Reception 2023 - 2024
Miss Heywood
Welcome to the Reception Class Page.
Welcome to Reception at Our Lady's! My name is Miss Heywood and I am supported by the fantastic Mrs Cooney and Mrs Nicklin. This is our class page, where parents will be able to find useful information about our class.
I find it so exciting to be able to support the children with the start of their school journey at Our Lady's. Reception class is always so much fun, as we base all of our learning around play. Personally, I have a huge passion for Early learning, because Reception is such an important year! It is a year where we learn so many important foundation skills, which allow us to grow and ultimately thrive as individuals.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch, as I will be more than happy to help.
School Day
Start time: 8:55
Finish Time: 3:25
Weekly Routines
P.E.
We have P.E every Tuesday and Thursday. We have access to both the hall and the MUGA for our P.E sessions meaning we can carry on teaching P.E regardless of the weather. Children should come to school dressed in their P.E kit for both days. It is recommended that during the winter months, children wear jogging bottoms and bring a school jumper/fleece to wear in addition.
Water Bottles
Please bring in water bottles every day, refilled with fresh water.
Reading Books
Reading Books will be issued later on in the school year. Initially we focus on phonics and introducing children to the letters and sounds that will be the building blocks of their future reading and writing.
More information will follow.
What we are learning
This area is dedicated to supporting you to understand a little more about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum relevant to your child as they progress through Reception. The early years curriculum is based on learning through exploration and play via high quality teaching and continuous provision. Here you will find current planning within our reception class.
We hope you enjoy exploring as much as we enjoy engaging with and sharing the included activities with the children.
See the files at the bottom of this page for more information.
How to help with maths and reading:
Reading
Have fun with reading. Let your child choose what they read and enjoy it together. Short or long, it’s time well spent.
Don’t worry about what your children are reading: recipes, cereal packets … it’s all useful! Keep books and other reading materials close by.
Reading to children of all ages is helpful. Ask lots of questions: who, what, where, when and why and ask them to summarise when you’ve finished.
When you see your child reading, praise them: “I love to see you reading!”
For more tips on helping your child read, click here.
Mathematics
Maths can be a part of your everyday activities through games, stories and conversation! You don’t need to have a separate maths lesson or activity. Why not count plates as you lay the table or do a fun addition quiz?
Board games like Snakes and Ladders or other games with numbered spaces can be great for Maths learning. You can even make your own!
Meals and snack times can be great to teach lots of concepts, like sharing, talking about time, counting how many carrots you have, estimating the number of beans or comparing sizes of potatoes.
Use maths words in conversation and play, talking about size (“Which is bigger?”), order (“Which is first?”), shapes and more.
Stories can be great opportunities for maths learning. Check out mathsthroughstories or you can use books you have at home!
Use manipulatives like bricks or toys of different sizes or amounts to support learning. Measuring, building, puzzles, sorting and patterns can be great!
When you see you child practising maths in everyday tasks, praise them!
Here are some useful web links that are offering resources for free at this time:
www.teachyourmonstertoread.com
Startwell Stockport is a useful resource and has free webinars every month: https://www.startwellstockport.co.uk/