Reception

Hello and welcome to Reception at Christ Church C of E Primary School!

This year our classes are called Butterfly class and Bumble Bee class (they change every year).

We love to learn through play in our school and we have lots of outside areas to run in, scoot through and explore. We strive to give children a wide and varied offer of experiences in their first year of school, including toasting scrummy things on an open fire, planting and growing vegetables and even sledding in the snow! We ask that families and carers get ‘stuck in’, read every day with their children, help them to get excited about their learning and come with an understanding that if your child comes home messy, they’ve had a great day!

Intent

Within Christ Church, the Early Years are highly valued and it is recognised by all staff that an enriching and caring Reception year is fundamental to the success of a child throughout their education.

Our Early Years setting aims to support our pupils’ development holistically. We are intentional about nurturing the ‘whole child’ in terms of emotional, social and spiritual development, alongside their academic journey. We cover all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework across our setting and are conscious about giving children diverse and meaningful experiences to develop their language and understanding of the world. We understand that children learn best when they follow their own interests so we carefully structure our teaching and learning around these opportunities.

We want all children to:

feel happy, healthy and secure
be autonomous and independent – making decisions and choices for themselves
be respectful of themselves, others and the resources and environment they share
be active and inquisitive learners with the confidence to explore and take risks through a range of opportunities.
feel free to explore their individual spirituality.

Implementation

At Christ Church we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. This is made up of four overriding principles.

Unique child: Every child is unique, is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive relationships: Children learn to be strong, independent and anti-fagile through positive relationships.
Enabling Environments: Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, where they can respond to their individual interests and curiosity paths.

Learning and development: All children learn and develop in different ways.

SCOPE

Spiritual: We strive to offer a broad and balanced curriculum for children which recognises the vital role PLAY has in the nurture of children’s emotional, personal and social development. Using a diverse range of stories and opportunities to allow children a wide understanding and experience of the world around them, prompting questions and wanderings about their own lives and things that they cannot see.

Community: Giving children opportunities to ‘pay back’ to the community by running joint projects with local bodies and raising money for local causes gives children a sense of their impact in the world and leaving a lasting legacy. Utilising the local spaces in Purley and croydon, including the local library and the park, embeds children’s understanding of their place in the world.

Outside: A huge focus in EYFS is the use of ‘the outside’ for learning. Directing experiences both inside and outside of the classroom, helps to meet children at their unique starting points and incorporating specific ‘Spinney’ time on a weekly basis allows children to delve further into risk taking and collaborative play.

Purposeful: The curriculum is designed to reflect the wide scope of experiences that we want the children to have and to equip them with skills which they can use in their daily lives, particularly around self-management. We want learners to develop independence, resilience and confidence and to be able to apply these skills to their lives outside of school. Experiences are memorable and relevant to their experiences and interests, enabling high levels of engagement and recall.

Enriching: EYFS is full of enticing, engaging and meaningful experiences including cooking on open fires, risk taking on a zip wire and sledging in the snow. Transformative experiences are carefully selected to underpin their learning and enhance their understanding of the world.

Alongside this foundational approach to learning, the pupils have intentional and meaningful focus experiences with adults in the setting to support foundational academic knowledge and skills, including early reading and maths concepts.

Gaps in learning are highlighted early on through ongoing formative assessment processes, meaning that interventions, including those for communication and language, are implemented in direct response to learner needs and move fluidly with the needs of individual children.

Impact

We anticipate that our curriculum will ensure that children are equipped with the skill sets that they need for the future.

We hope that our pupils will;

Be able to talk about the values of Christ Church and why they are important.

Make substantial progress within their speaking and listening abilities, enabling them to become strong and confident communicators.

Take pride in all that they do, knowing what they like and what they are good at.

Recognise the strengths and importance of their community.

Demonstrate self-regulation, emotional resilience and the ability to persevere when they encounter challenges, whilst managing risks.

Be kind, respectful and honest, demonstrating inclusive attitudes and have a sense of their role in the wider society.

Useful Information

Tuesdays – children will need to come to school in their PE kit on this day

Fridays – Children should come to school in clothes appropriate for outdoor learning in our woodland area (The Spinney) including wellies and warm coat

Everyday- bring phonic books and reading records to school.

LABEL EVERYTHING!