Croeso i Dosbarth Elwy – Derbyn a Blwyddyn 1

“Every day is a chance to learn something new.”

Meet the staff

Croeso cynnes i Dosbarth Derbyn a Blwyddyn 1 – Dosbarth Elwy. My name is Miss Barry and I am really looking forward to being your class teacher this year! This year, Miss Mytton and Mrs. Davies are our class teaching assistants. On a Monday and Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. Johnson (Level 4 teaching assistant) teaches Forest School Skills and P.E.

I hope that your year in Dosbarth Elwy will not only be a happy one, but also a huge success. We aim to ensure that your child has a happy time in school, learning through meaningful and fun experiences. Every experience your child has, from learning to hold a pencil, playing a musical instrument, counting to 20 and beyond – ensures that they are building on skills for the future. Pupils are immersed in creative, practical and physical skills to ensure they remain engaged as ambitious and capable learners.

Homework

At Ysgol Sant Dunawd, we believe in a little and often and that practice makes progress! The children will be sent home frequently with Phonics Sounds practise sheets, and when they have progressed through their initial sounds and are blending appropriately, pupils will have a reading book and diary. We encourage the children to read a few pages of their reading book each night, aloud to an adult. Adults are encouraged to sign the diary and write a brief comment.

Sneak peak inside Dosbarth Elwy!

Read Write Inc Phonics

Your child will be learning to recognise letters and sounds before gradually progressing to blending sounds together to make words. Following this stage, pupils will then learn to recognise words and start to read whole sentences. It is important to note, that every pupil will progress at different times throughout the Foundation years.

For more information about Read Write Inc, and to find out how you can help at home, please click here or visit our dedicated Read Write Inc. page.

I have attached below a short video link for parents to be able to use the same correct sounds that we use with our Read, Write Inc scheme in school, I hope you find this useful.

Our INSPIRE Inquiry Spring 2 2026

🌟 Super Senses 🌟

Science & Technology Topic – Next Term

This term Dosbarth Elwy’s exciting topic is Super Senses! We will be exploring how our bodies help us to see, hear, taste, touch and smell the world around us. Through science, technology and lots of practical investigation, the children will become curious explorers of their environment.

We will be:

🔎 Identifying things in our environment that may be harmful and learning how to reduce risks to keep ourselves and others safe.
❓ Asking questions and finding out how things work.
👀 Making observations and communicating our ideas in different ways.
📋 Beginning to follow a sequence of instructions carefully.
⏰ Talking about routines using the words before and after.
🧭 Exploring movement and direction through practical activities.

👂 What will learning look like?

Our learning will be hands-on and sensory! Activities will include:

• A local area sound walk to explore environmental sounds
• Food tasting investigations to explore our sense of taste
• Sharing the story From Head to Toe and exploring movement
• Singing and performing songs such as “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
• Drawing around each other to explore body parts

The children will present their learning orally, through pictures, writing and simple data collection. They will join in with songs, rhymes and stories, and experiment with new vocabulary linked to the senses.

Did you know…? The River Elwy (Afon Elwy in Welsh) is a river in Wales forming a tributary to the River Clwyd. The river can be found in North Wales, not far from our school: