Summer Term

This term we are going to become chefs and write our own recipes!

We will be listening to the traditional tales The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. We will also be looking at instructions and recipes to make gingerbread and porridge. The children will then start to look at the structure and the characters in traditional tales. We will be celebrating King Charles’s coronation and plan an afternoon tea and party. After half term, we will be thinking about the seaside and our theme will be ‘Pirates’. We will write our own pirate stories with a beginning, middle and end.  

In Maths, we will be practising counting on in order to add two small amounts; we will be counting to 20 and back from 20. We will also be introducing doubling, halving and odds and evens. After half term, we will be exploring weight, capacity, money and some simple data collection and interpretation before spending the final couple of weeks using everything we have learnt this year to solve some problems. 

In phonics, we are introducing phase 4 but will also be recapping Phase 3. We aim for all children to be at least Phase 3 secure by the end of the year and working within Phase 4. The children will continue to bring home a book matched to their phonics ability. Please practise regularly, preferably a little each day, and comment each week. They will read with an adult in school. We will also continue to have small group guided reading sessions each week. 

The summer term will hopefully bring lots of lovely sunshine so we ask that children have sun cream applied before school and that they have a named water bottle in school everyday. We will help the children to fill these up once empty. British weather is very changeable so we also ask that children have a coat in school everyday.

Please do contact us on ClassDojo if you have any questions or queries. 

Thank you 

Mrs Buckel and Mrs Goldstone

EARLY YEARS CURRICULUM

In the Early Years we have developed a wonderful curriculum which caters for the children's interests.  The overview below contains an outline of the topics we cover, but the content of the topics are adapted according to the needs and interests of our children. To find out more information about our EYFS curriculum please see the curriculum map below. 

For more information on the new Early Years Curriculum 2021 please go to - Key Information- Curriculum - Early Years. 

Alternatively please go to the bottom of the page and click on the document 'Development matters ages and stages' and Early Learning Goals. 

KEY WORKERS

Every child in Reception is allocated a key worker. Mrs Buckel and Mrs Goldstone will be your child's key workers 

• The key person works alongside parents and carers to ensure that there is continuity of care for the child thus supporting the child’s emotional well-being.
• The key person, and other staff, observes the child to identify how they learn through their play, their next aspect of development, what their interests are, whether there is any cause for concern or need for extra support.

• They keep a record of your child's learning portfolio and update it regularly on ClassDojo. 

We have selected these recommended reading lists from Peters Education to ensure that our children have access to a wide range of books.  These books are all available in school and form our 'core' texts in our class libraries.  These lists are chosen because they:

• link with our curriculum for each year group
• represent different cultures
• introduce children to new authors and expand their knowledge of familiar authors
• ensure progression 
• match topics of interests for our children
• tackle current themes

School Behaviour Charter

In September 2021, our school implemented a new Behaviour Policy which is built upon the ‘5 pillars of Pivotal Practice’ (‘When Adults Change, Everything Changes’, Paul Dix):

• Consistent, calm adult behaviour,

• Relentless Routines,

• First attention to best conduct,

• Scripting difficult conversations,

• Restorative Follow-up.

We have three simple goals: Be safe, Be a Learner, Be Kind and Respectful.

Spring Term 2023

Welcome back!

Our main communication will continue to be through ClassDojo. We will send reminders and celebrate children's achievements and experiences. We will also send homework activities and you can contact us through the messaging function. We encourage parents to share celebrations and achievements from home as well as homework tasks. 

We will become explorers this half term! Our first text, The Great Explorer, will be used to think about where we have been, what we did and who we went with. We will also be thinking about the Arctic region and how this differs from our own environment. 

We will be sending weekly reading books home with the children to further support the teaching of reading in class. Most of the children will be learning the Phase 3 sounds using Phonic Bug with lots of opportunities to practise blending to read and segmenting to write. We really value and appreciate all the support at home with the children’s learning and a strong relationship between home and school will lead to a very successful year for the children. Please comment in your child's home/school reading record each week. Books are changed on Mondays. 

P.E. will be on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. All children will need a white PE t-shirt, navy shorts and pumps (to be left in school at all times.) They may also bring in navy or black tracksuit bottoms for the colder months as well as plain trainers for outside PE. PE kits will be sent home at the end of each half term for washing. Please name everything, including pumps and shoes. 

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on ClassDojo

Thank you,

Mrs Buckel and Mrs Goldstone

Autumn Term 2022

Welcome to Reception Penguins

Firstly, we would like to welcome all the children to Penguins. We are all so excited to see the children start their journey into school.  Penguins will be taught by Mrs Buckel and Mrs Goldstone and are very pleased to have Mrs Shilz, Mrs Wagner and Mrs French to further support the children’s learning and development. 

Our main communication will be through ClassDojo. You should have had an email to help you to set up the app and create an account. This will be used to send reminders and celebrate children's achievements. We will also send homework activities and you can contact us through the messaging function. We encourage parents to share celebrations and achievements from home as well as homework tasks. 

This year we are looking forward to guiding and supporting the children though their first year at school. In Reception, we have high expectations for the children in both their learning and behaviour. We have a positive and engaging environment for the children where respectful behaviour is encouraged and praised. In our class we ask that all children have a go and try their best in every task. 

The first theme we will be learning over this term in Reception is ‘My Wonderful World’. This will include the children learning all about their senses, their homes, feelings, families and their immediate world. We will also be following 'Letters and Sounds' for our phonics. We will be sending weekly reading books home with the children to further support the teaching of reading in class. We really value and appreciate all the support at home with the children’s learning and a strong relationship between home and school will lead to a very successful year for the children.

P.E. will be on Tuesday afternoons. All children will need a white PE t-shirt, navy shorts and pumps (to be left in school at all times.) They may also bring in navy or black tracksuit bottoms for the colder months. PE kits will be sent home at the end of each half term for washing. Please name everything, including pumps and shoes. 

We cannot wait to show you all photos of the hard work we have been doing in reception and all the fun we have been having.

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on ClassDojo

Thank you,

Mrs Buckel and Mrs Goldstone