As June looms ever closer, year 1 teachers across the UK may be hearing the call of the year 1 phonics check. Your school may make this a quick and easy process, or it may feel high stakes. We hope it's the former!

With the growth of phonics schemes and mandatory assessments across the UK curriculum, it can be all too easy as teachers to feel bogged down with expectations, leaving less space for the joy and magic that learning to read offers. Many of us at team Cosy are previous practitioners, teachers and educationalists. We know that assessment is important, and unavoidable. However, we also have joyful outdoor play at the heart of all that we do, and are passionate advocates of giving children the childhood they deserve. With that in mind, in this post we'll be sharing our favourite ways to balance out those non negotiable key stage 1 assessments with play, practical learning, and of course getting outside!

Continuous provision for reading and writing (yes, in KS1!)

What is your school like when it comes to continuous provision past the EYFS? A staple? A dream? Perhaps if you have never ventured into the EYFS, it might not even be on your radar. Well, we'd love to encourage you to give it a try!

For those uninitiated, continuous provision is all about providing self directed activities for children to use as and when they choose. In EYFS this is the typical style of learning, with the curriculum facilitating this approach. Naturally in key stage one, this gets a lot harder - as children are more likely to be seated with a set timetable for the day. If you can carve out a little space to access activities in a self-directed way, however, you'll find that's where magic happens! You could, for example, carve out some time at the end of the day for self directed learning, as a break between lessons, or at the beginning of the day before register.

Examples of simple continuous provision activities you could set up around your classroom are varied. The natural is a reading area, which most classrooms will have - but you could also set up a simple phonics activity or literacy activity for children to access. We have lots of ideas for those on our Pinterest boards here and here. Perhaps you could set up a writing station, with clipboards, pens, pencils and various other writing resources, encouraging children to write letters to one another, or even, if you have space, a role play area for children to explore their current reads through the art of drama!

Hands-on tuff trays and displays

The tuff tray is synonymous with the EYFS classroom, but why not take the ethos of it with us up to key stage 1? Tuff trays and displays are our bread and butter here at Cosy, and there are so many ways to set up fun, practical, hands-on phonics related activities that don't require worksheets, set books or lots of adult support.

Perhaps you could set up a writing tuff tray around a current story? Add clipboards, writing resources and perhaps even a post box made of cardboard for The Jolly Postman. Why not write a letter to The Tiger That Came To Tea? Alternatively, set up a fishing game with magnets and sounds and see if children can create digraphs and trigraphs. The list goes on. While these activities might seem like something you would include as part of a literacy input, there's no reason why they can't be used as an independent activity for children to explore at their leisure. Out tuff tray Pinterest board is enormous and has plenty of literacy ideas for you!

Outdoor phonics activities

Ah, the beauty of outdoor phonics! So much of assessment and set schemes have their place - but there's something magical about exploring reading and writing in the great outdoors, whether these are child-led activities or a whole class session.

If you have the luxury of a dedicated outdoor area for KS1, then literacy sheds are a fantastic way to encourage reading and writing outside, with minimal set up on a daily basis bar a regular sort through and tidy. We have lots of examples of our curriculum sheds below.

If you don't have a dedicated KS1 outdoor area, all is not lost! We have a huge variety of outdoor phonics and literacy ideas to use with your class on the field or playground. Head to our outdoor literacy Pinterest board.

Maximising reading dens

All hail the reading corner! A nursery and primary staple but one not to be missed out on. Shelving and pillows are a natural addition, but there is so much more that can be added to maximise this area. Why not set up a reading display with texts linked to your current topic, if you have one, and include fancy dress, puppets and story sacks to really engaged learners in the joy of a good read? If you have the facility you might even add audio books with an old CD player.

We love to offer fabulous furniture to really amp up your reading corner - so if you're in the market, adding cosy wicker and furniture really make this kind of space more inviting. Head to our Cosy Reading Corner Pinterest board to see some inspiration, or look below for a few ideas.

Keep up the joy!

We hope this post inspires you to, wherever you can, encourage a love of learning amidst necessary assessments. Check out our Pinterest board for hundreds of ideas for bringing joy into your setting!