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Reception

Reception Class 2025-26

Welcome to Reception

Helpful Reminders: 

Staffing 

Reception is taught by Mrs Dhariwal. Mrs Foster teaches in the Reception on Thursday mornings. The class is supported by Mrs Bhatti, Miss Gilbert, Mrs Evans and Miss Sinclair.  

Belongings

Please send your child to Reception each day with a named water bottle, lunch box (if they are having a packed lunch) and a small bag containing a change of clothes, which they can leave on their peg. It would be useful to have a spare pair of named wellington boots which can be left at school. During the colder months, please ensure your child has a warm coat with them every day. 

Please ensure they bring their book bag with their red reading diary and reading book into school everyday.  

Food and drink

Children are provided with a piece of fresh fruit each morning, so there is no need to send in a snack. A carton of milk is also provided in the afternoon. Please let me know of any allergies/ intolerances if you have not done so already.

For those children staying for lunch, you have the option of sending in a lunch box or ordering a school meal.  Please can you tell the children what they will be having! This avoids the unknown and helps them with the whole lunchtime experience.  

Please can you ensure that lunch boxes are nut free and any small items which may cause a choking risk, such as grapes, or cocktail sausages, are cut in half lengthwise. Juice or squash is fine in lunch boxes, but we do ask for water only to be in the bottle the children access throughout the day.

P.E

We have an outdoor learning session on Monday mornings and a PE session on Thursday mornings. On both days, children are asked to come into school wearing their PE Kit  with long hair tied back and earrings removed.

Library 

We will visit the library every Monday.  Please ensure your child had their book in their bag on that day so that they are able to swap it for a new book of choice each week.  

Tapestry

We use Tapestry, which is an online learning journey of your child’s progress. We will record any ‘Wow’ moments in school and ask you to add anything exciting you have been doing at home; whether it is a trip to the park, family day out or other special occasion. We give the children an opportunity to share these updates with their class, which helps to develop communication skills and self-confidence.  

The EYFS curriculum is broken down into the seven areas of learning:

Our topics in the Autumn Term 2 are:

  • Light and Dark
  • Winter Wonderland 
  • Christmas 

The EYFS curriculum is broken down into the seven areas of learning:

Physical Development

  • Thread beads to make ‘sparkler sticks’ or decorations.
  • Winter movement: pretend to be snowflakes, penguins, or reindeer.
  • Practise fastening coats, zips, and gloves.
  •  Go for a winter walk and practise balancing safely.
  • Encourage children to dress independently.
  • Make homemade playdough ‘snowballs’.

Personal Social and Emotional Development

  • Circle time: 'How do you feel when it gets dark?'.
  • Role play: Christmas shop or winter café.
  • Turn-taking and cooperative games during festive play.
  •  Encourage children to help decorate or wrap gifts and talk about sharing.
  •  Look at family celebration photos and discuss happy memories.

Maths

  • Count snowflakes, stars or decorations.
  • Build symmetrical snowflakes with loose parts.
  • Sort light/dark objects and describe size or shape.
  • Develop counting, comparing and pattern making through seasonal contexts.
  •  Count baubles while decorating the tree.
  •  Make repeating patterns with wrapping paper or blocks.
  •  Compare scarf or ribbon lengths.

Literacy 

  • Engage with stories, poems, and songs about light, dark, and winter.
  • Build early reading and writing skills through meaningful contexts.
  • Shared writing: 'What can we see in the dark?'.
  • Engage with stories, poems and songs about light, dark and winter.
  • Write Christmas cards or wish lists.
  • Read favourite Christmas stories nightly.
  • Spot letters and words on Christmas packaging.

We are also sharing the text Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola

The children meet Rocket who is obsessed with space travel and all things space: it’s her dream to be ‘the greatest astronaut, star-catcher and space-traveller ‘ ever. A NASA space-station/ training base is set up, for which the children make signs and captions and then the story ‘Look Up!’ is shared. The children create flyers, infer the characters’ feelings, advise the main character and then write a narrative sequel.

For more detailed coverage please click here

Expressive Art and Design

  • Explore colour, texture, music and imagination through festive and winter themed activities. 
  • Make stained-glass window art with tissue paper and cellophane.
  • Create winter animal collages or snowflakes.
  • Perform winter songs or nativity plays.
  • Make star or snowflake decorations together.
  • Use torches to make shadow puppets on the wall.
  • Dance to Christmas music — move like snowflakes or reindeer.

Understanding the World

  • Explore seasonal changes, light and shadow, and different cultural celebrations.
  •  Shadow play experiments using torches.
  • Melting ice investigations — what helps it melt faster?
  • Explore winter celebrations (Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali).
  • Notice changes in daylight ('It’s dark earlier now!').
  • Freeze small toys in ice and test ways to melt them.
  • Talk about family celebrations and similarities/differences.

Communication and Language

  •  Story time: 'Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?', 'The Christmas Story', 'The Snowman'.
  •  Explore torches and shadows — describe what happens.
  •  Discuss how animals behave in winter (hibernate, migrate).
  •  Retell the Christmas story using puppets and props.
  •  Go for an evening walk and talk about lights seen outside (stars, street lamps).
  •  Read bedtime stories with a torch under the covers.
  •  Sing festive rhymes such as 'Twinkle Twinkle' and 'Jingle Bells'.

White Rose curriculum in Maths and the Reception topic overview can be found on the Maths Curriculum page.

For a more detailed curriculum coverage for the year please click here_________________________________________________

Contact information

For general things e.g. lost jumper, wearing trainers because shoes are too small etc. please contact the class teacher using the messaging function on Tapestry.  

For more significant concerns or worries, please email secretary@nshprimary.co.uk

with FAO Mrs Dhariwal in the subject.

Any changes to school pick up should go through the school office.

EYFS Topic Map and Progression of skills 2025

Maths Pathways to learning:

Literacy Pathways to learning:

General links: 

 

  • Letters and Sounds Phase 3 phonic games to help children learn to read, write and spell.

  • Oxford Owl Packed with free eBooks and activities to help you support your child's reading and maths at home.