Reception

Welcome to Reception!

In Reception we follow the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework’, which consists of the following areas of learning:

Prime Areas

  • Communication and Language
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Physical Development

Specific Areas

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

Children in Reception continue to learn through play building their confidence and knowledge of the world around them.  They participate in focused groups with an adult to deepen and solidify their knowledge in various areas.  Areas of our classroom are well defined with intentional and purposeful play based activities set out. We create a language rich environment to provide the children with a safe and secure classroom which enables them to build confidence in themselves as they learn new skills and explore the curriculum.

The teaching Staff in EYFS

Our Reception Teacher and EYFS Lead is Mrs Dexter.

Our Teaching Assistant is Miss Anthony.

Our PPA cover teacher is Mrs Riding.

Timetable

All children in Reception have daily sessions of Phonics, Handwriting, Maths and Literacy. They also follow a weekly timetable of focused tasks consisting of the following:

Monday – RE and Communication and Language

Tuesday – PSED

Wednesday – Topic and PE

Thursday – Topic

Friday – Music

Please ensure your child comes to school with their PE kit on a Wednesday to give them the best opportunity of participating fully in the PE activities.

In EYFS our ethos is to allow the children to always have access to free flow activities both indoors and outdoors in all weathers. We therefore ask that all children come to school with the following items:

  • Wellington boots
  • Waterproof suit/trousers and coat
  • Gloves, hat and scarf for cold weather
  • Sunhat for warm weather
  • Sun cream for warm weather

Discovering Dinosaurs

In Reception, our learning journey takes us back millions of years as we step into the exciting world of dinosaurs and prehistoric life. The children become curious explorers, discovering a wide range of dinosaurs and learning the difference between fierce carnivores and gentle herbivores. We travel through time to explore prehistoric worlds, volcanoes, early reptiles, cavemen, and the fascinating stories of life long ago.

Our topic is brought to life through a rich selection of stories and information texts. We enjoy listening to and discussing favourites such as Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson, Dinosaur Roar, and Dear Dinosaur, alongside a range of engaging non-fiction books all about dinosaurs, fossils, volcanoes, and the work of palaeontologists.

The children take on the role of young scientists and explorers as they investigate fossils, ask questions about the past, and learn how palaeontologists uncover clues about life on Earth millions of years ago. In science, we carry out exciting hands-on experiments, including creating erupting volcanoes, to deepen our understanding of how the Earth has changed over time.

Throughout the topic, we build a rich and adventurous vocabulary, using new words to describe dinosaurs, their habitats, and the dramatic prehistoric world they once ruled.

RE

In Reception, our RE topic “To the Ends of the Earth” helps us begin to understand the exciting story of the early Church and how the Christian faith began to grow.

We learn about important events such as Ascension Day, when Jesus returned to heaven, and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and gave the disciples courage and strength. We explore how the early Church began and how the first Christians shared their faith with others.

Through stories, role play, and discussion, the children begin to think about how the disciples felt and how they worked together as a community. We talk about kindness, sharing, and helping others, and consider how we can live in a way that reflects the love and actions of the early Christians.

This topic helps children begin to understand simple ideas about faith, belonging, and community as they explore the story of the Church “to the ends of the earth.”

Home Learning

Children in Reception will receive an accurately matched phonics reading book to bring home each week on a Friday. The children will keep this book for the following week to practice at home at least 3 times and then return this book on the following Friday. Please refer to the ‘Phonics and Early Reading’ page for further support with this.

Children will also bring home a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ book they choose themselves. This is for you to share at home with your child and enjoy spending time reading together!

Your child will bring home a spelling book in Lent Term. This will consist of 3 high frequency words we are focussing on it class. Please practice these at home with your child to help them with their reading and early writing skills. These do not need to always be written in their books, you could use magnetic letters, sand, chalk etc.