Our Reception class

Your child will be entering the Reception Class, the first class in primary education following on from their Pre-school and Nursery education. Reception classes follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (EYFS) which supports the children to achieve Early Learning Goals by the end of their Reception year. Children spend one year in the Reception class before moving into Year 1 and entering the National Curriculum.   

All areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum are provided daily in both independent and adult supported learning experiences. These areas are:   

• Personal Social and Emotional Development   
• Communication and Language   
• Physical Development   
• Literacy   
• Mathematics   
• Understanding the World   
• Expressive art and Design  

Starting school is an exciting new adventure for all children. We try to make it as easy as possible by arranging induction events such as a Teddy Bears' picnic and stay and play sessions so they are confident when it comes to the big ‘first day’!   

There are many important things that you can do before your child starts school to prepare them.  

• Independence: Encourage your child to dress themselves so that they feel confident to put their coats on and get changed for PE.  
• Routine: Establish a consistent daily routine that includes regular bedtimes, meal times, and play times. This helps children feel secure and understand what to expect each day.
• Social skills: Arrange playdates or attend local playgroups to help your child learn to share, take turns, and interact with other children. These experiences are valuable for building friendships and social confidence.
• Read together: Spend time reading books with your child every day. This not only enhances their language skills but also fosters a love for reading and learning.
• Encourage Curiosity: Engage in activities that stimulate your child’s curiosity and creativity, such as exploring nature, doing simple science experiments, or playing with building blocks.
• Promote Physical Activity: Ensure your child has plenty of opportunities for physical play, whether it’s running, jumping, climbing, or playing ball games. Physical activity is crucial for their overall development.
• Talk About School: Discuss what school will be like, including the fun activities they’ll do and the new friends they’ll make. This can help alleviate any anxiety and build excitement about starting school.
• Create a Positive Attitude: Show enthusiasm and positivity about school. Children often mirror their parents’ attitudes, so your excitement can help them feel more positive about the transition.

Share books together regularly. Help your child to choose exciting, attractive picture books. Make this time very special in a cosy atmosphere.

• Point out words all around you – look at signs in supermarkets, shops, on posters etc.  
• Sing nursery rhymes together.  
• Help your child to recognise their name.  
• Let your child see you enjoying various types of reading.  
• Write things with your child and encourage them to read it back to you e.g. the writing of your shopping list etc.   
• Share tape/CD stories and books.  
• When looking at letters, focus on the sound they make rather than letter name.   

• Show your child how to hold a book properly.  
• Before reading the story, get a “feel” for the story by talking about the cover.  
• Look at the illustrations and talk about them. This will help your child to understand what the story is all about.  
• Let your child hold the book and turn the pages.  
• Don’t worry about reading a story many times if you both enjoy it. This will help your child to remember the story and recognise some of the words.  
• Allow your child to “read” the book to you by talking about the pictures.  
• Read books with catchy rhymes.  
• Reading exciting stories will encourage your child to find out what happens next. 

• Help your child by giving lots of opportunities to draw, colour and experiment using all kinds of stationery and materials as this will aid your child’s enjoyment in the activity.   
• Writing need not be sitting at a desk with pen and paper at such a young age but instead engaging with physical involvement of activities such as drawing on an outdoor floor with chalk or water.   
• Offering a purpose for writing can also be a good motivator, for example, writing a letter to relatives or friends can be very exciting especially if your child receives a reply!   
• Allow your child to experience writing unaided. This “writing” will normally only be mark making (lines and squiggles!) but your child will know what they have “written” and this should be valued.   
• Encourage your child to tell you about their writing and be active in demonstrating the writing process. Mark making is the beginning of the writing process and can be made fun in a wide variety of ways using a bit of imagination!  
• It is important that good writing habits are established at an early stage. If your child wants to write their name then this is an excellent skill to promote in the lead up to starting school, however remember that the only capital letter should be the first letter.   
• You can try and promote good, clear handwriting by teaching your child where each letter should start and finish. 

Mathematics is all around us and there are many things that you do during the day that can encourage your child to count, recognise numbers, measure and look at colours, shapes and patterns:  

• Counting rhymes are great fun and contribute to other areas of learning.   
• Spot numbers as you walk along e.g., door numbers and number plates.  
• Who can count to the biggest number? Count the number of steps to the car, home, end of the road.   
• Count apples when you buy them in the shop  
• When out shopping, ask children to think about which costs more and which costs less.   
• Can you share the Lego bricks equally between your soft toys? Can you make sure teddy has more and doggy has less – tell me how you will do this?  
• How many forks will we need to set the table? Will we need more, less or the same number of knives?   
• Look for shapes all around the house and notice the patterns in material, wrapping paper etc.  
• You could even practise writing numbers!