Reception – Whitmore Park Primary School

The Reception Year is an exciting time for children and also one of the most important. At Whitmore Park your child will begin an exciting journey of learning important life skills, such as reading and writing, in a stimulating, caring environment amongst new found friendships! We have three Reception classes. Each class is led by an experienced class teacher and has teaching assistant support. Throughout the day children receive a mixture of adult-led teaching and independent learning time. Our stimulating Indoor Reception area is divided into different areas for independent learning. These include:

Writing areas
Numeracy area
Reading and ‘Read, Write Inc’ areas
Investigation area
Construction and Small World area
Creative area (including painting and sensory areas)
Fine motor and Scissor Skills Areas
Technology Area
Role-play area

The children are encouraged to independently explore all of these areas and access the resources and challenges that are provided for them. We also have an exciting outdoor Reception classroom that is accessible to the children throughout the day. The outdoor classroom contains different areas of learning, similar to the indoor classroom, with different resources and activities. The adult-led teaching sessions that children participate in include: Literacy; Numeracy; ‘Read, Write Inc’; PE and Music. This year the general themes for each half-term are as follows:

Autumn Term: ‘Magnificent Me’ and ‘Bears’
Spring Term: ‘Monsters and Aliens’ and ‘Fairy-tales and Dragons’
Summer Term: ‘Lifecycles’ and ‘Travel’

Times of a typical day in Reception:

08:45 Reception doors open, Practise time for children 09:00 Read, Write Inc Lesson 09:30 Learning Time 1 (Independent Learning and adult-led small groups) 10:30 Break Time (on main playground) 10:45 Numeracy Lesson 11:15 Writing 11:30 Lunch 12:30 Literacy Lesson 13:00 Learning Time 2 (Independent Learning and adult-led small groups) 14:45 Snack Time and Story 15:15 Songs and Home time

Letters to parents

Letters that have been circulated to parents are available for you to view and download here.

Punctuality

Please click here for our times and expectations of punctuality with arrival & collection of your child.

Teachers

Miss Blower beta – class teacher
Miss Kathiramar beta – teaching assistant
Mrs Ridgway delta – class teacher & Reception Leader
Mrs Burton delta – teaching assistant
Miss Mosey gamma – class teacher
Miss Edwards gamma – teaching assistant
Miss Parnell teaching assistant across Reception
Mrs Cashian additional teaching staff (Wed, Thu, Fri)

PE (Physical Education)

PE for Reception is on a Friday morning. We are very lucky to have PE specialists in school who teach PE to the Reception children. Children are still required to wear their school polo shirt and school sweatshirt on PE days. They will also need to wear either black jogging bottoms or black leggings suitable for PE. They can bring black PE pumps to change into or they can wear trainers.

Trips

Parents will be informed about details of any school trips throughout the year.

Homework

In Reception the children will be given one piece of homework per week, usually Literacy or Numeracy based. Homework will be stuck in their homework books and sent home on Thursdays. These need to be returned to school on Tuesday.

Children are also sent home with two reading books per week. One is a reading book for them to read to you (it may be a picture book to begin with) and the other is a ‘choosing book’. This is a book chosen by your child for you to read to them.

Your child will be given a reading book with words when they are at the stage of blending sounds together in words to read them. Please also still encourage your child to retell the story in their own words through looking at the pictures. Remember to ask your child lots of questions about the simple sentences that they read, this will really help to develop their comprehension skills.

We recommend listening to your child read little and often. Just a few minutes every night is much more effective than a long period once a week. Remember to sign and date your child’s reading diary when you have read with them. If your child reads at least four times per week they will receive a special sticker for their bookmark!

Curriculum information

At our school we follow the ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’ (EYFS). It sets standards that ensure children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. At the end of the year the children’s development is assessed against a set of early learning goals. We will complete a profile for your child to indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are exceeding expected levels, or not yet reaching expected levels (‘emerging’). For more information about the EYFS click here

Other Information

Please ensure all items of your children’s school uniform (especially jumpers, coats and hats) are named. This prevents them from getting lost when taken off. Please note that jewellery is not allowed to be worn in Reception.

Fruit and Drink

The children are offered a drink of milk and one piece of fruit every day. Water is also available throughout the whole school day (please ensure that your child has a named water bottle in school everyday).

Parents as Partners

You are your child’s first educator and we enjoy building partnerships with parents throughout the year. Parent’s meetings are planned throughout the school year but you are always welcome to arrange informal meetings with your child’s class teacher after school at any time.

If you have any queries please contact the school and staff will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Reception teachers are available to meet with parents at the end of the school day.