Reception

1/0

Welcome to Reception

Autumn 1

What a busy first half term we’ve had in Reception! The children have settled well, adapting to new routines and expectations brilliantly. We have had lots of fun learning all about ourselves through our topic ‘Marvellous Me.’ We have read lots of books, learned new sounds and used lots of different apparatus to support our learning about number and shape. We have been creative and inquisitive, expressing what we have learned through paint, drawing, malleable materials, modelling and role play. We have also really enjoyed being able to go on our first school visit with our parents to Kingswood.

We are looking forward to another exciting half term in the lead up to Christmas where we will develop in all areas of learning through our topic ‘Let’s Pretend’ (details of this can be found on the topic map below). We will be working towards our ‘End of Autumn’ expectations, learning to blend and segment sounds to read and write words. There will be an opportunity for parents to come into school to speak to the Reception staff and have a look at some of the work we have been doing as part of the Autumn term parents evening and we will be holding our annual Christmas craft session where you are invited to come into school to be creative with your child, creating masterpieces to display in your homes over the Christmas period! We are also super excited about our visit to see Santa at West Midland Safari Park!

Teamwork is so important when supporting children in Early Years and we really do appreciate the work that you have been doing with your children at home, sharing their reading book with them and accessing the RWI phonics links. Your child’s Padlet is updated weekly in school, keep checking in to see what we’ve been up to! Remember, if your child ‘wows’ you at home with something that they do independently, you can add this to their Padlet too so that it can form part of their learning journey. Please make sure that you are registered on the Marvellous Me app using the code sent home so that you don’t miss out on messages, this is our main way of sharing up and coming events and information that you need to know. If you need a new login code, please speak to your child’s class teacher.

For those who are able to attend, Family Learning sessions run weekly, every Wednesday morning. Please ask for more information if this is something that you would be interested in.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child or if you need any support, please come and speak to us, the door is always open and if we can’t address it immediately, we will arrange a separate meeting with the appropriate people.

Introduction to Reception

It has been wonderful to see our new children settle into Reception. They have been calm, well behaved and keen to access the many activities that we have in store for them in school. Staff are excited about the year ahead and watching your children grow and develop in all areas of learning.

Please find below some information that you need to know:

Baseline Assessments

We are currently working with each child on the National Reception Baseline Assessment which gives us an indication of children’s starting points in Communication, Language and Literacy and Mathematics. More information can be found about this assessment here.

Staff are also busy getting to know all children, finding out about their interests and helping them feel at home in their new setting. During this time, staff will be making baseline judgements in each area of learning so that we know each child’s next steps.

Phonics and Early Reading

Children have begun phonics in school this week. We follow Read Write Inc. (RWI) as our phonics scheme and as part of this, children will be learning a new sound every day. They will also be learning to blend sounds together to make words, we call this ‘Fred Talk’. We will be using the Marvellous Me app to send out links for videos to support your child with learning their sounds each week. It is important that we all teach the sounds in the same way and by following the links, children will have a consistent approach. Learning to read is a vital skill and support at home with this makes a huge difference to the progress that children will make. More information about RWI can be found here.

Once Baseline assessments are complete, children will be bringing home a school reading book. Books are changed once weekly in Reception. Please ensure that your child has their book in school every day. Children will be sent home with a book that their teacher feels is most in line with their reading ability, this may be a book without words to start with. When reading at home with your child, encourage them to hold the book correctly, turning the pages independently and talking about the pictures in the book. Children will also bring home a book from our lending library. This will be a book of your child’s choice. We will change library books every Monday so please ensure that your child’s library book is in school on this day.

Sharing the Learning Journey

It is important that you know what your child is learning about and doing in school. This makes supporting your child, both academically and emotionally, easier. This year, we will be using ‘Padlet’ to share with you your child’s learning journey. You will be provided with a QR code that is unique to your child. This will take you to their own page which contains any photos or observations of your child in school. It will also allow you to add any of your own ‘wow’ moments from home for staff to see. For example, if your child does something that they’ve not been able to do before, such as write their name or ride a bike, you will be able to add it onto their Padlet.

More information to follow.

Marvellous Me

School use Marvellous Me as a tool for communicating with parents. It is vital that you download this app so that you are aware of any information shared in this way. Login details to follow shortly. This is the app through which phonics links will also be shared with you on a weekly basis.

Medical Tracker

If your child has a minor injury in school, they will be treated by a first aider and you will be notified by email to say that your child has had an injury and how it has been treated. If the first aider decides that the injury is more serious, you will also receive a phone call explaining what has happened.

Family Learning

You will shortly receive a letter inviting you to weekly Family Learning sessions at our Adventure Playground. These are exciting opportunities to work with your child on a range of activities linked to what they are learning in class. It is also a good chance to meet other parents and ask any questions you may have about school life.

Don’t worry if you are not able to attend weekly sessions, there will still be plenty of opportunities for you to come into school throughout the year to work with your child. We endeavour to give as much notice as possible of these events.

Lots of information I know! We have an open door policy in school so please speak to us if you have any concerns or questions, we will do our best to answer them or point you in the direction of someone who can.

Thank you for your support so far and we look forward to working with you and your child this year.

Mrs. Booth