Reception Curriculum
The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is taught through the Early Learning Goals. Our Reception classroom is a carefully planned and well-resourced environment that caters for the various needs of a young child. We offer a broad range of experiences for the early years, both indoors and outdoors. Our team plan a range of adult led activities which are well matched to the needs of the children in our school.
There are seven areas of learning that shape our educational programmes. The 3 prime areas are:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, social and emotional development
Children are also supported within the 4 specific areas of:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
These seven areas are used to plan an exciting and balanced curriculum.
The main topics that we cover are Nursery Rhymes, Starry Night, Once Upon a Time, Ready, Steady, Grow, Sunshine and Sunflowers, and Animal Safari.
Nursery Rhymes
In the first term your child will be familiarising themselves with their new classroom and making lots of new friends. Your child will be introduced to the wonderful world of nursery rhymes. They will listen to and learn a range of traditional nursery rhymes and work creatively to solve problems for the characters they meet. They will learn how to bake Jam tarts, investigate how to save Humpty Dumpty from cracking when he falls off the wall, build their own rockets to go to the moon and much more.
Starry Night
Your child will explore the differences between the world at night time compared with daytime, through a range of exciting and creative activities. They will find out about nocturnal animals and how they find food when it is dark. They will find out about people who work at night and the different jobs that people do when we are asleep. They will discuss bedtime routines and the importance of a good night’s sleep. They will explore the night sky and find out about the Moon and stars. Your child will also learn about the celebrations that take place during the autumn and winter seasons, and focus on the significance and symbolism of light at this time of year.
Once Upon a Time
Your child will be introduced to the wonderful world of stories. They will listen to a range of traditional tales and have the chance to act out the stories in their play. They will also listen to alternative contemporary stories to see different viewpoints from the characters. They will use the stories to think about how life has changed from when the stories were written. They will also make up their own stories and make masks, props and puppets to act out their stories.
Ready, Steady, Grow
Your child child will take part in practical activities to explore where food comes from. They will learn what seeds and plants need to grow and grow a variety of plants. They will explore what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, including eating fruit and vegetables, exercise and teeth brushing. They will find out about life on a farm and about baby animals. Your child will also learn about the changes that happen during the spring, including weather and the festivals that are celebrated at this time of year.
Sunshine and Sunflowers
Your child will explore their local environment and see how it has changed throughout the year. They will grow flowers, fruit and vegetables in the garden area. They will learn how to care for plants and animals, identifying some different types. They will take part in outdoor learning activities and find out how to stay safe in the sun. Your child will also learn about natural phenomena, including shadows, reflections and echoes. They explore how shadows are formed and how they can change.
Animal Safari
Your child will learn about incredible animals that live worldwide. They will explore various animal habitats and compare the animals that live there with animals in their locality. They will learn how to care for pets and what all animals need to grow, survive and stay happy and healthy. They will explore animal features and find out how they survive in the wild. They will compare the ways that animals are similar and different.
Characteristics of effective learning
Playing and exploring
We encourage children to play with what they know and be willing to ‘have a go’. We want children to feel safe and be able to find out things and explore what happens.
Active learning
Our environment is set up to encourage children to motivate themselves to become independent learners. We support them to become resilient and ‘keep trying’ until their achieve what they have set out to do.
Creating and thinking Critically
As children engage in our curriculum, they begin to actively think about how this links to the outside world. Children will begin to have new ideas, make links between experiences and learning and become problem solvers.
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