To help ensure your child has a seamless transition into full time education we have prepared a practical list of what your child should bring to school each day.

• Book bag (these can be purchased online)
• Water bottle (water only please)
• P.E kit- containing shorts/ jogging bottoms, t-shirt/polo shirt, jumper, plimsolls/ trainers, socks

These items that may be left at school and replenished or cleaned as required

• Set of spare clothes (to include underwear and socks)
• Sun hat

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL ITEMS ARE CLEARLY LABELLED.

We also ask for a contribution of 50p for snack each week, which can either be paid weekly or half termly.

8:45 am 
Reception children are brought to the school gate and accompanied by their parents to their classroom. The children are supported by their parents to put away their things and settle to an activity. Once the gates are closed, you should report to the front office.

11:45 - 13:00
Lunch

13:00
Afternoon session begins

15:15
Children are collected from their classroom. Please collect reception children before collecting older brothers and sisters.

Each child has a named drawer within their class. Parents/carers should check these and or their children's book bags daily for any letters. There is also a notice board with general information outside the classroom.

We produce a weekly Early Years newsletter detailing what your child will be learning the following week. This also contains any upcoming dates for your diary, homework and news. This is e-mailed to you each week or a paper copy is available if you would prefer.

Children will explore the themes of friendship, religious festivals and stories of the Bible. Each term, the whole school attends a special assembly in the church to celebrate the end of term.

Each day children are able to choose from a range of healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables. We encourage children to serve themselves with food and drink of either milk or water. They may access the snack table whenever they wish during the session. The cost of this is covered by a weekly contribution of 50p.

We regularly provide cookery activities and encourage children to taste different foods. We also have messy trays containing a variety of food products. You will be asked to complete a medical form on admission to alert staff of particular food allergies.

Children in the Foundation stage have an earlier sitting in the dinner hall than the older children. Parents have the option of sending a healthy packed lunch or ordering a school meal.

Children in the Reception class are entitled to free school meals.

A menu for school meals will be sent home detailing the choices available. Each morning, parents will need to indicate which of the choices they would like their child to have on the electronic whiteboard in the classroom. Milk and water are available to drink with their meal.

We encourage packed lunches with a variety of food groups. Please do not provide fizzy drinks or foods containing nuts, as we are a nut free school.

At St Peter and St Paul we recognise families as the first and most important educators of their children. We aim to celebrate and build upon all that your child has learned before joining us at school. We believe that working together with families is the best way to speed the progress of our children.

Please share with staff your child’s particular interests at home and feel free to chat with us about any concerns you might have.

Helping in the foundation stage

We welcome parents’ help. Please see one of the staff if you are able to offer some time to help support the children in their activities during the normal school day or on trips that we may undertake each term.

Reception Books

Your child will be bringing books home for you to share and enjoy together. They will benefit enormously from just 10 minutes a day sitting together talking about the book, looking at the words and pictures and saying what they like or dislike about the story.

All children need a book bag and if you wish to purchase a fabric book bag with the school logo these are available to order on the school website.

Clothing

Due to the very practical nature of the Foundation Stage Curriculum your child will be taking part in a variety of creative activities involving paint, glue, water and other messy materials. Whilst we always try to ensure that children wear aprons for messy play, accidents do happen!

Please make sure your child keeps a spare pair of underwear, socks, trousers/skirt and top at school. These can be brought in at the beginning of the year and left at the school in case of accidents. (These do not need to be uniform).

School uniform is available to order on our website.

Outdoor Learning Area

Our outdoor area is an extension of the classroom and we are very fortunate to have this excellent learning resource. We use this space for developing all areas of learning, as well as the obvious physical ones.

In the winter, children will need to bring wellington boots and a warm coat- as we go outside whatever the weather!

We have all in one waterproof suits to encourage the children to make full use of the outdoors. A hat and sunscreen is also needed if the weather is warm.

What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old.

It provides children with the secure foundations they need for their future learning. It builds on the learning that children will have already gained from their families.

At St Peter and St Paul’s we aim to ensure that our children benefit from learning experiences of the highest quality. We believe that play is young children’s work and the key to their learning. As our children feel safe, secure, valued and supported in their play by adults who care about them, we hope that they will go on to become independent and enthusiastic learners.

There are 7 areas of learning covered by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum.

These are divided into three prime areas and four specific areas.

The prime areas are:

• Communication  and Language
• Physical development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The specific areas are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Communication and Language

Children will be given lots of opportunities to develop speaking and listening skills, one to one, in small groups and as a class.

In a range of situations such as circle time and storytelling, children learn to listen attentively and respond with relevant comments. We also encourage our children to be inquisitive and ask and answer questions in response to stories we share.

They will show understanding of instructions and learn to express themselves clearly and effectively when speaking one to one or in a group.

Physical Development

This area of learning helps improve children’s skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement.

In the classroom, it can be seen through activities to develop hand-eye coordination, such as mark-making, playing with puzzles, threading, sewing, and playing with clay and play dough.

Our children have free access to the outdoor area where there are opportunities for climbing, scrambling, balancing and riding wheeled toys.

Children are encouraged to recognise the importance of exercise and a healthy diet and how to keep healthy and safe. They manage their own personal hygiene, and dress and toilet independently.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children will be helped to develop a positive attitude and sense of well-being. They will be able to make friendships with others, learn to be self-confident and to tell the difference between right and wrong.

We encourage the children to be as independent as possible in selecting activities and taking care of resources and equipment. We aim to foster respect and understanding amongst the children by making class rules, circle time and opportunities for paired and group work.

Literacy

Children will learn to speak, listen and communicate. They will be encouraged to share books and to begin to become readers, writers and storytellers in their own right.

They will be given opportunities to hear and re-tell stories, using big books, puppets, storyboards and story sacks. All children’s early attempts at mark-making are valued and take place with a variety of resources, both indoors and outdoors.

Phonics

Children will have daily phonics sessions and will learn to read and write through a variety of activities promoting these skills. We follow the Letters and Sounds programme.

Reception children are encouraged to take their books home every night to practise reading and to share stories with their families.

Mathematics

Children will begin to become comfortable with numbers for counting, to recognise numerals and to begin to add and subtract in practical ways. They will use mathematical language to compare size, shapes and quantities. They will discover ways of solving practical problems and recognising patterns and connections.

Children will learn through lots of games and practical activities using maths apparatus. Also, through activities such as cooking, playing in the sand, water and with construction.

Understanding the World

Children are encouraged to explore and find out about the world around them. They will build with different materials and learn about everyday technology. They will find out about past events in their lives and in their families’ lives. They will learn to understand their own culture and to understand and respect the cultures and beliefs of others.

Inside and outside the classroom, children are given lots of opportunities to experience, explore and investigate objects in a scientific way.

We aim to make the most of all the opportunities available in our outdoor area, so that our children can experience different types of weather and environments for themselves.

Expressive Arts and Design

We believe that creativity is fundamental to successful learning. This area of the curriculum includes art, music, dance, role-play and imaginative play.

Children will be encouraged to express their individual ideas through a wide range of activities, such as painting, collage, construction, singing and playing musical instruments, role-play and imaginative play.

Assessment

Whilst in reception your child will have an electronic Learning Journey, in which we record progress and achievement over the whole of the Foundation Stage.

We welcome parents’ contributions to these as we recognise that lots of important moments happen at home.

You will be invited in for parents’ evenings in both the Autumn and Spring terms to share your child’s learning journey and discuss their progress.

We look forward to welcoming your child into reception at St Peter and St Paul’s and we hope that their first learning experiences at school will be happy, productive and above all FUN!