Welcome to Year R!
Pippin Class
Mrs C Adshead
Claire Marsh
Sunrise Class
Mrs G Ryder
Kim Stanford
We are delighted to welcome all the children to Reception. This is an exciting year where children begin their school journey, build friendships, develop independence and grow in confidence each day.
In Reception, children learn through play-based experiences, purposeful adult interactions, stories, discussions and exploration. Subject-specific knowledge is woven through carefully planned themes and continuous provision, ensuring learning is meaningful, connected and appropriate for the children’s developmental stage.
My School, My Community, My Place
Our Reception curriculum theme is My School, My Community, My Place. Across the year, children explore the question:
What makes a community, and how can we help it?
Children learn about themselves, their families, their school, celebrations, stories, authors, nature and communities around the world. Through this, they begin to develop as kind, curious and responsible Global Citizens who understand that they belong to a community and can help to care for it.
Term 1: Me, Myself and I
What makes me special?
Children begin the year by learning about themselves and others. They explore their families, feelings, bodies, senses and what makes each person unique.
This term focuses strongly on settling into school, building relationships, learning routines, making friends and developing confidence in the classroom. Children begin to understand that they belong to their class, their school and their wider community.
Term 2: Hip, Hip, Hooray!
How do we celebrate in our community?
In Term 2, children learn about celebrations and special times within their own community and beyond. They explore how different people celebrate, what traditions are important to families, and how celebrations can bring people together.
This supports children’s understanding of belonging, respect and diversity. Pupils learn that people may celebrate in different ways, but that celebrations often help communities show love, thanks, joy and togetherness.
Term 3: Step into a Story: Traditional Tales
What can stories teach us about who we are?
Traditional tales take centre stage this term. Children listen to, retell and act out familiar stories, developing their language, imagination and storytelling skills.
Through stories, pupils explore characters, choices, feelings, problems and solutions. They begin to understand that stories can teach us about kindness, bravery, fairness, responsibility and how people treat one another.
Term 4: Amazing Authors
How can we become a community of readers?
In Term 4, children explore well-loved authors and books, helping them develop a love of reading and storytelling. They listen to stories, join in with repeated phrases, retell events, create characters and begin to invent their own ideas.
This topic supports children to see themselves as readers, writers and storytellers. It also helps build a classroom community where children enjoy books together and talk about what they have read.
Term 5: Come Outside
What’s in my garden?
In Term 5, children learn about nature, plants, minibeasts, weather and the world just outside their classroom. They observe changes, plant seeds, explore life cycles and learn how to care for living things.
This term links strongly to our Global Citizen curriculum because children begin to understand that they share their environment with plants, animals and other people. They learn simple ways to look after the natural world around them.
Term 6: Here, There and Everywhere
How do communities around the world compare to ours?
In the final term, children broaden their understanding beyond their immediate community. They explore different places, journeys, animals, homes, climates and communities around the world.
Children begin to compare their own lives and environment with those of others, helping them develop curiosity, respect and a growing understanding of the wider world. This prepares them well for Year 1, where they begin to learn more about Rainham, Kent and how their local area connects to other places.
P.E. Lessons
PE lessons take place on:
Pippin Class: Tuesdays
Sunrise Class: Wednesdays
On PE days, children should come to school wearing their PE kit ready for their lesson. Long hair should be tied back and earrings should be removed before school, as staff are not able to remove or replace earrings.
Forest School
Children in Reception enjoy regular Forest School sessions as part of our wider curriculum. Forest School helps pupils develop confidence, independence, teamwork and problem-solving skills through outdoor learning.
Children explore nature, take safe risks, care for living things and learn how to look after shared outdoor spaces. This supports our aim of helping children become respectful, responsible and resilient Global Citizens.
Educational Visits and Enrichment
Across Reception, children take part in visits, visitors and enrichment experiences that help bring their learning to life.
In Term 2, children are invited to dress as their favourite festival as part of their learning about celebrations in our community.
In Term 3, children visit the library and Cozenton Park as part of their Traditional Tales topic and local community learning.
In Term 4, children take part in a potion-making hook linked to their Amazing Authors and Julia Donaldson learning.
In Term 5, children welcome the Creepy Crawly Man into school, supporting their learning about minibeasts, nature and the school grounds.
In Term 6, children visit Wingham, linked to journeys, wildlife and visiting a place further afield.
All visits and enrichment activities are carefully planned and risk assessed in line with school procedures.
Key ways to help your child
Reading and Phonics
Reading is one of the most important ways children build vocabulary, confidence and imagination. In Reception, we have a strong focus on phonics. Children have a daily phonics lesson that follows the ELS scheme of learning. They also read 1:1 with an adult to address misconceptions, build fluency and develop confidence.
Children also enjoy daily story time, where the teacher reads aloud to the class. This helps children hear rich language, join in with stories and develop a love of books.
Children should read daily at home for at least 10 minutes. Please record reading in your child’s Reading Record and make sure it comes to school every day.
Children will bring home a fully decodable reading book matched to their phonics learning. Parents and carers can support by listening to their child read, encouraging them to sound out and blend words, and re-reading books to build fluency and confidence.
Writing
In Reception, children develop early writing skills through drawing, mark-making, letter formation, labelling, shared writing and storytelling. They learn to form letters correctly, write simple words and begin to write simple sentences.
Children are encouraged to talk about their ideas before writing and to see themselves as writers. We use high-quality books, stories and first-hand experiences to inspire children’s writing across the year.
Maths
In Reception, we follow the NCETM maths scheme in our daily maths lessons. Children explore numbers, shapes, patterns and measures through whole-class teaching, practical resources and continuous provision.
They develop counting skills, learn to compare and sort objects, subitise, recognise patterns and begin to understand addition and subtraction. Children are given lots of opportunities to use mathematical language, explain their thinking and explore maths through play.
Tapestry
We use Tapestry to share and celebrate your child’s learning journey. Regular updates are uploaded to show progress, achievements and recent learning. We also use Tapestry to share relevant information with families, helping you stay informed and involved in your child’s development at school.
Below, you can find a number of useful links to help support your child's learning: