Reception

Hello and welcome to Reception's page!

Classes this year are:

Curriculum Overview:

What your child will need to wear to School

Your child will need to wear full school uniform as detailed in the induction pack. All clothing worn to school must be easily accessible for the children and all removable items need to be clearly labelled with your child’s full name (including shoes!).

Your child will need to have a P.E kit as detailed in the induction pack this will remain in school and be sent home at the end of each half term for a wash. We ask that on wet days you send your child in wellington boots and a raincoat so that they are still able to access the outdoor areas. Children will need to be provided by parents with adequate sun protection during periods of warm weather – we are unable to put sun tan lotion on the children. School caps can be purchased for the offices.

Please ensure all items of kit are clearly labelled and placed inside a clearly labelled bag. Please remember not to send your child to school in anything you are not happy to get messy!

What your child will need to bring to School each day

Our Eco Team have provided every Reception child with a school water bottle. This bottle needs to be sent to school daily with your child, it should be clearly labelled and only contain water. If your child should need a new water bottle they can be purchased from the school office. We have a water fountain located in Foundation Stage and your child will have access to this during the day to replenish their water as needed. It is a really good idea to put a pattern or stickers on your child’s water bottle so that they can distinguish theirs.

Your child will be able to bring a healthy snack to school to consume during the morning break this can either be fruit, salad or vegetables in a clearly labelled container.

Milk can also be purchased for consumption during snack time; information regarding the ordering of milk has been included in your induction pack.

We ask that your child only bring to school the book bag provided at the induction meeting as this is best for transporting their books and space in school is limited for storage of additional bags. If you are worried that your child may need a change of clothing during the day, please be assured that we have spare clothes to hand.

Lunchtimes

As you are aware the Government are providing all infant children with a free healthy hot meal each day. The children will be supported with their lunchtimes by staff for the first few weeks until they are confident with the lunchtime routine.

Start and end of sessions

Reception children start the school day by entering their classroom through the external classroom door. This will be a continuation of our current Nursery practice and will help to support all children in settling into the daily routine. The children will be greeted at the door by their teachers and welcomed into the classroom. Staff will be on duty from 8.40am and doors will be closed promptly at 8.50am.

It is important that you ensure that your child arrives at school in good time for the start of the day as late arrival can upset your child and disrupt Family Group Time. If you arrive late at school for any reason you must take your child via the school office and ensure that you sign them into the building.

Children are collected from their external classroom door at the end of the day. In order to safe guard all children in our care you must inform us if someone different is collecting your child at the end of the day. We will not let a child go with someone who is not known to us without prior consent. The school day finishes at 3.20pm.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Children in Reception will be following the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum which consists of:

Three prime areas

Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Four specific areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

We ensure that all teaching sessions provide a balance of both teacher focussed and child initiated activities. We make use of all the learning areas available to us including; our fantastic school grounds and our well resourced outdoor areas.

We believe that the children benefit immensely from working in different environments and within different groupings and therefore we often mix the children from all classes during sessions.

Homework

Once your child has settled into their new class we will start to send home age appropriate homework each week comprising of:

Keywords to learn to read (and later spell)
A home reading book and two library books (chosen by the children)
Weekly maths and literacy activities

On occasions your child may be asked to complete a mini project based around the theme being covered in class.

All children will be given a school planner in which reading can be recorded and messages between home and school communicated. This school planner needs to come into school daily.

Partnership with parents

Building a strong partnership with parents is a very important part of our ethos. You will receive a half termly parent planner letting you know what is going on in your child’s class for the upcoming half term.

We have an initial starting school interview with all parents to discuss each individual child in detail, at this meeting you will be given the opportunity to ask questions and let staff know of any additional information that you feel is important.

We hold three parent consultation evenings during the academic year where you have an opportunity to meet with your child’s class teacher to discuss progress across all areas of learning.

Parents are always invited to celebrate key events during the school year with us, which can include: the Easter Bonnet Parade, Christmas Performance and Sport’s Day. You will also be invited into school during to watch the much-loved Reception class assembly.

Each year we host a parent and child working together workshop which provides you with the opportunity to work alongside your child in school and will provide you with ideas to help aid your child’s learning at home.

Our school twitter feed is updated regularly with photos and information about what the children have been learning. You can access the Twitter feed here at: Whitehouse Common (@whcps) / Twitter

There is always an opportunity at the end of the school day to have an informal chat with your child’s Family Group Key Person. We ask that any worries or concerns that you may have be brought to our attention immediately no matter how small. You are welcome to speak to any member of staff at the end of the session or request to see them at a mutually convenient time. The school planner is also an excellent way of communicating between school and home. Miss Breeze is the Foundation Stage Phase Leader and will happily meet with parents if requested.

Assessment procedures

Your child will be continually assessed throughout their time in Reception in many different ways. We use a variety of ongoing assessments to help us make judgements about how your child is progressing, how your child needs to be supported and challenged and to inform our planning and teaching.

We assess all Reception children against the Foundation Stage Profile in line with government policy and these assessments are shared with the Local Education Authority during the summer term.

We will share our assessments with you at parent consultation evenings and ask for your opinions on how you feel your child is progressing. If at any time you would like to know how your child is progressing or would like advice on ways in which you can support your child’s learning at home, then please ask your child’s Family Group Key Person.

We record observations of children using iPads to create a ‘profile’ of each child.

Absences

You must ring the school in case of absence prior to the start of the day where possible and we ask that you send a note to the class teacher on your child’s return to school outlining the reason for the absence.

Please note if your child has a tummy bug they must remain off school until 48 hours after the last bout of sickness or 48 hours after the last bout of diarrhoea. Where a child has had Chicken Pox they must remain at home until any blisters have completely scabbed over to prevent the spreading of infection.

We do not support parents taking holidays during school time but if you choose to do so you must ensure that you fill in a holiday request form available from the office. At least six weeks notice needs to be given.

If your child has a medical appointment that cannot be taken before or after school then please inform the class teacher via a note in their planner.

Medication

Staff must be made aware of any medical needs that your child may have including any allergies. If your child is prescribed medicines regularly for an on-going medical need, such as asthma, it is important that you obtain additional medication to be kept in school; the doctor must prescribe this as we cannot keep medication in school that has been bought over the counter. When bringing such medication into school you will also need to complete a medication form from the office. Please be informed that school staff can administer temporary medicines, such as antibiotics, only once a day Please speak to the School office to complete the relevant form.

Ways in which to help prepare your child for starting Reception

We are always being asked about ways in which parents can help prepare their child for starting school. Please find below a list of ideas of skills you can help your child to practise at home:

Recognising and writing their first name
Continuing to encourage independence - practising putting on and taking off a coat, shoes and socks including doing up and undoing the fastenings (the children will be expected to change themselves for P.E.)
Managing their own personal hygiene regarding toileting including hand washing
Using scissors to cut straight and curved lines safely
Holding a pencil correctly to follow different lines, trace pictures and draw
Recognising numbers, colours and simple shapes
Asking and answering questions about what they see
Helping your child with simple mathematical skills, e.g. counting and writing numbers to ten, matching and sorting everyday objects, counting objects or playing with water at bath time; pouring, filling and emptying.
Singing familiar rhymes and songs from memory
Looking at pictures in stories and talking about what is happening and what might happen next?
Practicing how to use a knife and fork properly

We strongly recommend that you spend time with your child talking about starting school and making the whole process as exciting as possible. It can be really hard as parents not to let our own anxieties reflect on our children, so if you do have any worries or concerns then please come in and discuss them with the Reception staff.