Autumn Term Welcome Meeting Reception

Reception staff: Apple: Mrs Mills – teacher on Mondays and Tuesdays Mrs Laing – teacher on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays Mrs Chandler – TA Walnut: Mrs Norris – teacher Mrs Ogier – TA Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays Mrs Spragg – TA Tuesdays and Fridays Miss Martin – LSA Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays Mrs Wilkinson – LSA Thursdays and Fridays PPA staff: Mrs Gates Miss Stephens supports both classes on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

What the children will be learning this year:

All our areas of learning are part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and are planned by all of the class teachers in your child’s year group. The curriculum overview details the topics covered over the year and is on the website. More detailed information about year group expectations can be found on the website under Curriculum.

Main topics Autumn term – All About Me; Celebrations Spring term – Traditional Tales; Journeys Summer term – Growing; People Who Help Us Please let us know if you have any special interest/knowledge in these areas and would like to come and talk to us!

Mastery What does it mean?

Maths Mastery The idea behind mastery is that all children need a deep understanding of the mathematics they are learning so that: future learning is built on solid foundations; there is no need for separate catch-up programmes; attainment is raised for all children The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile aims to ensure that all pupils: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics reason mathematically can solve problems The current national curriculum document says: “The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace…Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.”

Mastery in English For each year group, the Mastery English curriculum is built around high quality, whole-class texts. The texts are carefully chosen to link with other areas of the curriculum. A typical learning sequence includes: A hook to fully engage and interest the children Responding to reading activities to allow immersion in and exploration of the text Capturing ideas which include drama and talk to support understanding and develop vocabulary Possibilities for contextualised teaching A range of writing tasks

Phonics Phonics is the teaching of sounds made by a letter of group of letters. We are following the Read Write Inc. Strategy. Children initially learn each letter by its sound, not its name. For instance, the letter a should be called a (as in ant). The letters are not introduced in alphabetical order but in Sets. We teach 5 sounds each week. We also teach high frequency words HFW-tricky words like the, no, go and decodable words like and, is, as.

Words to learn Children will take home a list of phonetically decodable words in a word wallet to develop blending skills. Children take home a list of high frequency words to support their reading.

Enrichment activities for the year All visits organised by the school are important for your child's learning and development. They may not necessarily be a trip outside of the school, but could be a ‘day of enrichment’ provided within the school. Autumn Term Christmas Art Workshop Christmas Songs 15/12/17 at 9 a.m. Spring Term Rhyme Challenge Summer Term Bubble Workshop A trip to Shepreth Ugly Bug Ball Please make sure you: Return permission slips on time Offer to come and help if you can!

Reading at home Bengeo Primary School places a lot of importance on reading, both at school and at home Children are given many opportunities for reading and talking about books at school. We expect them to read at home and out loud to an adult as well as discussing the text Please fill in their reading record

Homework In Reception we expect daily reading and book discussion (recorded in reading records) Weekly learning of new words A small task each week, i.e. handwriting, maths, developing communication skills and writing. Homework helps to develop essential skills such as time management, organisation, task completion as well as responsibility. It also contributes to the mastery of key skills and knowledge

PE PE days – Indoor PE – Monday PE kit: navy blue shorts, white T-shirt, bare feet.

Break Time Snacks As part of our Healthy School’s status, we promote healthy eating and each day the children are offered a piece of fruit at snack time. We have children in the School with severe allergies so we would appreciate your support by giving your child a healthy snack of fresh fruit or vegetables

Wet weather Please ensure children bring in coats every day as they will be expected to go out at playtimes, whatever the weather! If possible children should have plimsolls in school to wear in the classroom if the weather is wet and the ground muddy.

Attendance and punctuality Reception Teachers will meet the children at the gate at 8.45 a.m., where we can take messages about drop off and collection of children. The children are then expected to independently walk into class where a TA will greet and settle them. Registration is at 8.55. If for any reason you arrive after this time please report to the office where your children will be registered and taken to class. Please ensure children are supervised before entering the classroom, not running around and playing on equipment

Collection of Children Please inform your child’s Class Teacher about any changes regarding who is collecting your child at the end of the day. This must be done verbally, in writing or by contacting the School Office.

Thank you for coming! Our partnership is essential to your child's education. We value your help and support.