1. New Reception Children and Parents. Welcome to Our Class Reception.

2. Staff Mrs Parford- class teacher Mrs Smith and Mrs Hurst;- classroom assistant for mornings …Mrs Smith-Haggett;- classroom assistant for afternoons Both Mrs Gent and Hurst also work with those children requiring additional support or help for any reason.

3. Daily Organisation Children line up on playground, please don’t bring them in! Any queries/problems, please see me before/after school. May cry initially, soon stops! They enter the classroom, put personal things away. Choose a book and sit quietly on the carpet. Registration takes place every morning.

4. Literacy Covers communication through reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Provide opportunities to imagine and recreate experiences through activities (exploring language as they do so) To make connections between school, home and the wider community. To have access to, and share a wide range of rhymes, stories, poems, songs and non- fiction books

5. Reading Emphasis on learning through range of strategies with strong emphasis on phonics. Use Jolly Phonics as basis. Learn to recognise series of High Frequency Words, many of which cannot be sounded out phonically. Also look at context and other clues to assist in understanding text.

6. Phonics Jolly Phonics, a combination of stories, pictures and actions for each sound. Sounds rather than letter names. 2 per week. Sheets for each letter brought home to reinforce learning. Includes letter formation and sound.

7. Reading Begin by looking at books without text, telling own stories from pictures. We are lucky enough to have many reading schemes, but the main reading scheme is Oxford Reading Tree. Children work through scheme at own pace. Books supplemented by others at same level as required.

8. Reading at home Children bring home scheme books each week, from quite an early point in the term. 2 library books can be brought home also. Please share these with your child, reading to them and encouraging them to read to you as they gain confidence. Repetition is the key! Will also bring home words to learn, these are the HF words mentioned earlier.

9. What you can do to help! Ensure children read scheme books and learn caterpillar words when brought home. Look at phonics sheets and practise actions for each. Read bedtime stories! Look at and talk about printed language in their environment, on food packets, road signs, labels and leaflets.

10. Writing Children begin with “wiggles and squiggles”. They begin to ascribe meaning to these marks. Increasingly use phonic knowledge and letter formation in their writing Write simple “CVC” words as knowledge increases.

11. What you can do to help! Encourage children to draw, paint etc Show children your writing, shopping lists, things to do, birthday cards. Make scrap books, write postcards, party invitations. Develop fine motor skills by cutting, sewing, dot-to-dots etc.

12. Mathematical Development Covers counting, sorting, matching, patterns and connections Children work with numbers, shape, space and measures. Children learn through stories, songs, games and imaginative play.

13. What you can do to help! Point out numbers around you, on houses, cars, television channels, cookers and microwaves, Say number names in order as you climb the stairs, count teddies on a bed, plates on the table. Compare quantities, who has the most sweets, which shopping bag is heavier?.

14. In the Class Children will work in groups based on ability rather than age. Will have opportunity through day for teacher and child led activities, Ensure indoor and outdoor activities..

15. Topic work Topic work in the afternoons. Enables children to make sense of world around them. Develop skills in exploration, investigation, problem solving, prediction, discussion and decision making. Creative development covers art, music, dance, role and imaginative play.

16. Topic work Topics also linked to work in literacy and numeracy. Will include aspects of “Science”, “ History” “Geography” “Art” etc in topics. Our Topics are ‘This is Me’, Once upon a Time’ and Animals around us’

17. Our Topics Autumn Term –All about Me –Our Families, family trees, growing up, milestones in our lives, Homes, houses,building,3 little pigs. –Our bodies, parts of the body what are they, what do they do, growing and changing, exercise to keep healthy, medicines and drugs, –Our senses, sounds, taste, touch, sight. –Food, food and drink as a necessity, what do we need to stay healthy, what we like and dislike. –Toys, our favourite toys, toys from the past,

18. Foundation Stage Profile Foundation Stage is organised into 6 areas of learning Personal, social and emotional development Communication, language and literacy Mathematical development Knowledge and understanding of the world Physical development Creative development

19. Foundation Stage Profile Children work towards Early Learning Goals, expectations for most children to aim towards during Foundation stage By the end of Reception, some children will have achieved or exceeded goals, some will still be working towards them, in which case will continue through work in Year 1. Parents will receive information in Summer on child’s progress towards goals.

20. Practical Details Please ensure all uniform is labelled with child’s name, especially PE equipment. P.E will be on Mondays and Wednesdays. Could all earrings be taken out for these days. Children need to have a coat in school Packed lunches in named lunch box No chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks We provide fruit for break time Children have “accidents”. If these are regular, can you provide a set of spare clothes. We would appreciate it if your child could be toilet trained before joining us in September.

21. Practical Details We finish at 3.oo. Children will be brought out to you. If, for some reason, someone different is picking your child up, please let me know. Children will be very tired initially, school is hard work when you are 4.

22. Medical Matters Any sickness, diarrhoea, must be followed by 24 hrs absence. Head lice are common! Please check regularly and treat as recommended. Any absence requires a note or telephone call explaining why. Any medicines can only be administered by prior arrangement with the head teacher.

23. In General We operate an open door policy and are always pleased to see any parent requiring information or advice. Welcome to St Johns school. Any Questions?