Priory School’s Reception class with its Early Years entry provides an opportunity for children with birthdays between January and August to gain entry to school sooner than has been previously possible in an attempt to try to redress the balance with those children who reach their fifth birthday during the Autumn term and who have three full years in Key Stage I. Children born between September and December 31st will attend school full time from September. Children born from 1st January – 31st August attend part time in the Autumn Term and full time from January.
The Reception classroom is located in a separate purpose built classroom in the school grounds and provides the children with rich play based learning experiences. This stimulating environment, combined with links with the local Pre-school, help to ease the transition from pre-school or nursery into full time education. This is achieved gradually during the Reception year. The teacher will keep records to indicate how each pupil is progressing and these records will be passed on to the next teacher to ensure continuity.
Clothing
In a typical day the children will spend some time both in the classroom and some outdoors. We do use the outdoor area in all weathers so please ensure that your child brings suitable warm/waterproof clothing and footwear in cold or wet weather and a sunhat in summer.
Naming property
Please make sure that everything that your child brings into school is named with his or her full name, including coats, school uniform, PE kit, footwear, lunchbox etc. Whilst we may be able to return unnamed items mislaid within the classroom this is more difficult where something has been left elsewhere in school. Items that are named can usually be returned.
Naming property also helps the children to develop independence and learn to look after their possessions.
Before starting School
Although we help where needed, if your child could try to manage the following tasks before starting school it would be helpful to both children and staff:
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Remove outdoor clothing and hang it up |
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Dress and undress- including buttons and zips |
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Use the toilet unaided |
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Wash and dry hands and face efficiently |
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Tidy after using toys, apparatus, books etc |
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Use a knife and fork |
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Tie shoelaces ( if possible) |
We ask for the co-operation of all parents in discouraging anti-social behaviour.
Session Times
Monday to Friday
Morning session - 8.55 – 12.15
Afternoon session - 1.15 – 3.15
Session structure
Each session will be structured with periods of whole class or group work with the teacher or assistant, interspersed with periods of independent child selected activity, where they chose from the range offered for that day. In a typical day the children will spend some time in the classroom and some outdoors. The activities will reflect the six areas of learning in the Foundation Stage Curriculum with emphasis on Numeracy and Literacy which take place everyday.
At first, the amount of time the children will be engaged in teacher led tasks will be relatively short and they will spend more time on activities they have chosen themselves. Gradually as the year progresses and the amount of time for which they can concentrate increases, the balance of these activities will shift, so that by the end of the Reception year they will be ready for the more formal structure of the school day in Year 1.
Arriving at School
Children should be brought to the classroom at the beginning of each session where they will be greeted by the Class Teacher or assistant. When the children arrive they may work on a puzzle or game until all children are settled. The class will be brought together for registration and to talk about the planned activities before moving to their allocated tasks. |
The Foundation Stage Aims
With play at the centre of learning we aim to:
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provide a safe caring environment where the children can learn through direct teaching, exploration and discovery. |
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give each child a sense of achievement by matching activities to their own stage of development. |
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encourage independence and confidence. |
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encourage the children to be problem solvers and decision makers. |
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encourage the children to care for each other and their surroundings. |
We will achieve this by:
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providing a stimulating environment where exploring, testing, questioning, and refining ideas is the accepted way to learn. |
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valuing and building on previous learning from home and pre-school settings. |
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working in partnership with parents and welcoming any help you are able to offer in the class. |
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allowing children time to concentrate on things that interest them, and encouraging them to complete tasks. |
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encouraging children to help tidy away any materials and equipment that they have used. |
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helping them to share and take turns and consider the wishes and feelings of others. |
Foundation Curriculum
Since September 2000 it has been a statutory requirement for all government funded settings providing care and education for 3-5 year olds to follow the ‘Foundation Stage Curriculum’. Children who have attended pre-schools, nursery or other day-care settings should therefore already have been following this curriculum. A document named ‘Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage’ has been published to assist teachers/carers in planning for the children to attain the ‘Early Learning Goals’ - a set of statements detailing what it is expected that a child should have achieved by the end of the Reception year. In the 2002/3 school year the government introduced an assessment programme to be followed during the Reception year, called the ‘Foundation Stage Profile’, which replaced Baseline Assessment and provides a picture at the end of the year of each child’s progress measured against the ‘Early Learning Goals’. This forms the basis for the annual end of year report to parents.
The six areas of learning
The Foundation Stage Curriculum is divided into six areas but in practice there is a considerable amount of overlap, which is necessary for children to learn in the way they do best – by making links and connections within and between activities. Below is brief description of each of the six areas of learning. |
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