We aim to provide every child with a feeling of security, feeling as a valued individual and feeling confident to explore new learning. We understand that the Reception school year is pivotal in children developing a love for learning, therefore we ensure there is a balance of engaging teacher-led activities as well as child-initiated exploration. This allows for the children to follow their own interests and build upon their own passions.
Within the first few weeks of Reception, we invite parents into school to join us for a Curriculum Information Meeting where we share information about our class routines, expectations and curriculum.
See our EY Curriculum Overview 2023-24
See our Autumn Term Topic – Emotions and Celebrations
See our Autumn Term Topic – Myself and My World
See our Spring Term Topic – Winter and Dinosaurs
Phonics:
We follow the Little Wandle Phonics Scheme to teach new letters and sounds. We teach four new sounds a week and have a review lesson on a Friday. You will receive a list of the sounds that we are learning to have at home, to support your children with the letter formation and pronunciation. For more information please see the Little Wandle website – https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Early Reading:
As your child begins their reading journey, they will start to bring home a reading book (‘My Book’) which matches their current reading ability. At the start of Reception these books are wordless or have very few words but are important to your child’s reading development. These books allow children to learn how stories work, including the order and direction in which they read, without the pressure of too many words on the page. Children will enjoy talking about the story and discussing what is happening in the pictures. The first step in reading is to use visual prompts to help read the words. The pictures provide lots of opportunities for playing with environmental sounds, an important first step in the teaching of phonics. As your child’s phonics knowledge and reading skills develop, they will receive a phonics-based book linked to the sounds taught in class, these books will then become levelled reading books according to their reading ability. These books are used to boost your child’s fluency when reading aloud and encouraging them to segment and blend words.
Your child will also bring home a storybook (‘Our Book’) which the children choose themselves from our class library. This should be read by an adult and aims to boost children’s interest and love of reading. These books are to be returned on Friday to receive new books for the following week.
Mathematics:
We follow the White Rose Maths scheme, supporting the children to gain a deep understanding of the counting principles and number sense. Key mathematical concepts are revisited and developed throughout the year. For more information please see – https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths#start
ClassDojo:
We use ClassDojo to keep in touch regularly with parents, sharing the children’s learning online.
- Individual Portfolios: We use ClassDojo portfolios to share ‘wow moments’ at home. This can be something your child is proud of and wants to share, or something chosen to show progress and achievements.
- Whole class posts: At the end of each week, we share a whole class post to share what we have been up to in school that week.
- Communication: We encourage you to send messages and add photos to your child’s portfolio. These can be shared in school to celebrate anything that has been going on at home.
End of Reception:
We aim for every child to leave Reception as an independent, confident and enthusiastic learner, ready for Key Stage 1. We have a smooth transition into Year 1, ensuring the Early Learning Goals have been met.
Link to Early Learning Goals
