Reception - butterfly & ladybird

Butterfly Class  

The class teacher is Miss Moore and the teaching assistants are Mrs Aston, Mrs Kelly and Mrs Busbridge. 

Ladybird Class 

The class teacher is Miss Mathias and the teaching assistants are Mrs Brierley and Mrs Webster. 

Reception - 2022-2023 

Reading:

  • In Reception, we ask that you read at home with your child at least five times a week. Every week teachers upload a reading diary post on Seesaw, which gives an idea of what to focus on each day and parents are asked to comment and voice record their child’s responses in the comment section.
  • Research has proven that children that read regularly with their parents are much more likely to do well at school!
  • Children will change their school books at least once a week and children may change their books at the end of the day if you would like them to.
  • Children will bring home a story book and may also bring home a phonics reading book to read to their adult, which is chosen specifically for their level. Please read the phonics reading book to your child first, then read again taking turns and finger pointing.
  • Parents must find a quiet calm time to share stories with their children. The time you do this will be different for each family.

Seesaw – Our Online Learning Journal

Seesaw Log in

All parents have a log in to access their child’s learning journal. On these journals parents can comment on their child’s amazing work, respond to the weekly reading diary post and communicate with the class teacher. If you would like any support with Seesaw, please speak to the class teacher or the school office. 

Reminders:

  • Water bottles every day - only water in them please
  • Children to bring a snack of fruit or vegetables each day
  • No water bottles or food in book bags please
  • To allow children to become more independent, please encourage them to put their own things away i.e. book bags, coats, water bottles etc.
  • Children need coats every day
  • Parents are requested to stand back from the classroom at the end of the day so that children do not feel overwhelmed and can see their adults
  • We welcome parents in to chat about reading or any other matters at the end of the day.

General Information for Reception Parents - Starting School  

Starting school is a very special time in a young child's life. We all want to see our children happy and settled and a good start at school is important for long term social and educational benefits. At St Margaret's School we do everything possible to help our Reception children settle in happily. 

Here are just a few things we do to help the transition of pre-school to reception flow smoothly:

  • We host a meeting in June for all parents/carers to meet the class teacher and the Reception team, learning more about what it's like to be in Reception at St Margaret's.
  • We offer a Stay and Play session for parents/carers to attend with their child.
  • A short story session in a small group
  • A home visit for class teachers to meet your child in their own, familiar environment.

The following points are just a few things you can do at home to support your child's transition from pre-school to Year R:

Dressing and Undressing themselves

  • Put socks and tights on
  • Put shoes on correct feet
  • Put coat on and begin to do up zip
  • Hang coat up by the hook

Using the Toilet

  • Go to the toilet by themselves
  • Boys be familiar with a urinal
  • Wipe own bottom
  • Wash and dry hands

Skills needed to help in the classroom

  • Holding pencils, crayons and brushes with correct grip
  • Handling scissors safely and cutting with 'thumbs up'
  • Being able to sit quietly and listen for short periods of time
  • Being able to recognise their own name

Sharing and taking turns

  • Sharing toys and being prepared to take turns
  • Work together to tidy up toys and understand we put toys back where they belong
  • Saying please and thank you
  • Understand simple rules
  • Look after their own belongings

Lunch time

  • Eating with good table manners
  • Using a knife and fork

A Prayer for Starting School

Dear God,
I am starting school today,
Please help me to learn and play.

Help me to be kind and share

And make friends who care.

Be with me on my first day,
Amen.

 

Read, Write Inc - RWI 

We teach early reading through synthetic phonics; this is where children learn to blend sounds to read whole words. We begin phonics in Reception and is completed when the children are fluent and confident readers. The children will learn to recognise 44 sounds in the English language and the many ways of writing these sounds (e.g. ay/ai, oy/oi). The English language is not just made up of decodable words, therefore we teach the children how to recognise and read tricky words known as ‘red’ words (e.g. the, said, could).

The children learn each sound through a hook by using pictures which match the shape of the letter; for example ‘s’ looks like a snake and ‘a’ looks like an apple. This helps the children to learn to read and write the sounds easily and to be able to segment and blend words to read sentences. From this, the children quickly experience the joy of accessing books and feeling like readers. Effective assessment is then used to accelerate every child's progress so their learning is individually catered to them. Read Write Inc. also supports the children’s handwriting and spelling development as they learn to form their letters visualising the picture and saying the handwriting pattern they learnt with the sound.

Children learn to read words by blending sounds (Fred talk) eg. c-a-t = cat, sh-o-p = shop. In order to do this they need to say the pure sounds ('m' not 'muh', 's' not 'suh' etc.) as quickly as they can, and then blend the sounds together to say the whole word.

Our Philosophy 

When you ask your child what they have been doing at school you, will probably be told, "just playing."

At St Margaret's we believe that children learn best through play. Allowing children to follow their interests, encourages their intrinsic motivation and desire to learn.

The children are involved in the setting up of the learning areas and their interests are taken into account, enabling us to provide a constantly evolving environment. We provide resources and activities that support learning and encourage children to become inquisitive and keen learners. We are interested in 'how' and 'what' the children learn at St Margaret's School. 

The Importance of Talk - Chatter Matters

It may seem an obvious thing to say, but one of the best things we can do with young children is to have interesting and enjoyable conversations with them. What this mean is that as we go about out activities, whether at home, or out and about, we should make a special effort to answer children's questions, point out things that interest us, involve children in helping and planning what to do next - whether that's putting things out to play, tidying up, where to visit or any other activity you share. When reading a book with children, make a special effort to read slowly, with lots of fun and expression. Don't worry about stopping if the children ask you questions. Encourage them to join in with the sounds and rhymes of the story. Children who share lots of stories do better at school.  

Through using language and hearing how others use it, children become able to describe the world and make sense of their experiences. They learn to use language as a tool for thinking, collectively and alone. We want all children to be successful communicators. Research shows clearly children who have excellent language skills do better in their years at school and into adult life.

The Early Years Curriculum  

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Topic Overviews  

Autumn 

Spring

Summer Term 

 

 

 

The Curriculum for the school can be found here.   

Useful links and Documents  

Supporting Phonics at Home

RWI Powerpoint - 2017

Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3 Rhymes list

Parents Guide to the EYFS Framework

Literacy rich website links for parents and children

Nursery Rhymes for parents

Phonics Play - Some free online games to support  phonics.

Numbots - This is a game which allows children to collect different items for their robot by solving maths questions. Children will have an account setup as they start school.

CBeebies Bedtime Stories - Another way to share stories with children.

Topmarks Early Years Games - A range of online games to support Maths and Phonics.

Oxford Owl - A website full of resources to support children's learning at home.

Contact Us

The Primary School, The Mardens, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 0AQ

Mr Steve Chambers
01293 521077

Contact Us

The Nursery, The Mardens, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 0AQ

Mrs Nichola Rea
01293 421080