RECEPTION
Welcome to Kenya Class and India Class!
Reception
Our Learning
Welcome to Reception! Our two Reception classes, India and Kenya classes are taught by a highly enthusiastic team of teachers and Learning Support Assistants providing quality education for children in Greenwich and offerng a wonderful start to 'big school'!
In Reception, we cover a broad curriculum based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. This sets the standards for the learning, development and care of each child. It has been organised into three prime areas of learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
And four specific areas of learning:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Designs
In Reception, play is a crucial part of children’s development and most learning will be introduced through a mixture of carefully planned play and some adult-led inputs and focussed activities. There will also be a range of opportunities for children to follow their own particular interests and select activities that appeal to them.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
When children start Reception they are introduced to the school and class routines. They are encouraged to collaborate in setting the class rules and following them to ensure creating a safe and calm environment for effective teaching and learning. Children will also be supported to build positive relationships and friendships where they learn to look after their class, share resources and take turns. Equally important, children learn to recognise their feelings and learn the words to label them. And as they continue to develop self-regulation, they start to be more considerate of others’ feelings. With children being encouraged to make choices for themselves, they develop their independence skills and grow into more confident learners!
Physical Development
Children in Reception have access to two large classrooms in addition to the outside area of Reception and Nursery. They are offered a wide range of activities in the provision to help them develop their fine motor skills and pencil holding skills. They are also encouraged to stay active and to take risks developing their gross motor skills. They also enjoy one PE lesson every week where the teacher focusses on specific skills and vocabulary to help children practise and master them.
Communication and Language
In Reception children are immersed in a language-rich environment where they learn to listen attentively and respond appropriately, develop understanding and express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. Adults play a key role in modelling good listening skills and always extending children’s vocabulary by introducing more advanced words appropriately and gradually. Because reading is integral to our teaching and learning, children are exposed to a wide range of fiction and nonfiction texts where they develop familiarity with a range of vocabulary that is not used in the daily spoken language. Alongside the different educational activities provided in our indoor and outdoor provisions, adults engage with children to support them develop the relevant language to use in their play.
Literacy
Here at Millennium we offer children a breadth of exciting opportunities to ignite their interest, enjoyment and engagement in language. Beautifully illustrated children books displayed in our cosy reading corners attract children and immerse them in a world of imagination and wonder! They naturally start retelling books they have shared with adults and make connections with their lives and prior knowledge. In our daily phonics sessions children are directly taught the different sets of sounds and letters they need to start their fascinating journey of reading and writing. As they develop secure phonic knowledge, plenty of opportunities are provided for children to blend sounds into words and to record sounds. With increasing confidence and adult support, children begin reading phonics books where they apply the different skills they have mastered as well as writing short sentences using phonics and their handwriting skills.
Maths
Children in Reception are introduced to numbers and counting, and they start using basic mathematical language. In addition to direct teaching of fundamental concepts in class, fun activities and games are provided to encourage children to use learnt skills in solving real life problems. Children learn to count accurate beyond 10 and become aware of number patterns. They develop mental maths skills by practising how to subitise and recall number bonds up to 10. They explore 2D and 3D shapes, use appropriate language to describe them , and learn how they are used for specific purposes. They also engage in hands-on activities to investigate capacities and compare weights.
Understanding the World
As children embark on their journey of learning about everything in Reception, they are fascinated by learning about themselves, their families and their friends. Through books, photos and discussions, children deepen their understanding of their individuality and what makes people similar as well as different. This leads to them comprehending events that happened in the past and learning about significant figures and the impact on our present life. Inspired to be outdoors explorers, children start to take notice of everything around them in the natural world and in the built environment.
Expressive Art and Design
To spark children’s imagination and creative skills, children in Reception have access to a wide selection of media and materials to experiment with, modify and manipulate. Children explore sounds, patterns, movement and different tools and techniques. Our role play, construction, music and small world areas help broaden children’s explorations as they immerse themselves in pretend play. They build on their real life experiences to explore what is beyond!
Our Early Years curriculum overview
Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage