers

Have a look at our Knowledge Organisers to find out what we will be learning each term:

Autumn 1

Science - Everyday Materials

Geography - What is it like around our school

RE- Christianity - Belonging 

Autumn 2

Science - Seasonal Changes

RE: Judaism - Why is learning to do good deeds so important to Jewish People?

Spring 1

Science: Animals, including humans

Science - Seasonal Changes

RE: Christianity: What are the best symbols of Jesus’ death & resurrection at Easter?

History: What is History? What were toys like when our parents and grandparents were young?

Spring 2

Science: Animals, including humans

Science: Seasonal Changes: Spring

RE: Hinduism: How does a Hindu celebrate devotion to a deity at the festival of Holi?

Summer 1

Science: Plants

RE: Judaism: Blessings 

Summer 2

RE: Christianity: Prayer and Worship

History: Seaside holidays in the past/ Who was Queen Victoria?

Courageous Advocacy

In Indigo Class, we have been thinking about things that feel unfair in the world.
We talked about how it’s unfair that animals in the ocean get hurt by plastic and oil spills caused by humans.

We realised that we might not be able to help the sea animals far away,
but we can help the animals that live near us!

We noticed there is litter around our local area (Debenham),
and that this can be dangerous for wild animals.

So, we decided to take action!
✨ We are going to do a litter pick to make our area cleaner.
✨ We are designing posters to remind people to look after wild animals and keep our planet tidy.

We are learning that even small actions can make a big difference!

 

Learning in Indigo Class

Spring 2  2026

This half term in DT, the children proudly completed their moving picture projects based on Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. They explored simple mechanisms by adding levers made with split pins and sliders, and used a wide range of materials to create exciting textures and details in their illustrations.

In Art, the children explored colour mixing and learned how to use an artist’s rag to blend and “overwork” their pictures. They created vibrant illustrations of the mattresses from The Princess and the Pea, experimenting with layers and texture. The children also painted imaginative portraits of Fred the Dragon while listening to a story, using what they heard to inspire the details and personality in their artwork.

In English, the children wrote fantastic letters to their parents asking for help on a trip to the zoo. They focused on using adjectives, the conjunction and, full stops, capital letters for names of people and places, finger spaces, exclamation marks, and question marks. Their letters were thoughtful, clear, and full of enthusiasm.

In Science, the children learned about different animal groups, including amphibians, mammals, reptiles, fish and birds. They also explored what animals eat and sorted them into herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. During our school trip to Colchester Zoo, the children investigated the animals even further—observing their diets and physical features to identify the groups they belonged to. It was a fantastic hands‑on learning experience!

 

As part of British Science Week, the children took part in a variety of engaging activities. They watched different experiments, asked thoughtful questions and made predictions about what they thought might happen. Their curiosity and enthusiasm were fantastic to see!

One of the highlights was carrying out the Bouncy Egg experiment. The children carefully observed the changes to the egg, discussed what they noticed, and shared ideas about why it behaved as it did. Although the egg eventually broke, there was still plenty of valuable learning happening — and lots of excitement along the way!

 

Spring 1 2026

This half term we have been very busy with lots of exciting learning across the curriculum!

In Art, we have been exploring colour mixing. The children have been learning how to mix primary colours to create new colours, carefully adding darker shades into lighter colours to change tone. They used these skills to create beautiful pictures linked to different stories.

In Science, the children have been learning about winter weather patterns and seasonal changes. We explored what happens during winter, including animal hibernation and migration. We also learned about winter events and festivals such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Chinese New Year and Pancake Day.

In PE, the children have been creating our own dances using counts of eight. The children worked creatively around themes such as pirates, weather and toys. They also demonstrated fantastic respect and encouragement while watching each other’s performances.

For Safer Internet Day, we explored Artificial Intelligence (AI). The children learned what AI is, where it can be found and what it does. We discussed that AI:

  • Does not have emotions

  • Is not a real person

  • Can give information quickly

  • Can sometimes give incorrect information

We identified that AI can be found in devices such as TVs, watches, iPads, tablets and mobile phones.

In History, we have been learning about the history of toys. The children explored how toys have changed over time and investigated the different materials they were made from in the past compared to today.

In PSHE, we focused on online safety. The children learned how to stay safe online and discussed the importance of not sharing personal information. 

Autumn 2 2025

In RE they learnt about good deeds which are called Mitzvahs in the Jewish faith. They also learnt about caring for the world and others around them which is called Tikkun Olam.

The children worked extremely hard and put lots of effort into their Nativity performance of The Big Little Nativity.Then they all went to watch the Rock and Roll Pantomime at the Wolsey Theatre. 

Then in Computing they created self portraits using the brush tool, shape tool and text tool.

In Science they have learnt about range of materials which objects are made from, the properties of each material, how suitable certain materials are for a specific purpose, about the clothes we wear in winter and the seasonal changes and weather patterns.

Autumn 1 2025

In Indigo Class this half term the children have learnt about what happens at a baptism/christening, how children are welcomed into the church family, to name the four countries and capital cities in the UK, how to draw a map, to identify and name a range of homes, to name the features of homes, to identify and name a range of materials and to identify the materials objects are made from and their properties. 

In Maths they have learnt how to write the numbers 0 to 10 in words and how to write addition and subtraction number sentences using the commutative law.

In English they have learnt to use capital letters, full stops, finger spaces in a sentence and to identify nouns and verbs.

In Science the children identified a range of signs of Autumn while they were on a walk around the school field.

Summer 2 2025

In Art, the children have learnt how to create patterns and embellish fabric, do fabric pegging and create fabric resist squares using oil pastels and brusho. 

In DT, the children have learnt where food comes from, what foods are healthy and unhealthy, how to have a balanced diet, how to describe some fruits like melon, pineapple and mango and they have designed their own fruit kebabs. 

In Science, the children have learnt about the different parts of plants, the role of each part of a plant, what plants need to grow, the names of wild flowers and plants and what parts of plants we eat. 

In RE the children have learnt about thank you, please and sorry prayers. 

Summer 1 2025

In our last half term, the children explored different ways to create collages focusing on the skill of  overlapping. They created pictures using hot and cold colours like blues and reds and oranges and yellows just like the artist Patrick Heron and they created lots of art using natural materials in lines and patterns just like Andy Goldsworthy.

In RE, the children learnt about Jewish prayers and blessings, they found out about Jewish people building a Sukkah in their garden and about Shabbat which means the day of rest.

In Geography, the children learnt about human and physical features such as villages shops, towns, houses, cliffs, valleys the ocean and the beach.

In PE, the children focused on athletics and they developed the skills jumping for distance, jumping for height, throwing over arm and under arm and moving around an area at a controlled speed. They also had some sessions with the sports leaders from the local high school where they took part in a range of activities such as rounders, football and tag rugby.

Spring 2 2025

In Art the children learnt how to mix colours together, use an artist rag and overwork a picture.  They created some pictures of the mattresses from the story of the Princess and the Pea, they painted a picture of Fred the Dragon while listening to a story and using their imagination.

In DT the children finished their moving pictures linked to the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

In English they wrote an excellent recount all about the trip to the zoo. The children included adjectives, the conjunction ‘and’, full stops, capital letter for the names of people and places, finger spaces, exclamation marks and time words.

In Science the children learnt about different animals groups such as amphibians, mammals, reptiles, fish and birds and they looked at the different types of food the animals eat to decide if they were a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore. They also went on a school trip to Colchester Zoo.

Spring 1 2025

In DT the children have been exploring different ways to make sliders and levers. 

In Art the children have been learning to mix colours to make secondary colours, to use an artist rag and to create artwork like the Artist Jasper Johns. They also created their own collograph blocks and created a range of prints.

In History the children have been learning about toys in the past. They have enjoyed being Historians and finding out what toys their parents and grandparents used to play with. They have found out about how toys have changed over time using books, the internet, pictures and through conversations with people.

In Computing the children have been learning about online safety. 

In English the children have learnt how to write informal letters and a recount linked to their personal experiences. They learnt to use the personal pronoun 'I', to write in the past tense and to write exclamation sentences and questions.

The children also created posters about visual impairments and looked at Braille.

Autumn 2 2024

In DT the children created a model of their house using a cereal box. In English they wrote a set of instructions to tell someone else how to make a model house.

In Science they learnt about winter and went on a winter walk around the school field.

In RE they learnt about good deeds which are called Mitzvahs in the Jewish faith. They also learnt about caring for the world and others around them which is called Tikkun Olam.

The children worked extremely hard and put lots of effort into their Nativity performance of Barmy Bethlehem. Then in Computing they created self portraits using the brush tool, shape tool and text tool.

Autumn 1 2024

In Indigo Class this half term the children have learnt about the first black woman to go to space called Mae Jemison, what happens at a baptism/christening, how children are welcomed into the church family, to name the four countries and capital cities in the UK, how to draw a map, to identify and name a range of homes, to name the features of homes, to identify and name a range of materials and to identify the materials objects are made from and their properties. 

During the Vision Day the children thought of words they could use to describe Jesus and they drew picture of ways they they could be kind, thoughtful, compassionate, friendly, supportive, respectful and helpful.

In Art the children used different tools and materials to represent the three houses in the traditional tale of The Three Little Pigs.

In Science the children identified a range of signs of Autumn while they were on a walk around the school field.

In English they have learnt to use capital letters, full stops, finger spaces in a sentence , to identify nouns, to identify verbs and how to write a poem about Autumn with 6 syllables in a line using their senses. 

In Maths they have learnt how to write the numbers 0 to 10 in words, how to write addition and subtraction number sentences using the commutative law to write a fact families of eight facts and to use a number line to find one more or one less.

 

Previous Learning 

2023- 2024 

In maths, we use lots of concrete materials to help us learn new concepts:

 

At Forest School, we have been connecting with nature in all kinds of ways: experimenting with mud recipes, designing and building dens, looking for wildlife, being creative, working as a team, testing ourselves with climbing trees safely, relaxing in a hammock and drinking hot chocolate to stay warm!

 

Below shows the learning from previous  years:

 

       

Please find out more information about our Year 1 class below.

                                         Year 1 Reflective Space