Welcome to Early Years!

‘You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus’.

~ Galatians 3:27 ~

'Play is the highest form of research.'

~ Albert Einstein ~

Hello, my name is Mrs Holden and I am delighted to be teaching in Reception Class. Other members of staff within the setting include Mrs Brown (EYFS Teaching Assistant) and Mrs Ramsbottom (EYFS Teaching Assistant). All of our staff have extensive Early Years experience, having worked in Reception Classes for many years.

The Reception year is a very exciting time of change for both parents and our children. During this year, we will all work as a team to ensure that your child flourishes through a fun, stimulating and active environment. The experiences we provide will be designed to ensure that every child reaches their full potential in all aspects of the curriculum. We will be encouraging your child to become an independent learner and take risks as they embark upon new challenges. We pride ourselves in offering a nurturing, language rich learning environment that teaches the essential skills necessary to build positive relationships and prepare them for later life as Global Citizens of the future.

We hope your child enjoys the start of their learning journey here at St Cuthberts and our Early Years fun 'play-based' approach towards learning. We are very much looking forward to working alongside parents and carers in order to offer the very best educational experiences.

Key Information

P.E.

Our P.E. session with Mr. Ellison will be on  Thursday and Friday. Children should come to school in their PE t-shirt and shorts with their school jumper or the school P.E. zip up top. Plain black or grey un-branded joggers can be worn over the shorts in colder weather if desired. Children can come to school in trainers or school shoes. Named pumps should be sent into school in named P.E. bags, to be kept in the cloakroom for times when it is necessary to hold P.E. inside.

Outdoor Explorers!

Our Forest School session will take place on Tuesday in the morning for Early Years children this half term. Miss Mears is our Forest School Teacher. Please see Class Dojo for notification of groupings for those sessions.

Clothing for outdoor learning should be comfortable, suitable for the temperature and a condition that you don't mind your child getting very messy in! Puddle-suits/all-in-ones over the top of old clothes are ideal (but not essential). Wellies are a must! Please send a pair of shoes and some spare bottoms in a named bag so your child is able to change if required. These are particularly useful if they have not worn an all-in-one/puddle-suit and their clothing has become soiled.

Uniform 

Just a reminder, at the start of the school year please ensure that all items of uniform are labelled with your child's name. This will help us to retrieve any misplaced items should they go missing.  Children do, at times, need to take their jumpers off in class, and clothing can quickly become lost or mixed up if it isn't labelled.

Please also try to encourage your child to practise putting coats and jumpers/cardigans on and off independently.

Class Dojo

We will communicate predominantly through Class Dojo and update you regularly with photographs of your child's activities and achievements.  If you haven't already, you will be able to download the app to your digital device then begin to interact with your child's profile and our whole 'class story'.  If you would like to connect an additional person to Dojo, please let me know, however we are unable to connect anybody other than parents/guardians. 

Please note that Dojo messages will only be received during the hours of 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday during term time. Also, priority is given to providing high quality teaching and learning experiences for our children during the school day, so please don't worry if you don't receive an immediate response. However, your correspondence is important to us and we will make contact with you at the earliest convenience.

Learning to Read and Reading for Pleasure

Why read? Sharing books and stories with your child is fun! It is a great way to build special memories and moments with your child, and can easily become a favourite part of the day.

It also helps children:

• Understand the world around them.

• Develop social and emotional skills.

• Build confidence with communication.

• Strengthen their bond with you and other family members.

Children's school reading books will be collected each day. Please sign and date their reading record when you have read together. You are welcome to write feedback, such as their enjoyment, engagement, understanding or any questions/comments they make or you have.

Please ensure you send in books and book bags daily, so we are able to read with your child in school.

If you would like more information on reading at home with your child, please see the fantastic resource below from 'The Book Trust' which contains lots of great information and advice.

If you were unable to attend our phonics introduction evening, please see the informational presentation below or if you need any other guidance or advice, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Reading for Pleasure

This year the Early Years Team would like to promote a love of reading. We have created a new Enchanted Forest Reading Area within our classroom and are also adding similar enhancements to our communal EYFS / Key Stage 1 Library. Once your child has settled into school, we will also be starting our own Library Loan system where every child can choose a storybook to take home and share with family members. Books will be changed on a weekly basis so will need to be returned to school in your child's reading bag. The books will be intended for adults or older siblings to share and could be used as part of a bedtime story routine. Establishing a bedtime routine that includes reading books and telling stories is a wonderful way to promote parent-child bonding while helping develop children's literacy, language, and social-emotional skills. It also promotes a sense of relaxation and prepares your child for sleep.

Our Early Years Curriculum