Welcome to the Reception Class Page

Introduction 

At Hazlemere Church of England Combined School we believe that the time spent in Reception is paramount to building a solid foundation for future learning.  In Reception, children are able to consolidate their skills and knowledge gained from Nursery and Pre-School and extend these skills further to begin early reading and writing. 

We believe that communication and language is very important and we have time throughout the learning day to focus on effective communication skills.  Children's interests and passions  are at the heart of our planning and this is reflected in the learning. When children are interested and excited, they engage in the learning, which results in the children enjoying their days at school.

During their time in our Reception class, through the Characteristics of effective learning, we aim to foster every child’s independence, nurture them, inspire learning and provide challenges that extend their learning.

Reception children enjoy a generous amount of indoor and outdoor space.  As well as their own classroom, Reception children have access to the main school building and all of its facilities: library, prayer space, media suite, and a large and exciting outdoor garden and playfields.

We value our relationship with parents and we hold termly workshops.  We appreciate your feedback, and if there are any areas in which you feel unsure about how to support your child's development, or any areas in which you would like further information, please approach us so we can arrange a workshop or provide information via the website. 

We also use Tapestry as a way of recording children's learning of new skills and we encourage parents to add to the journal to ensure we have a clear picture of the child's interests and progress.  Please see below for further information.

We believe that children should be given opportunities to develop effective learning skills through Child Initiated Learning both inside and outside, in small groups and whole class sessions.  We also plan for one to one sessions and small focused group work.  We want all of our children to feel proud of their achievements and learning and also to be ready  and confident for their next stage of their learning journey into Year 1.

For more information about starting in Reception, please download our information booklet on the admissions page.

We would welcome the opportunity to show you our Early Years building where our Reception and Nursery class is based.  If you would like to book a tour, please call the school office.

Welcome to Reception 2022

Mrs Howard is very excited to be welcoming you to Hazlemere Church of England Reception Class 2022.  We have lots of wonderful things planned for the term ahead and we can't wait to get started. 

Our topic this term will be "Magical Me", and towards October half term we will begin to move on to "Enchanted Forests".  We can't wait to get to know you and find out what you like doing, dislike doing, things you are good at and things you would like to get better at.  

All about Me Booklet

Thank you so much if you have already completed your child's "All about me" booklet.  If you have not already handed this in, please bring it with you to your individual meeting scheduled on Monday 5th September.  

Fruit and Milk

Children will have the opportunity to have fruit and milk daily.  If you would like your child to receive milk, please register at: 

https://www.coolmilk.com/parents/ 

Water Bottles 

Please also ensure your child attends school with a named water bottle.  This will be kept on the trolley for your child to access throughout the day.  Please make sure your child does not bring this water bottle inside their bookbag as they can leak and spoil any work or books in the bag.

Magical Me Box

In a couple of weeks we will be inviting children to bring in a "Magical Me" box to help the class to get to know your child, and to begin to prepare your child for speaking in front of the class.  We would love for this box to include items such as photographs of your child's family, ornaments bought on a special holiday, clothing worn on a special occasion, a special toy.  Please talk with your child about the items they put into their special "Magical Me" box, therefore enabling them to be more confident when telling their peers about them.  Their peers will also be encouraged to ask your child questions about the contents of their box.  Your child may even like to decorate their box with pictures or stickers of things that show their personality.  

We will be inviting just a few children per day to bring in their box so we can ensure the contents is kept safe.  Please wait until your child's date has been confirmed before bringing to school. 

Tapestry 

We use Tapestry as a way of recording children's learning of new skills.  We hope you will enjoy seeing your child's learning journey and will use this as a tool to talk to your child about what they have been doing and learning in school. 

Please also use the photographs we have uploaded to build on your child's development at home if you wish, for example if we upload a photograph of your child throwing and catching a large ball in school, perhaps you would like to practise throwing and catching a ball at home too.  

We would love for parents to add to the journal too.  Perhaps your child has been working hard to write their name or ride a bike, we would love for you to upload a photograph and a short description and we can share these achievements with the class on the Interactive Whiteboard.  This could be something that your child has worked hard to achieve, or equally something that your child has worked hard on but not yet managed to achieve and you would like us to continue to encourage them to keep trying.  

Please also use Tapestry to upload any photographs of holiday or weekend news that your child may wish to share with their peers.  This will help tremendously with the children's continued Communication and Language development during "Show and Tell" circle time sessions.    

Please contact the School Office if you are experiencing any problems accessing Tapestry.

Termly Newsletter - Reception

Reading - Reception

Our curriculum is a book based curriculum and most of our activities and discussions are based around themes, characters, plots and settings discovered whilst reading our "book of the week".  

Our first "Book of the week" is "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse" and we will be using this book to help us to explore many of our Hazlemere Church of England Combined School Values.

Over the coming weeks we will be reading "The Colour Monster" which will support us in identifying our feelings and provide an introduction to "Zones of Emotional Regulation", "Elmer" which will help us to think about why we are special, "Dogger" which will help us to think about special things around us. 

Phonics - Reception

Children will participate in a structured phonics session daily, and many of the other activities and resources provided in the classroom and garden will then support the children in consolidating what they have learnt during these sessions.  

We will begin by learning the sounds of each of the letters and will then start to use these sounds to read and spell simple words.  Each week your child will bring home their own phonics home learning book.  This book will include flashcards of the sounds your child has been learning this week so you can help your child to practise writing these letters.  Please refer to the letter in the front of your child's book for more information about this. 

Your child will also be given a "harder to read words" pack.  This pack will include words that cannot be sounded out and should be learnt by sight.  Please spend a few minutes daily asking your child to read these words. 

The reading books your child will receive link directly to the phonic scheme and are specifically designed for your child to use their newly acquired phonic skills to sound out the words themselves.  The words in these books will only include the sounds in which we have been learning in class so your child can feel success when reading independently.  Your child will receive 1 phonics reading book per week and these will be changed on a Friday.

Home Learning Resources - Maths

Planning - Reception

Curriculum

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The prime areas of learning are...
CL         communication and language
PD         physical development
PSED    personal social and emotional development

The specific areas of learning are...
L        literacy
M       mathematics
EAD   expressive arts and design
UW    understanding the world

There are 4 key principles that underpin our practice in the Early Years at Hazlemere C of E.

A Unique Child   We recognise that all children are different. We identify and celebrate their strengths and support their areas for development.

Positive Relationships   Our pupils interact well with each other and with the adults in the school. We encourage parents to be involved with their child's education.

Enabling Environments   Our indoor and outdoor areas encourage exploration, investigation and independent learning. Our displays and resources are well maintained and reflect current learning.

Learning and Development   Pupils achieve well and make good progress from their starting points. Learning is playful, practical and purposeful and builds upon prior attainment. Our children enjoy coming to school.