Reception
Welcome to Squirrel Class!
Welcome to our Reception page! We are excited to share and celebrate our learning journey with you. Here, you can keep up to date with everything happening in our busy Reception class, view photos of our learning and adventures, and find curriculum information and news for each half-term.
We hope this page gives you a glimpse into all the fun, creativity, and learning that takes place in our classroom.
If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you for visiting our website!
Information about Reception
In Reception, children learn through the Foundation stage framework consisting of 7 areas of learning:
Personal, Social and Emotional development
Physical development
Communication and language
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive Arts and Design
In Reception, children learn through a carefully planned environment that encourages exploration, curiosity, and independence. Each day includes a balance of child-initiated learning and adult-led activities, giving children opportunities to develop new skills through both play and focused teaching.
We place a strong emphasis on developing the physical skills needed for writing. Children take part in activities such as Physical Literacy, Dance, Dough Disco, and a range of fine motor tasks to strengthen their core muscles, hand strength, and coordination.
Daily phonics, literacy, and mathematics sessions help children develop their understanding of reading, writing, letters and sounds, number, shape, space, and measure. These engaging sessions build confidence and provide strong foundations for future learning.
Children have access to both our indoor and outdoor learning environments every day, allowing them to explore, investigate, create, and develop their skills across all areas of learning. Our continuous provision is designed to promote curiosity, independence, problem-solving, creativity, and communication.
Through continuous provision, group activities, and focused teaching sessions, we support every child on their individual learning journey. Regular observations, photographs, and examples of children's work help us understand their development, celebrate their achievements, and track their progress. These are recorded in each child's Learning Journey.
Our aim is to nurture confident, happy, and enthusiastic learners by supporting, challenging, and extending their learning through play. We love watching children grow in confidence, develop new skills, and flourish throughout their Reception year.
The Reception Team
Teachers:
Miss Rani   Miss Barkes |
Teaching Assistants:
 Miss Barfield Mrs T |
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Class Dojo
We use Class Dojo as a way of communicating between school and home.
Showing you lots of wonderful things we are doing in school as well as giving you information about how to support your child's learning at home and upcoming events and notices.
We also award Dojo 'points' for children's brilliant achievements.
Reception Curriculum
Topics in Reception
Every half-term begins with a new exciting topic and our cross-curricular learning for most subjects is based around the topic. We provide parents with a curriculum newsletter for each topic.
Here are the six topics taught in Reception and further information on what is covered in each topic:
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
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Me and My Community |
Sparkle and Shine |
Winter Wonderland |
Once Upon A Time |
Sunshine and Flowers |
Moving On |
Scroll to the bottom of each tab to find Curriculum Newsletter links for each topic. The aim of the Curriculum Newsletter is to outline what your child is studying in each of their subjects every half term and to guide you to additional resources.
Autumn 1- Me and My Community
Me and My Community
During our first half term, we will focus on helping children settle into school routines, build friendships and develop a sense of belonging within our classroom and wider school community. Through stories, discussions and play-based learning, we will explore:
Our feelings and emotions
New experiences and routines
What makes us unique and special
Our families and the people who care for us
Friendship and kindness
Our local community and environment
Ways to stay healthy and look after our wellbeing
Children will be encouraged to talk about their ideas, experiences and feelings while learning how to listen to and respect the thoughts and opinions of others.
Books and Songs
Through our carefully chosen stories and songs, we will explore a range of feelings and experiences. Children will be encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions, understand their own emotions, and begin to recognise and respect the feelings of others.
Literacy, Phonics and Mathematics
The children have so much to explore and learn in Reception, and the days soon fill with exciting experiences! We will begin teaching phonics this term and will share information with families about how you can support your child's reading and writing at home. We will also provide video clips demonstrating pre-writing patterns and letter formation.
In mathematics, children will develop a secure understanding of numbers to 5, including counting, comparing groups, and exploring number relationships. To celebrate our learning, we will be having a special 'Five Party' in class!
Physical Development
Physical development plays a vital role in children's overall learning and development. Building strength and coordination helps children develop the skills needed for writing and other everyday tasks. We support this through daily activities such as Dough Disco, dance, yoga, and Physical Literacy sessions, which help develop both fine and gross motor skills. Children also enjoy daily access to outdoor learning where they can run, jump, climb, and practise ball skills.
This term, we will also be visiting our local Arboretum Park to explore our local community and learn more about the world around us, whilst developing our physical skills through outdoor experiences.
Understanding the World
Throughout the year, we celebrate diversity and encourage children to learn about different cultures, celebrations, festivals, and religions. This helps children develop respect, understanding, and appreciation of the world around them. This term, we will also be marking World Mental Health Day and discussing the importance of looking after our mental well-being.
In Reception, throughout the year we focus on difference and diversity, learning about different celebrations, festivals and religions, in order to learn about and recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. This term we will be celebrating World Mental Health Day.
Questions to Ask at Home
Talking about learning at home helps children build confidence and language skills. Try asking:
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About Me
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Friends and Feelings
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My Community
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Newsletter:
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
Curriculum money
Activity money is £1.00 a week. This can be paid in half termly blocks using our new online payment system SCOPAY Login.
Reading with your child
Sharing a book with your child is vital for your child’s development in literacy, communication, language, listening, understanding, social development and emotional wellbeing.
Reading books will be changed weekly. It is essential that you spend 5/10 minutes each night sharing your child's book with them, helping them to learn their tricky words and phonics sounds. Please make a comment in their diaries so we can keep up to date with the activities you have been doing. Thank you. Please bring reading wallets to school every day. We will read with the children in school and then send their reading books back home.
PE and Games
PE will continue to take place on Thursday afternoons. Please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kit every Thursday. No jewellery and hair tied back. Children will take part in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities that continue to focus on fine and gross motor skills.
Ways to help at home
- Encourage your child to be independent: getting dressed, feeding, and toileting. This will have a big impact on their confidence and help with their fine motor, which will support their writing.
- Share and talk about books together.
- Ask questions about your child’s day at school
- Enjoy a bedtime story with your child to encourage love for books.
- Give your child lots of opportunity to draw and write.
- Practise counting forward and counting out objects. Practise recognising numbers to 5 and then 10.
- Support your child to recognise and write their name. (Capital letter for the first letter of the name only)
Don’t forget we are always here to help. We have an open door policy.
Reception Team
Please sign up to the oxford owl website where you will find lots of e-books to share with your child.
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/
Useful websites
Here is a list of some useful websites that can be used to support and extend children's learning at home, on top of school set homework.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/
http://www.ictgames.com/literacy.html