4.10.23 Your Child’s Learning Journey
Mrs Summers
Mrs Perrins
Headteacher + Safeguarding
Assistant Headteacher + SENDCo + Safeguarding
Daily school routine We open our doors at 8:45am and anyone arriving after 9am will be marked as late. We have been settling children into new classroom routines but now we would like you to start saying goodbye to your child outside as it can get very congested by the pegs. Free fruit and milk is provided during the morning and children self-serve at snack time. Free milk is for Nursery and Reception children; however, we often share with our Year 1 friends. Lunchtime is at 11.50am - all Reception children are entitled to a free school meal (subject to the completion of the universal school meal form) or you may prefer your child to bring a packed lunch. End of the school day is 3:00pm in Tadpoles and 3:05pm in Frogs, unless your child is on half days in Nursery and then they leave at 11:45am. If you wait in the fenced area, we will send your children out to you.
What does your child need to bring to school? Your child will have a named peg in the classroom for all their belongings and will need to bring the following to school with them: • book bag • water bottle (with a sports style cap) • coat • lunchbox (if bringing a packed lunch from home) • on PE days the children are asked to come to school wearing their kit – branded or plain white t-shirt, blue sports shorts or tracksuit bottoms, their school jumper and black pumps or trainers. Dates will be given on Class Dojo but are currently Tuesday for Reception and Year 1 • Come dressed in outdoor learning clothes (long-sleeved top, trousers, a fleece in school uniform colours and not bright patterns please) and bring wellies/wetsuit in a bag to change in to. Currently this is for Nursery and Reception on Wednesdays. Year 1 may receive a Monday invite as part of our ‘Forest Friends’ reward system. Please label everything with your child’s name including water bottles, jumpers, wellies. Please do not bring toys or jewellery from home, they can easily be lost in a busy classroom and cause distractions.
Moving from Nursery to Reception What is the same? The curriculum is the same. In Nursery the focus is on the prime areas of learning which support development in all other areas, and this continues throughout Reception. There are 3 Prime Areas of Learning: • Personal, social and emotional development • Physical development • Communication and language In Reception, your child will be in the final year of the Early Years Foundation Stage and learning through play is still an important element which continues the journey from home and Nursery.
Moving from Nursery to Reception What is different? In Reception there is a little more structure to the day as the curriculum focus moves to the specific areas of learning. There are 4 Specific Areas of Learning: • Literacy • Mathematics • Understanding the world • Expressive arts and design
Lessons are planned using the following documents and the children’s interests.
Nursery
Reception
Year 1
With the support of staff Mrs Summers has created Pip’s Passport!
Your children will access wonderful opportunities and make memories for life during their time with us at Grange!
Assessment
During the first half term of school we will be taking time to get to know your child and carry out baseline assessments. We also look at information from previous settings and parents and we then use this information to consider the next steps for learning for your child. Year 1 teaching has been designed to build upon their exit point from last year. Any children who did not meet their Early Learning Goals are entitled to continue to work on these up to Christmas. Please see RBA information on Class Dojo. These assessments have now been completed for Reception aged children.
Each term you will be invited to a parent’s evening and you will receive a copy of your child’s report. At the end of the year you will receive a copy of your child’s Foundation Stage Profile Report. This will inform you whether your child is either emerging towards the expected level or at the expected level for each of the areas of learning. (Reception) All of the EYFS team work together to build a picture of what children can do and what they need support with. You can help too by sending us photos and updates on your child’s portfolio on Class Dojo. We love to hear about their interests.
Encouraging Positive Behaviour Good behaviour is essential for effective learning and teaching to take place. All children and staff have the right to work in an environment that is safe, friendly, peaceful and fair. Throughout the school we praise and reward good behaviour, success, effort and achievement rather than focusing on negative behaviour or failure. We constantly promote our Granger Values and children are praised for being a true Granger by demonstrating these values: ‘Try your best’, ‘Be kind’, ‘Be honest’, ‘Be curious’ and ‘Respect each other’. As parents and carers it is essential for you to work in partnership with the school to help and support your child to behave well. You should have signed our home school agreement at Parents Evening. Please see me for more information.
ClassDojo ClassDojo is an online reward system where children are awarded Dojos to acknowledge positive behaviour in school. Parents can login (using the parent code sent home) to see this feedback at anytime using any iOS device, Android device or Kindle Fire using the simple, free mobile app or it can also be used from a computer at www.classdojo.com. We also use ClassDojo as a way of communicating between school and home. We will be posting announcements and updates on the Class Story and we can also send direct messages.
Identifying + Expressing Feelings Have you read the Colour Monster yet? We use our feelings monsters regularly throughout our school life to learn to recognise and name our own feelings as well as recognising these feelings in others. This is the start to self-regulation and to show compassion and empathy for others.
Homework You can support your child to make the best possible progress by getting into a ‘homework routine’. This works best with young children when done for a few minutes each day rather than a long learning session one day at the weekend. We will encourage you to: • Read regularly – allow your child to read their sound cards or RWI book to you. Or you can read their Library book to them. They will have read their sound cards or RWI book several times in school so let them show you what they can do! In the early reading stages this will be the form of letter cards and words and progress to books! Please record all of your reading in your child’s reading record book and aim for a minimum of 4 reads per week. • Read to your child – show them how fun reading is by sharing books that they can’t read themselves…yet! This is why we visit the Library and take home a ‘choice book’. • Check Class Dojo for ideas on how to support your children with our Topics. • Log-in to Spelling Shed (Reception and Year 1) and play spelling-based games. • Year 1 are expected to complete reading and spellings and may get other homework so please check your child’s blue file and hand this in each Thursday. Thank you for working with us to provide your children with the best possible start to their Learning Journey at Grange Primary!
Supporting children with their learning at home Communication and language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Talk all the time about everything!
Use playdough
Demonstrate sharing and taking turns
Demonstrate good listening
Use simple tools such as cutlery, scissors, paintbrushes and pencils
Talk about how you are feeling
Following instructions
Become independent with dressing and toileting
Talk about how certain behaviours can have an impact on others
Sing songs and nursery rhymes
Ride a bike, visit the park to play on the equipment, climb a tree
Try new things
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Pretend to ‘read’ children’s attempts at writing or ask them what it says
Count / subitise everything!
Talk about past events using photographs
Explore making marks with different tools such as pencils, pens, crayons, chalk, paintbrushes, sticks
Encourage correct letter formation
Talk about numbers you see when you are out and about.
Be sensitive to other cultures, religions and communities
Build using a variety of materials - big and small
Share familiar stories over and over again
Talk about shapes
Make observations of natural things and changes
Use stories to develop imagination and pretend play
Read at least four times a week
Compare objects using everyday language
Use different technology around the home
Sing songs, make music and dance
Literacy
COULD YOU BE ENTITLED TO BENEFITS RELATED FREE SCHOOL MEALS? • For every child who is entitled to benefits related Free School Meals not only will it mean your child will receive a free school meal, but we may be able to help in other areas such as with the funding of uniform, some school trips, residential visits and afterschool clubs etc. You will also receive a supermarket voucher to help over the school holidays and will be able to access the FREE HAF holiday clubs available across the County. • Further information can be found online at: Shropshire Council Free School Meals • If you need any help in applying please contact the school office or click the link: https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/educa tion-and-learning/free-school-meals/
Meet Fred We stream across school and we work to develop the children’s reading and spelling skills through the deployment of our RWI (Read, Write, Inc) scheme. Children are assessed each half term in order to ensure they make good progress and get additional support where needed. We use Read Write Inc. Phonics to teach Reading and Writing in daily adult led sessions. These start at 9:05am so it is vital children are in school on time.
We would also love to have you in school more and so we will be offering Drop In sessions every Monday at 2.45pm. Please come and join us for Family Fun Mondays at the Grange!
Family Fun Mondays!
Phonics Screening Check in Year 1 Real and Nonsense words
• Hand out RWI Parent Information Booklets and model the RWI approach.
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What are pure sounds?
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What are Special Friends? (digraphs and trigraphs)
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What is oral blending? (Fred Talk)
• What is blending to read? (special friends, Fred talk, read the word)