Reception

Welcome to Reception!

Meet the Staff

Reception 1 Teacher: Mrs Deakin (Assistant Headteacher)
Reception 1 Teaching Assistants: Mrs Douglas and Miss Whyment
Reception 2 Teacher: Miss Pask
Reception 2 Teaching Assistants: Miss Hallworth and Miss Lowson

Additional Support Teachers: Mrs Flemming and Mrs Godfrey

What You Need to Know

In the mornings, classroom doors will open at 8.30am for children to arrive, and then close at 8.45am.

In the afternoons, doors will open at 3.15pm for home time.

Please send your child to school in their PE kit on Thursday for PE lessons. PE kit is a plain white t-shirt with blue or black shorts. 

NFER Baseline Assessments

During the first few weeks of Reception, we will carry out NFER Baseline Assessments. These involve fun, practical activities led by an adult, which will give an overview of your child’s early skills in Maths, Literacy, Communication and Language. These assessments will help us plan for your child’s next steps in learning.

Please click here for more information.

Reception Curriculum Overview

What We Are Learning About - Autumn 1

RELIGION

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

This half term in Religion, the children will be exploring Branch 1: Creation and Covenant. They will be learning about the Christian belief that everything in the world comes from God, deepening their understanding of God as Creator. Through outdoor experiences and hands-on activities, the children will be encouraged to reflect on the beauty of the natural world and how it connects to their faith.

As part of this topic, the children will hear and discuss key passages from the first account of Creation in the Book of Genesis. They will also be introduced to the concept of prayer, learning how and why Christians pray. This will include learning the Sign of the Cross and taking part in prayer and liturgy sessions, helping to lay the foundations for their spiritual development and understanding of God's covenant with His people.

Our Prayer Garden

In our outdoor area, we have set up a prayer garden where the children will be encouraged to engage in prayer and worship. We will hold special celebration here, such as Harvest, Remembrance Day and the Crowning of Our Lady. 

Our topic for this half-term is "All About Me." Please click here   to see our Knowledge Organiser for this half term. 

 Maths

This half term in Maths, the children in Reception will be developing their early number knowledge through practical, hands-on activities. They will be practising their counting skills to accurately count groups of objects up to 10, as well as developing their number recognition. As their confidence grows, the children will begin to match numerals to quantities for numbers 1 to 10, laying the foundations for a strong understanding of number.

We will also be learning to recognise and name common 2D shapes, such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Through play-based learning, games, and exploration of the environment, the children will be encouraged to spot shapes in the world around them.

Useful Maths Websites:          

Topmarks

Whiterose Maths

Number Fun Portal

Cbeebies - Numberblocks

BBC Bitesize

ICT Games

In Communication, Language and Literacy, our learning will be centred around the topic ‘All About Me’. We will be reading a variety of engaging stories linked to this theme, as well as enjoying books by our class author, Julia Donaldson. Two key texts we’ll be focusing on are What the Ladybird Heard and the non-fiction book My Body. These stories will help to develop the children’s listening and comprehension skills, expand their vocabulary, and encourage a love of reading.

Using the phonic knowledge we are developing, the children will begin to have a go at writing simple labels, starting with initial sounds and, for some, moving on to identifying and writing end sounds too. Alongside this, we will continue to strengthen our fine motor skills through a variety of fun and engaging ‘funky fingers’ activities. These will help to build the muscle strength and control needed for confident pencil grip and early writing. Through all of these activities, we aim to support the children in becoming confident communicators and enthusiastic early readers and writers.

Useful Literacy and Communication Websites:         

Phonics Play

Vooks

Oxford Owls

Teach Handwriting

In Phonics, we are learning to read and write Set 1 sounds. When the children are confident with reading and writing these sounds on their own, they will move on to learning set 2/3 sounds. Children's Phonics knowledge is assessed every six weeks to ensure they are always in a Phonics group that is suitable for their ability.

We are encouraging children to use “pure sounds” as used in this video. Please share the video below with your child and encourage them to say these sounds out loud as often as possible.

Video: Parent video: How to say the sounds

It is really important that your child has the correct pencil grip for writing. Share this short video with your child to practise holding a pencil correctly. Encourage them to use their pinchy parrot fingers!

Healthy Teeth

At Christ the King, we want to promote the importance of good oral hygiene. We would appreciate it if you could share these videos with your child and talk about the importance of brushing your teeth in the morning and at night. You can also discuss how different foods and drinks can be good or bad for your teeth. With this in mind, please ensure your child only brings water and healthy snacks to school.

Video: The Boy Who Hated Toothbrushes 

Video: Top Toothbrushing Tips

Our visit from the Dental Nurse

The Dental Nurse is coming to visit our class this half term. She will teach us about how to keep our teeth healthy with our diet and cleaning routines.

 
Staying Safe

To promote safety around laundry and cleaning products, we are using the resource Staying Safe with Sam. In addition to reading different stories on this theme, we have been learning a chant to help the children remember what to do.

Children will receive a resource pack to take home for parents. This contains a mini storybook, an activity sheet, a poster copy, a fact sheet, and an 'I stayed safe with Sam' sticker.

Download the Staying Safe with Sam poster.