Reception

Welcome to Highwoods Community Primary School Reception class 

Phonics

We learn the letter sounds in this order: m a s d t i n p o c k u b f e l h sh r j v y w th z ch qu x ng nk. Once children are secure on these sounds and can blend simple words together we move on to more complex vowel sounds. We liaise closely with parents so you know what your child is learning and how you can best support them with reading at home.

Understanding the world

Every Wednesday we share ‘World Wide Wednesday’. This is where we look at different countries from across the world.

In previous years we have visited, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, China, Thailand, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Australia and many many more. When we have children from different countries we try to include their country so all children have an awareness of their cultural heritage.

Physical Development

At Highwoods we work on both our fine motor skills, those needed for writing, and our gross motor skills, that help us play safely together.

We have PE lessons once a week and also enjoy additional blocks of Yoga and Forest school.

We embrace a child led ethos, therefore children can go outside in our outdoor classroom and playground all year round in all weathers. We have a variety of activities including a mud kitchen, digging area, sandpit, water tray and balance/climbing equipment.

These activities can be done at home to support your child’s physical development. We would recommend children have regular access to activities that use: lego/duplo, play dough, climbing, digging, sweeping, colouring, painting and threading.

Expressive art and design

In reception we focus on exploring different art and design activities. We want to enthuse a love of creative activities that will prepare children for the rest of their lives.

Children are encouraged to use their imaginations in their play, we provide differing role play areas and story telling props which help to act out familiar stories and for them to make sense of the world around them These activities are fundamental for developing social skills and positive relationships with peers.

Forest School

All children in reception have regular afternoon sessions at Forest School. Here we develop key skills for learning through hands on practical activities.

Forest school ensures that children are given opportunities to develop outside of the classroom and boosts emotional well-being.  Over time, children develop an increase in resilience, self confidence, enthusiasm for learning, communication and problem-solving skills.

Tapestry

Tapestry is our online Learning Journey. All children are signed up at the start of the year, it is secure and confidential.

Teaching staff upload regular observations, pictures and videos of what children are doing at school. This helps us to record their progress and is invaluable to open up communications between home and school so parents can discuss with their children about the things they have been doing.

Parents are encouraged to upload their own observations to Tapestry of activities children do at home that support their learning.