Reception

Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Teacher: Mrs. Alexandru

Trainee Teacher: Ms Begue
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Gorrie

Teaching Assistant: Miss Nicolaou

Early Years at Millbrook

Our mission, within the Early Years, is to create a happy and caring environment that enables children to succeed as unique individuals, to their highest potential. We provide a safe and secure surrounding, where the children are stimulated and inspired to develop their love of learning. We have high expectations and aspirations for all our children, with a genuine commitment to ensure that our children get the best possible start to their learning journey.

During their time in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)  your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge, and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development as set out in the Statuary Framework for EYFS 2014.  Children develop the 3 prime areas first.

These are:

• Communication and language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

These prime areas are most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As your child grows, the prime areas will help him/her to develop skills in 4 specific areas.

These are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside and the 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities
 

Development Matters

Development Matters is used for daily observation, assessment, and planning and is used to make best-fit summative judgments about your child’s development. These judgements are shared with parents throughout the year.  

The EYFS Profile

The EYFS requires that all children are assessed in the summer term of their Reception year.  This assessment is called the EYFS Profile.  The profile contains 17 Early Learning Goals (ELG).  Each of 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas are divided into sections and at the end of each section, there is an ELG.

Reception Activities

The emphasis in the EYFS is learning through play so each day is carefully planned to provide activities both inside and outside which motivate, stimulate and challenge the children in a fun and practical way.  The 7 areas of learning are planned for through themed weeks; the themes have been carefully chosen in order to build a firm foundation for your child’s future learning.

We will share a curriculum leaflet with you at the beginning of each half term to outline the topics and themes. Along with learning though play, we have carpet sessions planned to support all children to achieve their Early Learning Goals by the end of Reception. All children take part in Writing, Maths, Reading and Topic focused activities when they get support in a small group or one-to-one. 

Clothing/belongings

Please make sure that your child’s belongings are clearly marked so that they can be easily recognised. 

Snack time/Water bottles

The snack table is available to children throughout the day. They can enjoy fresh fruit, water, and milk.   Children are encouraged to have a drink from their own water bottle – please ensure that these are sent in daily. 

Home Learning

Children will be given activities to complete at home every Friday. These should be returned to school by the following Wednesday at the latest. The children are also given a reading book each week, this should be kept in their school bags so that teachers can change the books as required.

Phonics

At Millbrook, we use Monster Phonics. It aims to build children’s speaking and listening skills in their own right as well as to prepare children for learning to read, by developing their phonic knowledge and skills.

Reading Books

When your child is ready he/she will be given a reading book, please look at these at home with your child. We expect parents/carers to contribute to their child’s reading record, working in partnership with us. A short comment will suffice eg… for example ‘Sam read up to page 5 with a little help to sound out the words’. Parents can also access our Monster Phonics eBooks.  

Physical Development

Physical development is part of our daily routine, however, we do have an allocated time slot in which the children participate in an additional physical educational activity. This will usually be on a Tuesday but sometimes the day changes or extra sessions are planned for. Children may be required to remove shoes and socks for some activities and PE kit will be required in the summer term. If your child wears earrings they need to be able to remove them or cover them with tape.

Interactive Learning Diary Online Learning Journals:

Your child’s Learning Journal celebrates his or her experiences. Over time it will tell a story about your child – his or her learning, friends, and the experiences he or she enjoys sharing with others. We watch and notice each child at play because it helps us to understand and support their individual well-being and development. We really get to know the children as unique people with special skills, interests, and ideas. The more we understand about your child, the better we can support them in the way that is right for them.   You are welcome to add photographs and notes about the things your child does at home, when you tell us about your child a clearer picture unfolds, and together we can plan more effectively to help your child’s learning and development. Each child’s journal has a unique ID for parents/carers to login.  T

Rewards:

House points are awarded for positive behaviour and good work. The EYFS also uses a more visual reward system called How to catch a star. Children are asked to move their pictures from the hands to the stars to celebrate great learning. At the end of the day, they get a star sticker. 

For further information please contact:

Mrs. Alexandru

01992 622975