Reception 2023 - 2024

With Miss Vaughan, Mrs Bristow and Mrs Williams.

A big, warm welcome to all of our children and families. We hope that you find this page useful. Over the next few weeks we will continue supporting your child in developing their personal, social and emotional development along with well being and behaviour and learning expectations, in order to ensure maximum progress can be made across all areas of learning. We really look forward to working with yourselves and your children as we begin this learning journey together. 

From September 2021 a new framework has been introduced into Early Years. To find out more about this framework and how we use it to create our curriculum and assess how the children make progress, please see the files below named 'New EYFS framwork- Guide for families' and 'EYFS Areas of Learning.' 

Here at Highfield we have an over arching theme, each term, which runs through the whole of the school. This term it is ‘The Legacy of Adventure: Myths, Marvels and Mayhem’. In Reception, we explore each theme through a 'Narrative Immersion Curriculum'. Each term the story box gifts us a new text. As we enter story world we learn how the plot of the story unfolds and we get to know each character well, often helping the different characters to overcome problems along the way! This term we will be reading 'The Paper Dolls' by Julia Donaldson. Through this story we will explore the themes 'memories,' ‘challenge' and 'growth and change'.  

We will join a little girl, her mother and a string of paper dolls as they go on a fantastical adevnture making and sharing memories. But will we escape the clutches of a toy dinosaur, the snapping jaws of an oven-glove crocodile and a very real pair of scissors that threaten to chop the paper dolls up? Can we work together facing and solving challenges along the way? 

If you haven't got a copy of the story then you can listen to a similar version by clicking the following link. Enjoy! (118) The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson. Children's story. Audiobook (read-aloud). - YouTube

The planning for this narrative can be found below in the 'files to download' section. 

Reading and fostering a love of books is an integral part of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Your child will bring home two books a week. One book will be a library book which is to be shared between yourself and your child. The other book will be from our reading scheme 'Big Cat Collins.' It is expected that your child reads this book to you. As your child's phonics skills and knowledge progress, they will be able to 'wow' you with their early reading skills. Books will be sent home on a Friday and should be returned to school the following Friday. 

Here at Highfield, we use an online learning journal called 'Tapestry' to record your child's learning. This will allow you to see any observations, pictures and videos that we have made of your child in the learning environment. It is used as a communication tool between school and home and so we very much encourage you to add your own observations to your child's learning journal as much as you can. We absolutely love to see what your child has been learning at home. We have added a guide to the files below named 'How-to guide for creating observations' which tells you step-by-step what to include in your observations. 

Things to note:  

PE is on a Tuesday. On this day, please send your child dressed in their PE kit to school. 

School book bags should be in school each day.

Reading books are handed out on a Friday and changed the following Friday.

Some useful websites:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=37

https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/numberblocks

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cosmic+yoga

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-songs-index/zhwdgwx 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-with-maths