Foundation Stage

Reception – a unique and important year

The Reception Year holds a unique and important position in education. It marks a significant milestone in a child’s life, representing both a beginning and an end. For parents, it is the end of early education and care, at home and/or across multiple settings, and the start of school. For school leaders and teachers, it is the crucial bridge between the EYFS and the start of the national curriculum. A child’s early education lasts a lifetime and what children are taught during Reception – the curriculum – is therefore hugely important.

The EYFS is based on four important principles:

A Unique Child

Principle: Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships

Principle: Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.

Enabling Environments

Principle: The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.

Learning and Development

Principle: Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and interconnected.

What does all this mean?

• Young children learn best through play and first-hand experience.
• The teacher provides your child with a range of appropriate play and learning experiences for their stage of development and helps them develop new skills. There will be a mixture of adult led and child initiated activities.
• The activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals in the following areas at the end of their reception year at school:

Children attending our school start on a full-time basis so we introduce them quickly to whole-school life. Our culture of high expectations starts early and follows the children through until they reach Year 6. We have the same learning and behavioural expectations from the start of school as we do at the end. Success in reading, writing and mathematics is built on a strong foundation in the prime areas of learning. High standards in reading, writing and mathematics are a given, but the wider, social experiences of the school community are also important. Reception children join the whole-school Collective Worship and have lunch in the hall. These are important opportunities to bond everyone together as one community so that we have absolute consensus about what it means to be a successful, hardworking member of this school.