Reception

Below, parents of our current classes can find out more about their child's learning for the week ahead; this will also be shared on Tapestry. Please scroll further down the page to find more information about your child's learning.

We are so excited to welcome our new reception intake into our school community; they are going to have a wonderful time as they begin their learning journey with us. 

Your child's second week at school - week beginning 19.9.22

We hope that you have all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the late summer sunshine. 🌞

There is no school tomorrow due to Her Majesty the Queen's State Funeral. Rest in peace your Majesty.

On Tuesday, all children will attend school full-time; we cannot wait for them to be in school together after our settling-in weeks. 

The week ahead:
Literacy
The children will be listening to the story 'Pancakes, Pancakes' by Eric Carle. They will be encouraged to have a go at retelling the story and to role-play making pancakes in the home corner. They will also practise identifying the initial sounds of words and then writing the matching letters in their writing books e.g. m for mouse, a for apple etc. 

Phonics 
This week in phonics, we will be learning the letter sounds s, d and t. We will practise recognising these sounds, writing them, sounding out words with these sounds in and beginning to write these words too. Your children will have these sounds in their phonics books for you to help them to practise at home. 

Maths
In maths, we will be reading the story Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson and singing the song The Animals Went in Two by Two. Our focus will be matching pairs and we will play pairs games, play with the Noah’s Ark and match lots of paired objects in the classroom. 

Continuous Provision 
Continuous provision describes all of the different areas of provision which are available for your children to use every day. Within each of these areas of provision there will be a core range of resources that children can use all of the time, throughout the whole year. Our carefully planned continuous provision will enable your children to learn skills, will challenge their thinking and will help them to try out new learning and ideas. This week we will enhance our provision with links to our story 'Pancakes, Pancakes' and with links to our new project 'Let's Explore'. 

Your child's Tapestry observations
We will add photos of your children to this observation throughout the week. We will also add any WOW moments for you to share. Every two weeks we will send you an observation of your children's writing and maths learning and will provide you with some next steps so that you can help them at home. Working together in this way helps you to be involved in your children's learning and helps your children to make the best progress possible. 

We are here to support you at all times. Please catch us at the beginning or end of the day if you would like to speak to us, or add a message to Tapestry - we will reply as soon as we can. If you need to send an urgent message, then please contact the office and they will pass it onto us immediately. 

We are going to have lots of fun this week! 😃

The Reception Team

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

School start and finish times:

Children should arrive at school between 8.30 and 8.40am

School finishes at 3.10 pm for children with surnames beginning with A-M and at 3.05pm for children with surnames beginning N-Z

Any concerns

Please use Tapestry to let us know about any concerns or questions  you might have, however small they might seem; we are always here to support you. If you need to speak to us, then please either catch us at the end of the school day or contact the school office - 783876  - and we will either take your call or ring you back as soon as we are able to.

Meet the Reception Team

Mrs Llewellyn - Deputy Head, Early Years Lead, Class teacher 

Mrs Mitchell - Class Teacher

Mrs Wait - Class Teacher 

Mrs Buckland - Teaching Assistant

Mrs Kershaw - Teaching Assistant

Mrs Williams - Teaching Assistant

Miss Pollard - Teaching Assistant

Mrs McGrath - Teaching Assistant and Lunchtime Assistant

Mrs Rumbold - Lunchtime assistant 

CHICKERELL PRIMARY ACADEMY EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE

OUR PHILOSOPHY 

At Chickerell Primary Academy and Chickadees, our teaching staff and Early Years Practitioners deliver an EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum through high quality teaching alongside an engaging and enriched environment. Our philosophy is to nurture every child’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. We aim to develop their skills and confidence so that they are ready to take those important next steps towards a lifetime of learning.  

INTENT 

The intent for our children is to enter the next stage of their education, Year 1, ready to tackle new challenges with confidence and a positive mindset. 

We engage our pupils in a stimulating environment led by the children yet carefully organised and managed by adults. We provide a curriculum responsive to children’s individual starting points and needs. 

We encourage our children to take the lead in their own learning, this helps to develop their confidence to explore new ideas, solve problems, take risks, make links and seek challenge. 

We develop high levels of engagement, curiosity, collaboration and cooperation. We encourage our children to manage their own behaviour in the classroom and in social situations. 

We encourage our children to express themselves with confidence in a meaningful way and to respect the opinions and values of themselves and others.il 

IMPLEMENTATION 

Our approach is influenced by the work of educationalists, researchers, psychologists and practitioners who have guided our knowledge of how young children learn and how adults can support their learning.  At Chickerell Primary Academy and Chickadees, provision is underpinned by a complementary relationship between adult-led, adult-initiated and child-led learning. We use a continuous cycle of observation and assessment, which informs our planning and teaching, alongside structured and systematic lessons and guided group work. 

IMPACT  

The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well-rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1. 

Our children enter Key Stage 1 well-prepared to begin the next chapter of their educational learning journey. They are equipped with a broad range of knowledge and skills that provide them with the right foundations for their future learning.  

Our children make very good progress from their starting points; the vast majority of our children make better than expected progress with us.  

Our teaching and pedagogy are reviewed and evaluated regularly through EYFS team meetings and through meetings with Key Stage 1 staff.  We ensure that the areas we discuss and develop are reflected in changes and developments in our classroom practice. 

The Early Years provision is highly valued by school leaders, it features in all areas of our school development planning and there is a designated EYFS link governor, Jane Hurdiss.

PLEASE READ OUR EYFS POLICY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW OUR CHILDREN LEARN AT CHICKADEES AND IN RECEPTION.

Our EYFS curriculum

Our EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) curriculum for both Chickadees and Reception has been guided by the EYFS Framework, Development Matters and early years pedagogy, whilst being personal to our school; it embraces the contextual learning and the cultural capital that comes from our community and our children’s home lives. It has been designed to engage and enthuse the young minds of our children, through carefully planned, play-based learning experiences. Our curriculum is rich and well-sequenced; it ensures that the skills our children require for the next stage in their education progress throughout the EYFS, so that they are ready for school after Chickadees and for Year 1 after their reception year. In reception, there is a key focus on transition to Year 1 which continually evolves throughout the year. For example, whilst teaching the children about the past and the present (Understanding the World), we will introduce the concept of a timeline and introduce some historical vocabulary such as – new, old, ago, past, order, time. In this way we teach children the foundational knowledge, and develop concepts and vocabulary, that prepare our children for their history lessons in year 1.