Meet the Team
Class Organisation
This year Reception will be taught by Mrs Elliott & Mrs Subritzky.
Mrs Elliott will teach Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday and Mrs Subritzky will teach every Thursday. In addition, we will have Mrs Midgley working with us as our Teaching Assistant every day. We will also have support during the week from Mrs Downing.
Communication
Homework and other class information is regularly sent home using ParentPay, which is also how you can get the weekly school newsletter, and all classes hold Parents’ Evenings where you can discuss your child or children’s progress. If you feel there is something you would like to talk to us about (that is not urgent), please make an appointment or speak to us. Please remember that while we endeavour to check our e-mail on a daily basis, this may not always be possible, so please be patient if a response is required – we will deal with it. For issues requiring urgent attention please contact the school office.
General Information & Letters
Our Learning
The over-arching theme for Autumn was ‘I wonder what is special’. Whilst we follow a long term plan, we are led by the children’s interests where possible and so topics are always subject to change. We started the year looking at ‘All About Me’, thinking about our ‘unique’ selves and our feelings, including lots of work on Zones of Regulation, before moving on to look at families and friends. This really allowed the children to get to know one another and share their thoughts and feelings on a topic that they can discuss more easily.
The over-arching theme for Spring is ‘I wonder how things change and grow’, which should again allow us to incorporate a vast array of mini topics. In Spring 1, we look at ‘Amazing Animals’, thinking firstly about animals we might find in polar regions and colder climates to enable us to discuss a change of season. We then move on to look briefly at pets, linked to Chinese New Year (Year of the Snake) and animals from warmer climates, such as Australia, where we also look at aboriginal art. With a topic such as this, we will be able to look more closely at a variety of animals from across the world in line with the children’s interests. In Spring 2, we are looking at ‘Growing’ and thinking about changes that are happening in Spring and how we can enjoy growing things outside (and inside!). We will also look at how we have grown and changed ourselves since birth, and will try to look at healthy choices, including looking after our teeth, as we grow.
For more detail of our curriculum in EYFS please take a look at the Curriculum area of our website.
Reception Homework
There are many ways that you can help to support your child’s learning at home. One of the most important things you can do is to read with and to your child – as often as you like!
Early Reading and Writing
As you are aware, we are now using the Little Wandle scheme for all of our Reception and Year 1 Phonics and Reading lessons. As a result, the way we share reading books with you has changed.
‘Sharing stories’, which your child has picked, will be brought home each week for them to share with an adult and will usually be changed on a TUESDAY moving forward. Please ensure it is returned to school each Tuesday in the bookbag. Your child’s school decodable book, matched to their secure Phonics knowledge will then become available on the E-library each FRIDAY.
Please ensure your child’s reading record and book are in their bookbags every day so that we can change books. Please leave a comment, or just initial in the ‘Comments’ section so that we know your child has looked at the book with you.
As your child continues to learn more letters and sounds and tricky words, we may send home extra words for you to practise blending and reading. Please spend just a few minutes daily with your child recognising and reading these words. Please leave a comment on the Phonics page of your reading records so we can see how they are getting on at home.
The video below explains in detail how we teach ‘Early Reading and Writing’ at school.
Below is a document full of games and ideas that you can use at home with your child.
Early Number Sense
In maths, there is a real focus on achieving depth of knowledge and making sure your child has a true sense of number. It may feel that we are going ‘slowly’ with our teaching, but please be assured that we are doing this to lay the foundations for the maths work your child will go on to complete during KS1 and beyond.
We will begin by focusing on matching and sorting, making comparisons and exploring pattern. We will then move on to learning to recognise, count and order numbers to 10 initially and later to 20. They will learn to add and subtract with objects and fingers, by counting forwards and back and then mentally. They will recognise and describe 2D and 3D shapes such as square, circle, triangle, cube, cuboid, sphere, cone and pyramid. Children will also learn to measure and compare in length, weight, time and capacity and use appropriate mathematical language.
The video below explains in detail how we teach Early Number Sense at school.
If you have any queries about anything here, please do get in touch and we can help you.