1. Welcome to Reception.. St Mary’s RC Primary School.

2. Reception Staff Mrs Muir Miss Wise Mrs McMenamin
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Teacher Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant

3. What is the EYFS?
The EYFS document combines Early Years and Foundation Stage. This creates a national curriculum for children before they begin Key Stage One.
6 areas of learning through areas of provision and directed activities.
All areas of learning are reflected inside and outdoors.

4. PSED Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Making friends
Learning rules
Learning daily routines
Learning about other
cultures and respect
Understanding boundaries
Making relationships with adults

5. PSED - How can you help?
You can help by encouraging your child to use the toilet independently, wash their hands, put on and fasten their coats.
Playing games which encourage sharing and turn taking will help your child to build their social skills.
Helping them to lose!

6. Physical Development Gross and fine motor skills Malleable area
Mark making area
Shoes and coats
PE – getting changed too
Dance
Outdoor area
Pencil control

7. Physical Development – How can you help?
Give children time to run, jump, climb and play outdoors.
Encourage children in activities such as building, drawing, threading beads, or filling and emptying containers in the water – all of which develop manipulative skills.

8. Communication and Language
Phonics
Recognising and
writing name
Speaking
Listening
Reading
Writing
Role play

9. Communication and Language – How you can help?
Reading books (stories, information books, newspapers, magazines, comics etc), encouraging your child to join in and talk about books
Singing songs and nursery rhymes
Modelling correct letter formation and pencil grip
Taking time to listen to them talking about things they’ve done and answering their questions
Allowing your child to see you reading books.

10. Mathematics Counting Recognising numbers and what they mean
Calculation
Shape
Pattern
Problem solving
Measuring

11. Mathematics – How can you help?
Talk about the shapes you can see in the environment
Comparing things which are heavy and light or long and short
Pointing out numbers all around
Singing counting songs and rhymes
Counting, adding and subtracting anything and everything - socks, cars, shopping, cutlery, fingers and toes!

12. Expressive Arts and Design
Role play
Art
Painting
Drawing
Dance
Music
Singing
Story
Imagination

13. Expressive Arts and Design.. How can you help?
Talk with your child about their imaginative play and join in if possible!
Encourage them to be flexible in their thinking and use of materials and praising them for their efforts or ideas as well as the end product

14. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Exploring
Investigating
Learning about other cultures, places, things that happened in the past and living things
ICT
Constructing
Educational visits
Outdoor area

15. Knowledge and Understanding of the World – How can you help?
Talk with your child about the places they go and things they see in the world around them
Answering and asking questions - what if…? Why do you think…? How did you…?
Letting children join in with everyday activities - washing up, cooking, shopping, helping in the garden...
If possible let them have access to ICT, CD players, mobile phones, computers etc.

16. General Information School day 8:45-3:15
Breakfast club – timings – cost?
School dinners – free for all Reception children.
Packed lunches (and clothes!) clearly labeled with name (children will put them on the trolley in the cloakroom).

17. Uniform Reminder
Uniform and bags need to be clearly labeled with names please! 30 jumpers and 30 t-shirts all look the same when we are getting changed for PE!
If you have a spare pair of wellies please bring them in and we can keep them in school so your child can wear them in the rain and mud and we can go outside and explore in all weathers!
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18. Phonics
At St Mary’s, we teach Phonics through a programme called Read, Write, Inc.
Phonics is a teaching tool to help your child to read and write.
Phonics is the breakdown of letter sounds and how they can be segmented and blended to create words and different sounds. E.g. c h can singularly make a ‘cuh’ and ‘huh’ sound but blended together make the ‘ch’ sound.
Please see examples of RWI practice and information in your pack.

19. Handwriting
At St Mary’s, we teach our children to write using Cursive Script. We teach this style from Reception, so that when they move through the school, they have always been writing in the same style.
Cursive writing prepares the children to join their letters, helping increase fluency and pace in writing as they develop.
When writing with your children at home, please could you support our style of writing to encourage the children to use Cursive Script each time they write.
Please find examples of the script in your pack.

20. Reading at home
During Reception, your child(ren) will be issued with at least one reading book per week. They will usually begin with picture books, gradually moving through the stages to books with CVC and High Frequency Words as the child’s reading progresses.
Your child will be heard read at least once a week by an adult in school, however, it is imperative that the children are practicing at home. As the chn move through KS1 and KS2, they will be expected to read for 20 minutes every day.
It is recommended that you read with your child EVERY night.
Please find examples of questions to ask the children and things to listen out for when listening to your child read, in your pack (we use the same prompt sheet in school for Reception Staff!)

21. Homework
During Reception, your child will receive weekly homework, this will usually consist of the sounds that the children have been learning in Phonics that week.
Homework has been proven to improve children’s learning and short, sharp bursts are recommended, so that the child doesn’t see the homework as a chore.
As the year progresses, your child will start to bring home a ‘Homework Grid’. This is a grid of homework that the children have a choice of what they would like to complete. Please see an example in your pack.
We began this homework grid last academic year and the children (and adults!) have thoroughly enjoyed taking pride in their homework.

22. Home-School Links
Throughout Reception (and school in general), home-school links are extremely important.
In Reception, the children will have Between Us Books, that will be filled in each week by a member of staff, notifying you of your child’s learning that week and what to expect the following week, enabling you to help them at home to further their learning.
Within the Between Us Book, you can leave messages for staff if you are unable to speak to us on a morning and just general messages – we love to know what you have been up to on a weekend!
Please check your child’s Between Us Book regularly to ensure you are aware of anything going on in school that week.

23. Questions?