St. Stephen's Reception

The Reception children attend the Early Years Unit with their Nursery friends.

Class Teacher - Mrs Shooter

HL Teaching Assistant - Miss Martin

Teaching Assistants - Mrs Darling and Mrs Taylor

Information for parents

Our PE days are Wednesday and Friday but we take every opportunity to get out and about, going for walks and using bikes regularly.

Here at St. Stephen’s, we believe in creating a warm, loving environment where play and fun are at the centre of the day since we know that through play, children explore, make sense of the world around them, and develop the essential skills they need for life. We want children to love coming to school every day, to be independent, curious learners and to form ideas about what they would like to do each day at school before they even arrive in the building. We strive to build positive, warm, caring relationships that help every child feel safe, valued, and confident and in which all children’s unique ideas are valued and take opportunities to understand their interests, personalities, and ways of learning. We pride ourselves on our meaningful interactions with our children where language, confidence and talk are valued.

How can you help your child at home?

We seek to build on the loving relationships between parents and children in the home, recognising that parents are their child’s first teacher. We encourage parents to tell stories, read books and sing songs which all provide vital communication and language skills. As your child brings home their first books, we strongly encourage parents to sit with their child as they begin the first steps of reading sounds, then words and building into sentences. We recommend healthy food choices to support children have all the energy they need for the busy business of learning and the active day ahead of them at school.

We use an online learning journal called Tapestry to provide a ‘window’ into their child’s life at school and seek parents as partners to add photos, videos and information so we can build a rich picture of your child – we also encourage parents to use the Tapestry app with your child at home to give them the opportunity to talk about their school day.

The children in Nursery enter the setting through the Nursery door every day to ensure a high quality handover between parents and students, however we support Reception children to enter the building though the main hall with the older children supporting an independent start to the day. Parents collect from the Nursery door to ensure that there is a daily connection between teachers and carers.

Some Nursery children wear school uniforms as the Reception children do, but the most important thing is that children are comfortable and wear clothes which support their independence in managing self-care. Children eat a healthy, well-balanced lunch in the main hall, as the older children do, choosing between a hot main course, jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings or a range of sandwiches.

We keep a register of any allergies or illnesses the children might have and any medications are kept safely locked but close to hand.

Tapestry is used as a means of keeping in touch as well as offering an insight into the school day. Teachers add observations to support parents’ understanding of how their child is learning, who they are friends with, and enrichment opportunities.

St Stephen's Class is full of friendly, confident and lively 4-5 year old children eager to learn! We like to be active and enjoy learning outdoors.

We love to talk about our experiences and give our thoughts and ideas. We are caring, kind and helpful and like to find ways to work together so everybody is happy!

Reading and Phonics

Children begin their reading and writing journey with exposure to stories, songs, nursery rhymes, sound hunts and games designed to build their listening and ability to hear and understand different sounds. In Reception they begin the formal phonics programme. Here at St. Stephen’s we use the Bug Club phonics scheme, a Department for Education approved scheme, learning first sounds, building into words, learning irregular words and simple sentences. The scheme blends technology, actions, pictures to aid sound recognition and books. Children are motivated by the familiar structure and rhythm of the phonics lessons.

Useful sites to visit:

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

Baseline Assessment

We assess the children’s starting points quickly identifying their individual next steps. The information on children’s starting points and their progress is readily shared with parents through formal parent meetings in during the year, ongoing dialogue between staff and parents and carers, and through online learning journeys on 'Tapestry'.

End of Reception Year Assessment

At the end of their Reception year, all children are subject to a statutory assessment. Teachers provide detailed assessments of the children’s achievements against ‘Early Learning Goals’ linked to the different areas of learning. Children are graded as emerging the Early Learning Goal, meaning they are working towards the objectives, and ‘expected’ meaning they are working at the expected standard for their age. Throughout their time in Early Years at St Stephen's, staff will discuss your child’s development and steps being taken to give them the best opportunities to learn and develop. At the end of their Reception year, staff will share their achievements with you against these Early Learning Goals. This information will be shared with Year 1 staff to ensure their transition to the National Curriculum is seamless.

Details of the Reception Baseline Assessment are found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/reception-baseline

Tapestry

Tapestry is an easy-to-use innovative, interactive online learning journal which we use to record, track and celebrate children's progress in early years education.

For more information on this, the Early Years Foundation Parents Guide and other learning resources please click on the logo below.

This is a fantastic way to find out more about our school day and to see what the children learn. We love to get you as parents involved too, uploading photos and video from home and by commenting on the learning your children achieve. We aim to work with you, as a team, to support your children to achieve their best.