A very warm welcome to Reception at Loscoe Church of England Primary School and Nursery, where our Reception children are part of Alps Class.

“Our faith can move mountains.”
“We may be small, but together we can make a big difference.”

Starting Reception is an exciting milestone. Our aim is to make sure every child feels happy, safe, secure and valued, giving them the confidence to explore, learn and thrive.

Learning in Reception

We believe that young children learn best when they are active, curious and involved in their learning.

Our Reception classroom and outdoor areas provide a stimulating learning environment where children can learn through a combination of adult-led teaching, purposeful play, exploration and independent learning.

An important part of our approach is continuous provision. Children have opportunities to select resources, make choices, follow their interests and apply what they have been taught within their own play.

Our experienced EYFS practitioners carefully observe children's learning and use high-quality interactions, questions and activities to help children develop their ideas, vocabulary, knowledge and skills.

Above all, we recognise that children's emotional wellbeing is fundamental to successful learning. We work hard to create a caring, nurturing and secure environment where children feel that they belong and are ready to learn.

Our Reception Curriculum

Our exciting Reception curriculum uses engaging themes, high-quality texts and questions for enquiry to inspire children's curiosity.

Learning builds upon children's previous experiences and, for children who attended our nursery, the knowledge and skills developed during their time in Squirrels.

We also value children's own interests and ideas. These are incorporated into learning opportunities across our EYFS environment wherever appropriate.

Learning is not restricted to the classroom either. Children have access to our outdoor learning environment and we make use of our extensive school grounds to provide opportunities to explore and learn in different ways.

The Areas of Learning

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is organised into seven areas of learning and development.

These areas are particularly important in helping children build strong foundations for learning:

Communication and Language

• Listening, Attention and Understanding
• Speaking

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Self-Regulation
• Managing Self
• Building Relationships

Physical Development

• Gross Motor Skills
• Fine Motor Skills

 

These help children develop their knowledge and skills across the wider curriculum:

Literacy

• Comprehension
• Word Reading
• Writing

Mathematics

• Number
• Numerical Patterns

Understanding the World

• Past and Present
• People, Culture and Communities
• The Natural World

Expressive Arts and Design

• Creating with Materials
• Being Imaginative and Expressive

Children develop across all seven areas through carefully planned teaching, meaningful experiences and opportunities to explore and practise their learning.

How Children Learn

Alongside what children learn, we also think carefully about how they learn.

The Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning are:

Playing and Exploring

Children investigate, experience new things and are encouraged to “have a go”.

Active Learning

Children learn to concentrate, persevere when something is challenging and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving something new.

Creating and Thinking Critically

Children develop their own ideas, make connections between their experiences and begin to find different ways to solve problems and achieve their goals.

These characteristics help children become confident, resilient and independent learners, providing important foundations for their journey through school.

Working in Partnership with Families

We recognise that parents and carers are children's first and most important educators, so working closely together is an important part of our Reception provision.

We share children's learning experiences and special “wow moments” through our online learning journal. Families can also contribute experiences and learning from home, helping us to build a fuller picture of each child's development.

We also provide opportunities for families to be involved through:

• Parent information sessions
• Opportunities to discuss children's learning and progress
• Stay and Play sessions
• Information and guidance about supporting learning at home

We want communication between home and school to be positive and open. If you have a question or concern about your child, we encourage you to speak to the Reception team.

Understanding Your Child's Progress

Throughout Reception, our practitioners observe and assess children's development as part of their everyday learning and experiences.

At the end of Reception, families receive a report about their child's progress.

Children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals. Where a child is still developing towards an expected outcome, this information helps us identify where continued support may be beneficial as the child moves into Year 1.

Our focus is always on recognising each individual child's achievements, development and next steps and ensuring the transition into the next stage of their education is as positive as possible.

Ready for the next adventure

Reception is a very special year. It is a time for children to make friends, develop independence, discover new interests, build knowledge, ask questions and develop a lifelong love of learning.

At Loscoe, we want children to finish their Reception year feeling confident, capable and proud of everything they have achieved, ready to take their next steps into Year 1.