St. NicholasCatholic Primary School
‘Love one another, as I have loved you’
Reception
Hello and welcome to Reception!
Welcome to our class page. This page is designed to give families easy access to the key information and documents you may need throughout the school year.
In the Useful Documents section at the bottom of the page, you will find our half-termly class learning leaflets. These give an overview of the learning taking place across the curriculum and help families understand the key knowledge, skills and topics children will be developing. Learning leaflets will be added across the year. They also include important practical information, such as PE days, when children should come to school in their PE uniform.
You will also find our homework leaflets, which explain the homework offer for your child’s year group and how you can support learning at home, as well as our half-termly vocabulary maps, which highlight important words and subject-specific vocabulary children will encounter in their learning.
Throughout the year, we will also upload any other useful year-group information, including documents linked to parent information meetings, spelling overviews, residential visits, trips, transition information and any other events or arrangements that are relevant to your child’s class.
We recommend checking this page regularly so that you can stay up to date with what your child is learning and access important information throughout the year.
Read, Write Inc Phonics
At St Nicholas Catholic Primary School, we use Read Write Inc. Phonics to support children in learning to read and write.
In Reception, we begin introducing Set 1 Sounds from the beginning of the academic year. We understand that, during the first few weeks, children are also learning to settle into their new environment, develop new routines and build relationships with adults and other children. During this time, phonics is introduced in a gentle and engaging way through short carpet sessions and is also incorporated into the different areas of continuous provision.
As the year progresses, we gradually introduce the full Read Write Inc. lesson structure into our daily timetable. Children are assessed regularly and grouped according to their current phonics knowledge so that teaching can be closely matched to what they need next. In these smaller groups, children develop their recognition of Set 1 Sounds, learn to blend sounds together to read words and begin to apply their growing phonics knowledge independently.
Regular phonics teaching also supports children's wider development in Communication and Language and Literacy, helping to build vocabulary, listening and attention skills, confidence in speaking and the foundations needed for successful reading and writing.
Below, you will find a copy of the Set 1 Sounds taught in Reception. By the end of Reception, our aim is for children to recognise these sounds confidently and use them to blend and read words independently.
Forest School
This academic year, children in Reception will have the exciting opportunity to take part in regular Forest School sessions within our school grounds. These sessions are led by Rose from Born of the Forest, an experienced Forest School provider based in Harrogate.
Forest School offers children a rich and engaging way to learn through first-hand experiences in the natural environment. During each session, children will explore, investigate and develop new skills while building confidence, independence, resilience and teamwork.
Activities may include learning how to stay safe outdoors, exploring plants and the natural environment, crafting around the campfire, relaxing in hammocks and developing balance and coordination through activities such as slacklines.
These experiences also support learning across the Early Years Foundation Stage, helping children to work towards their Early Learning Goals in areas such as Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Understanding the World. Forest School provides particularly valuable opportunities for children to develop their speech, language and communication skills through conversation, questioning, describing what they can see and do, learning new vocabulary and working collaboratively with others.
Forest School will take place every Thursday, unless you receive a text message informing you otherwise. On Forest School days, children should come to school wearing their own suitable outdoor clothing, such as a jumper with joggers or leggings. School will provide wellington boots and waterproof suits for children to wear during the sessions.
