Reception Class

Our vision

Welcome to Reception! During our first year at school, we begin our journey of learning and discovery through exploration in play but also through structured sessions with an adult. It is the time when we start to think about how to become independent and resilient learners. We enjoy challenging ourselves by sharing ideas and working together to achieve our goals. Learning these essential skills will enable us to succeed in Year 1 and beyond.

Our team

At Wood Farm Primary, we have two Reception classes - Bees Class with Miss Jenkins and Frogs Class with Miss Kemp. We are lucky to have a large and experienced team working alongside these class teachers, made up of an additional teacher, nursery nurses and teaching assistants, all with great expertise in early reading, communication and language development and nurture. 

Our classrooms

Our beautiful reception classrooms are carefully designed to support the learning that happens in the first years at school: there are spaces for the whole class to learn together, areas for exploratory and role play, and small break-out areas in each class where children can learn in smaller groups. We have a beautiful outside area, with opportunities to garden, role play, explore, and develop physically on our  climbing frame as well as our on-site forest school area, developed by local landscape designers. 

The routines of the day

School starts at 8:30. You will be greeted at the classroom door by Miss Jenkins or Miss Kemp, and your child will take their things to their pegs, and start some carefully thought out morning activities while their friends arrive. After the register is taken, your child will have their first group time of the day: phonics! We use 'Floppy Phonics' to teach early reading in our school (click here for more information) which the children love!

For the rest of the morning, your child will enjoy some self-directed play, (also known as continuous provision). Their activities, moving between the classroom and our brilliant outside area. Some activities will be adult-focused, where the class teacher or other classroom adults will work with the children on a particular skill.  Others will be more independent. Over the week, these activities might include writing, fine motor skills, maths, science, physical development and art. Classroom adults will play alongside the children, supporting their language and giving them the support and challenge they need to learn new skills. 

Mid morning, your child and their friends will come together to enjoy a healthy snack (normally a choice of fruit or vegetables)  and a story with their class teacher, before carrying on with their continuous provision.

Your child will then enjoy their lunch in the classroom, eating with their friends and adults from the class. As reception children are eligible for a free school lunch, many children enjoy a freshly prepared school meal from our brilliant school kitchen, (see a sample menu here). Others choose to bring their own packed lunch. Your child will then have time playing in the reception garden before the afternoon begins. 

The pattern of the afternoon is very similar to the morning: the afternoon starts with a group time, focusing on a particular area of learning, then children enjoy continuous provision again. Some children will also do some smaller group or individual learning with an adult during this time, focusing on areas of learning they need an extra boost in. 

The day ends with everyone helping each other to tidy up the classroom, and then come together for our last group time of the day. This normally involves sharing a story together and doing some singing. 

At 3 o' clock, you will come back to the reception door to collect your child and hear about all the exciting things they've done during the day. 

Project work

In Reception we are always looking into the children’s interests to spark new learning. We watch the children's play carefully and often adapt our planning, making learning focused on the children's interests and curiosity, Parents can support this by talking to their children at home about what they are learning, playing with them or looking at books about their interests. 

We take pride in celebrating a variety of festivals and celebrations. We enjoy learning about different countries and e love getting everyone involved. We welcome parents to come in to talk to the children about their own cultural celebrations.

Learning at home

Children work really hard in school on their learning, and their time at home with you just as important.  The best things you can do at home are reading stories with your child, and talking to them lots in your home language. Making sure they get to bed early enough to have a good sleep ready for a busy day is also really important.

We really welcome any information you can share with us about your child's interests, what they've been doing at home and anything new you've noticed them doing. You can speak to us at the start or end of the day, or email the class email address. 

Your child will begin to bring a book home weekly to share with you later in the term, and we are always very happy to give you other ideas to support them at home. 

Look out for a poster on our door explaining all of the key things the children will be covering that week along with some ideas of what you can do to support them at home.  Once the children have settled into routines and when we feel they are ready we will begin to send games home for the children to play from our Maths and Phonics library. These games will focus on developing key skills for reading and writing and developing early mathematical knowledge. 

Phonics in Reception information leaflet

Useful websites

Our experience has shown us that the support children get from home has a positive impact on their learning.

Here are some websites which parents and carers may find useful:

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk (Literacy)

www.letters-and-sounds.com (Literacy)

http://www.topmarks.co.uk (Maths)

http://www.crickweb.co.uk (Maths)