Reception

Welcome to Reception

We are always busy in Reception and every day is different! We love learning through play and enjoy exploring the world around us! We work with Mrs Dickinson (Class teacher), Mrs Alvi (teaching assistant) and Miss Cowan is with us on a Friday afternoon. Mrs Mudd is our lunchtime supervisor and Mr Graham is our PE coach. 

Play is the cornerstone of our Foundation Stage curriculum. Through supervised play, children are encouraged to explore, develop, imagine and investigate their surroundings in order to start to understand the world around them. Practical experiences are incredibly valuable and appropriate at this stage of learning. Play provides important opportunities for learning in many ways; observation, exploration, discovery, and communication. These opportunities are developed through both indoor and outdoor activities.

Reception Key Information

 

 

 

We are passionate about developing the children’s love of books and stories so we do place an emphasis on the children developing a positive relationship with literature. Our maths and literacy lessons blend fun, engaging games with focused activities, providing the children with a firm basis of understanding on which to build their later knowledge. We have regular phonics sessions which follow the Read Write Inc scheme. We aim to hear the children read individually as the combination of these activities is the key to ensuring that children learn to read quickly and with confidence.

Teaching in Reception is an absolute pleasure, laying the building blocks for a smooth transition into Year 1 and it is a joy to watch our young children develop into happy, confident children who feel set to succeed on their journey through school.

Classroom Routines

Reading

Reading is an essential part of children's learning and opens them up to new worlds and exciting adventures. The aim is for all children to read at least three times a week with an adult, and to record this in their reading record. Please remember to write in your child’s book when they have finished so we know when to change their book. In Reception we change books on a Wednesday or Thursday. 

PE

We value the importance of physical education to maintain a healthy lifestyle, therefore we have 2 weekly PE lessons in Reception. Our PE days are Monday with Kieran the PE coach from Simply Sport and Friday with Mr Graham. 

Please bring PE kits in at the beginning of each half term and leave them in for the half term so that children are prepared for any eventuality.

Communication 

We share learning and resources through ClassDojo. Parents and children are able to post messages, photos and videos and parents can see work and send messages to the class teacher. This is a really strong way of keeping our learning up to date and staying connected with our class. If you have any difficulties accessing ClassDojo, please contact the school office for further support.

Statutory Tests

In Reception we submit data to the Reception Baseline within the first 6 weeks of your child starting in our class. This is nothing to worry about and children will complete the Baseline 1:1 with Mrs Dickinson. The Reception Baseline assesses children in literacy, maths and communication and language. 

Curriculum Areas

The Early Years Curriculum is split into 7 areas of development. Throughout the Year Reception children work towards the Early Learning Goals in each area. At the end of the year children are assessed on whether or not they have reached the expected standard to achieve the Early Learning Goal or not. 

Communication and Language 

In Reception we embed listening, attention and speaking throughout all that we do. Children's back and forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language rich environment supports their development. 

In Reception children are expected to listen attentively during whole class carpet times and during small group work. We encourage children to speak in sentences and to ask and answer questions. 

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

 Personal, social and emotional development is crucial for children to lead healthy happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development.

In Reception we spend time teaching PSED through stories and circle times. We use the ZONEs of Regulation to support our knowledge and understanding of ours and others feelings. We also follow the No Outsiders approach which focuses on teaching about acceptance and that "Everyone is Welcome" at Witton Gilbert Primary. 

Physical Development 

Physical activity is vital in children's all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross motor and fine motor experiences develop throughout early childhood. 

In Reception we value movement and invest in children's physical activity with two PE sessions a week led by specialist PE coaches. We also have forest school sessions and we are an OPAL play school at lunchtimes. 

We have numerous opportunities for fine motor development throughout our classroom provision. 

Literacy 

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Writing involves transcription and composition. 

In Reception we have daily phonics sessions using Read Write Inc. Children also read once a week once a week with an adult 1:1 and books are changed weekly to send home. 

In Reception we enjoy a variety of mark making and throughout the year we teach the individual letter formation for each letter as we learn the sound. We then encourage the children to use their phonic knowledge to sound out words to spell simple words. By the end of the year we aim for the children to be able to write a simple sentence. 

Mathematics 

Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. 

We follow the White Rose maths scheme and complete lots of hands on practical focused tasks. 

Understanding the World 

Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. 

In Reception we provide lots of experiences with visits and visitors to our class, to find out about our local community and the different careers people can do. We learn about different cultures and celebrations. We talk about similarities and differences between places and people and where we live. 

Expressive Arts and Design 

The development of children's artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. 

 We provide lots of different opportunities for children to explore creatively and be artistic. Children have weekly music lessons where children have a variety of musical experiences and children are encouraged to perform.