Reception
Reception 2025 - 2026
Welcome to Reception!
Mrs Scott, Mrs Weston and Miss McCready
Welcome Back!
Here is our welcome letter...
Magical Me!
During this half term, we will be taking the time to settle in to our new class, get to know each other and familiarise ourselves with our classroom rules and expectations. We will be learning about ourselves and what makes us magical, such as our families, friends and feelings. We will begin by looking at the story 'Our Class is a Family' in which we will talk about how we all belong to our wonderful class family, and then we will move to on to talk about our own families and how they might be the same or different to our friends. We will then look at 'The Colour Monster' in which we will learn all about the many different feelings we can experience and how to manage different situations if we are feeling sad or angry.
Class achievements
Each Friday during 'Good Work Assembly' we will choose a class star who has shown just how amazing they are. It could be being a kind friend, being an excellent helper in the classroom or trying their best with their learning. They will receive a certificate to take home. Each Friday we will also draw our prize jar filled with the names of children who have made it to the rainbow on our class chart. If chosen they will get to choose something from our prize box.
Stay and read
Details about our very first 'Stay & Read' will be available soon. This where we invite parents and carers into the classroom to read with the children and share a love of books. We know just how important it is that children develop a love for reading and they were so excited for their grown-ups to come and see them in their classroom!
Fish!
Your child may have told you about our class fish who live in our classroom. Each year we let the children decide the names of the fish in which they then get to vote for their favourites. I'm sure they will let you know very soon which names they have chosen!
Look at us!
Welcome to your new class!
Welcome to Reception and well done for being so brave in the first week of school! The children have settled in really well and are all making friends and starting to build relationships with us and each other.
We understand that this is a scary time for both the children and their grown-up's, therefore we are spending a lot of time building trust and helping the children to feel secure in their new class, however, if you have any questions or concerns, please come and speak to a member of the reception team.
During the first, we have been helping your children to become familiar with our daily routine and begin to understand and manage the class rules and tasks, as well as feel secure in areas of the school in which they may feel anxious, such as the dining hall and assembly hall. We have loved reading 'Our Class is a Family' and thinking about how we are all different but we all belong in our wonderful class family.
As most children at this age find it difficult to recall the activities that they have been involved with during the week, I will outline some of the routines that the children will engage with throughout the term to help you to be able to chat to your child at home about their school experiences.
Adult Supported Tasks
Our adult-supported tasks focus on the theme and learning objectives for your children and are completed in small groups, with the support of an adult. Currently, these link to literacy and numeracy, within our theme of 'Magical Me'. Your children have been discussing and recording information about themselves and the people that are important to them, along with their likes, dislikes and things that make them unique and special. They have started to look at numbers up to 10 through number songs and counting actions.
Phonics sounds
Your child will soon be sent home with the set one sounds, these are the sounds that your child will be learning in their phonics sessions. Please support your child to practise these at home and record this in their diary. As their phonetic understanding develops, you can cut the sound sheet and use the sounds individually to blend short words. I have attached a link to give further information on how to help your child with phonics below:
Home Learning Packs
In addition to the phonics support, we will also be sending your child home with the 2D and 3D shapes that the children will learn throughout the year, as well as their number bonds to 5. Again, please record when they have practiced these at home in their diary, so that we can recognise the engagement in home challenges, in class.
Dough Disco
Building gross and fine motor skills and strength, is an essential tool within early writing, therefore a fantastic, fun way to encourage this is through dough disco activities. At the end of each day, we have a class session of dough disco, where the children follow instruction s on the interactive white board to complete movement to music, using their dough. These sessions are readily available on the internet so you could enjoy this as a fun activity at home too.
Sensory and quiet learning area
Our kitchen area is essential to the children's daily activities and is used for different purposes; along with it's practical space for cooking activities, it is most often used for a calming environment for quiet learning, intervention time and sensory experiences. It is an area that can be utilised when children need some calm, quiet time, need a quiet area to concentrate on challenging tasks or when children are feeling overwhelmed in a busy, and sometimes noisy, bustling classroom. We feel lucky to have this space and I have no doubt that it will continue to be beneficial to the whole class.
We are always on the lookout to continue to develop this area, so if you ever have any lights, sensory resources or ideas for the room, we are forever grateful for donations and support!
Lunchtime
Lunchtime is always an anxious time for some children and also for parents. We have two brilliant midday supervisors who will help your child with all their needs, even if this is just for emotional support. In addition, one of their class teaching assistants is with them throughout the lunch break, both in the dining hall and during their outdoor play. To make this time easier for your child, if your child is bringing a packed lunch, please make sure that all their bags/drinks bottles etc are labelled with their name and they are familiar with what their belongings look like. If your child is having school dinners, you can pre-book these using the schools payment app, and we strongly encourage this, as you know your child's preferences better than us, however, if you forget, please do not worry as we will complete this after registration every day. Please do not feel the need to send a packed lunch AND order a dinner, as having their lunch box both confuses the children and encourages them not to try their lunch in school. We will take note of any children that are not eating much at lunch and we will inform you of this during feedback at the end of the day, or in their diaries.
PE
Our PE session will be on a Thursday morning, every week. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit in school, we will send these home at the end of each half term to be washed. If your child wears earrings, please remove these before they arrive at school on this day. If your child does not have their PE kit or is wearing earrings and cannot remove them independently, then unfortunately they will not be able to participate in the session.