Reception Class

The Reception Year is the last year of the Foundation Stage. This year prepares the children to start the National Curriculum Stage in Year 1.

During the Foundation Stage children will be encouraged to learn by exploring, investigating, creating and practising. Well-planned/structured play both indoors and outdoors is an important feature in this year.

In the Reception Class, the children begin to build a foundation that they can base their future learning upon. Although the scope of this Foundation Stage curriculum includes elements of the classic primary subjects such as Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, Art, Music, Physical Education and EMR, it is not divided into these specific subject areas. Instead, the Foundation Stage curriculum is organised into 6 areas of learning:

• Personal, social and emotional development
  • Learn to sit and listen to others (circle time)
  • Active participation in circle time
  • Kindle interest in classroom activities
    
    
• Communication language and literacy
  • Encourage children to talk
  • Listen to stories and rhymes
  • Teach the tripod grip
  • Draw lines and circles using gross motor movement
  • Begin to form recognisable letters
  • Phonics

• Mathematical development
  • Mathematical understanding through songs, rhymes, finger games, board games, playground games, cooking and shopping, observing numbers and patterns in the environment, and daily routines
  • Comparing numbers (leading to substraction)
  • Combining groups of objects (leading to addition)
  • Understanding measure
  • Concept of time

• Knowlegde und understanding of the world
  • Develop skills of enquiry and initiate curiosity
  • Teacher-led and hands-on activities eg. planting seeds, all about water, underwater life, sinking, floating etc.
  • What is past and present
    
    
• Physical development
  • Develop skills of co-ordination
  • Exercises, games etc.

• Creative develeopment
  • Art
  • Music
  • Role play
  • Imaginative play

At the end of the Reception Year children should be able to:
Maintain attention, concentrate and sit quietly when appropriate

• Work as part of a group, taking turns and sharing fairly
• Speak clearly with confidence
• Hear and say sounds in words
• Link sounds to letters, name letters of the alphabet
• Write letters
• Use phonic knowledge to write simple, regular words
• Count reliably till 10
• Recognise numbers
• Understand comparison
• Recognise and recreate simple patterns
• Talk about feelings they like and dislike
• Move with control and coordination
• Explore colours, shape, form etc.
• Sing simple songs
• Recognise and explore how sounds can be changed

Each lesson is about 45 minutes and is a combination of indoor and outdoor activities.