Reception
Welcome to Reception
Miss Ashington and Mrs Dinnis
We look forward to welcoming you back for our Spring 2 term.
Parent workshop powerpoint slides from 9th February 2026
Topic - 'Minibeasts'
Reception Curriculum – Summer 1:
This term, we are diving into the fascinating world of minibeasts! Our exploration will not only enhance our understanding of these tiny creatures but will also closely link to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, particularly in the areas of understanding the world, expressive arts and design, and personal, social, and emotional development.
We are excited to welcome a special visitor from Curious Creatures during week 4! This interactive experience will allow the children to encounter various insects and creatures up close, enriching their learning journey.
Throughout this term, students will observe, investigate and learn about a variety of minibeasts, including insects, spiders and worms. They will explore the school grounds to spot and identify these creatures in their natural habitats, fostering a sense of curiosity and discovery.
Creative Arts and Crafts
The children will have plenty of opportunities to engage in arts and crafts, creating minibeast models and drawings using a variety of materials. This will encourage their creativity while also developing their fine motor skills.
Hands-On Learning
In addition, we will engage in hands-on activities to learn about the life cycles of different minibeasts and their roles in the ecosystem, enhancing their understanding of the world around them.
English Development
In English, children will apply their phonics skills to sentence writing, focusing on structuring sentences effectively. We will continue to develop their understanding of phase 3 and 4 phonics, blending sounds with adjacent consonants. Additionally, pupils will build their independence and resilience by using strategies to support their learning, such as reading sentences back to ensure coherence and thinking more independently in preparation for Year 1. We will also focus on building writing stamina, encouraging longer pieces of writing.
Mathematics Exploration
In maths, we will closely examine number patterns, including odd and even numbers as well as doubles up to 10. Children will deepen their understanding of numbers through activities centered around reasoning and problem-solving skills, looking in more detail at subtraction.
Personal, Social, and Emotional Development
This summer term promises to be an exciting journey into the world of minibeasts while nurturing essential life skills through our PSHE lessons. We look forward to watching the children grow in knowledge, confidence, and understanding as we explore these themes together!
For more information about the EYFS curriculum, please visit the [EYFS Curriculum Overview](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2).
Let’s make this a fantastic term filled with discovery and learning!
To support your child’s learning journey, here are some activities you can do together:
- Practice Phase 3 Tricky Words (bookmarks have been sent home)
- Share stories and read together
- Encourage independence in self-care tasks
- Provide fun fine motor activities (e.g., playdough, threading, painting with small brushes, building with LEGO)
- Create opportunities for writing in practical contexts (e.g. shopping lists)
- Recognise numbers up to 10 with composition of the numbers e.g. how many ways can you make the number 5?
- Add and subtract using objects, then on a number line, and finally in their heads.
- Practice identifying 2D shapes and knowing some 3D shapes (cone, cube, sphere, cylinder), understanding the difference between solid 3D shapes and flat 2D shapes.
Reminders:
Scooter day:
Tuesday – Hedgehogs and Rabbits
Wednesday – Badgers and Foxes
Thursday – Owls and Squirrels
Homework
Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis and will primarily focus on developing writing independence. These tasks will be light and manageable, designed to prepare the children for the challenges of the upcoming year. Please see email detailing homework this term.
Important dates this term:
Monday & Friday - Changing reading book
Friday - Homework sent out and to be returned the following week
Thursday - PE kit
Friday 8th - Curious creatures visitor
Thank you for your continued support in making this term a successful and enriching experience for our children! Together, we can inspire a love of learning and exploration.
Focus Areas This Term:
During Summer, much of our learning will centre around developing communication skills, Literacy and Mathematics. Children will be encouraged to to develop their social skills and build friendships through play and group activities. This term is all about helping children develop their writing skills and finding confidence in independent work in a warm, supportive environment.
Building on Prior Knowledge:
This term, we will be building on children’s knowledge of:
- odd and even numbers
- Finding one more or one less than a given number
- Counting on
- Story structure - beginning, middle, end, setting, characters and plot
- General structure of a sentence, writing left to right, ensuring letters are formed correctly and using correct tripod grip.
- Understanding the world around us and making observations, sharing discussions about our findings.
This prior knowledge will support classroom discussions and help children feel confident as they develop independence in activities and phonics.
Key Vocabulary We Will Be Learning:
- beginning
- middle
- end
- characters
- setting
- plot
- moral
- digraphs
- trigraphs
- addition
- subtraction
- equals to
- number sentences
This half term our focus for PSHE is 'Relationships'
During the year Jigsaw Jenie helps us with our personal, social and emotional understanding. This term in our PSHE lessons, we will focus on building respectful relationships, beginning with the most important relationship of all—our relationship with ourselves. Through our Jigsaw unit on Relationships, children will engage in several key topics designed to foster emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills:
Building Self-Respect
Children will explore their own strengths and learn how to build self-esteem and resilience, laying the foundation for healthy relationships.
Exploring Families and Friendships
We will facilitate discussions about different family structures and friendships, emphasizing the importance of love, support, and connection in all relationships.
Understanding Pets and Animals
Through exploring the role of pets in our lives, children will learn about empathy and responsibility as they discover how to care for animals.
Love and Loss
Sensitive conversations will guide children in understanding and expressing their feelings around love and loss, helping to foster emotional literacy and support.
Online Safety and Social Networking
We will introduce essential concepts of online safety, focusing on how to navigate digital interactions safely and responsibly.
Conflict Resolution and Assertiveness
Children will learn effective strategies for resolving conflicts, building assertiveness skills, and practicing appropriate ways to express their feelings.
Roles and Responsibilities
By discussing roles within families and friendship groups, we will encourage children to think critically about stereotypes and appreciate the value of diversity in relationships.
This comprehensive approach to understanding relationships will equip our students with the skills they need to form strong, respectful connections with themselves and others.
Press here to access the website - health for kids.
The EYFS framework includes Seven Areas of Learning that are equally important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly important for sparking enthusiasm for learning and forming relationships.
The Prime Areas of Learning:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The prime areas are strengthened and applied through four Specific Areas of Learning:
- Literacy
- Maths
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning
In addition to addressing all seven Areas of Learning, our curriculum is designed to promote the Characteristics of Effective Learning. These characteristics describe how the children will learn. These learning behaviours are particularly important in the EYFS because they build the foundations for children to be lifelong learners. The characteristics are:
- Playing and Exploring - Engagement
- Active Learning - Motivation
- Creating and Thinking Critically - Thinking
Planning and assessment
We offer the children in Reception a ‘hands-on’ play-based curriculum, both indoors and outdoors, throughout the day. Planning can be intentional, responsive, or anticipatory. It is flexible and can change in response to children’s ideas and interests. Planning may also be linked to events in the community or around the world.
“Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
In addition to the activities planned by the adults, the children are offered plenty of opportunities to direct their own learning.
All children starting Reception will take part in the Reception Baseline Assessment. Please see the information for parents document produced by the DfE below to explain the process.
At the end of the Reception Year children will be assessed for the EYFS Profile. Each of the seven areas will be further broken down into the following categories.
To practise phonics, the children can access Mr Thorne’s Phonics on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MrTsPhonics/playlists This is free of charge and the 5 minute videos will give the children a reminder of the sounds they have already learnt but would also enable them to start learning about sounds that are to come in Year 1 if they wanted to. Games can be accessed on https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ and https://www.phonicsbloom.com/ Additional resources are also available below, covering all of the phonics taught so far.
Maths games can be accessed free of charge via Top Marks: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ The children could also continue to practise number formation, ensuring numbers are correctly orientated, and do practical addition and subtraction, for example using Cheerios for counting. There are also resources below revisiting learning the children have covered this year.
If you need to support your child with toilet training, below are some useful links to get them started. Current advice is to teach your child the skill of using a potty and not waiting for the child to be ready.
To help your child be school ready and get the best start to their education, please follow the link below which supports families through interactive games and conversation starters:
https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/school-readiness
https://www.facebook.com/SolihullHVs
https://eric.org.uk/potty-training/
Phonic activities - Phase 2
Phonics Resources
Dental Hygiene:
In EYFS, we teach about dental hygiene. The children learn the value of good brushing and how to use toothpaste to fight tooth decay. The Colgate Tooth Defenders help us to learn how to keep ourselves healthy and even give us our own toothbrush and toothpaste to take home!
The Tooth Defenders would like us to complete our brushing chart to make sure that we keep our teeth and gums healthy.
If you need any support for your child or any tips on keeping teeth clean, please see our documents below to help you. Also start taking your child to the dentist….it is never too early to start!
https://startingreception.co.uk/toothbrushing/
Meet the Teacher - presentation and resources
School Readiness information for parents
Snow day school closure:
Snow Day Home Learning
If we have a snow day, here are some simple activities you can enjoy with your child to keep their learning going at home:
Phonics & Reading: Practice reading and writing the tricky words for your child’s current phonics phase. You can extend this by encouraging them to use tricky words in short sentences. Please also revisit the personalised phonics targets sent home last term. Enjoy some shared reading together and remember to record this in their reading book.
Maths: Support your child in practicing number formation to 10. You can also explore simple addition number sentences using the + and = symbols.
Understanding the World Make the most of the snowy weather—build snowmen, explore outside, and chat about how snow is formed and what happens when it melts.