AUTUMN LEARNING JOURNEY

HERE I AM

This term in Reception, our learning journey is called "Here I Am". We’ll be finding out all about ourselves – what makes us special, what we looked like as babies, and how we’ve grown. We’ll be making self-portraits, talking about important moments in our lives, and thinking about our families – and learning that families can all look different.

We’ll also be looking at the changes we see in autumn, like colourful leaves and cooler weather. We’ll explore special festivals and celebrations such as Diwali, Hanukkah, Halloween, and Harvest Festival, learning how people celebrate in different ways around the world.

It’s a wonderful way to get to know each other and celebrate what makes us all unique!

 

WHAT DOES LEARNING LOOK LIKE IN RECEPTION?

In Reception, children learn best through play, exploration, and hands-on experiences. One of the key ways we support this is through continuous provision.

What is Continuous Provision?
Continuous provision is the carefully planned areas of the classroom and outdoor space that are always available for children to use. These areas allow children to return to activities, build on their ideas, and follow their interests throughout the day.

What Does It Look Like in Reception?
In our learning environments, you’ll see a range of inviting spaces set up to support learning, such as:

• Construction area – for building and problem solving

• Creative area – with paints, crayons, collage and more

• Writing area – with paper, pens and tools to encourage mark-making and early writing

• Book corner – a cosy space to enjoy stories and develop a love of reading

• Role play area – where children can act out real-life experiences

• Maths area – with counting resources, shapes, and puzzles

• Water and sand play – for sensory exploration and learning about materials

• Outdoor area – where physical development, nature exploration, and imaginative play take place

Adults support children in these areas by playing alongside them, asking questions, and gently guiding their learning. Continuous provision helps children grow in confidence, independence, and creativity while covering all areas of the Early Years curriculum in a natural and engaging way.

PPA COVER 2025-2026

Reception class teachers have Planning, Preparation and Assessment time. Miss Burfield and Mrs Souttar will share the teaching of Cherry Class on Wednesday mornings and they will also share the teaching of Apple Class on Wednesday afternoons. This is so that Reception teachers can plan high quality teaching lessons and learning resources for the week ahead. It also gives the teachers a good opportunity to get to know the whole year group, not just their 'own' classes. 

Learning at Home

READING 

Every week your child will read with their teacher.  They will bring home the Sounds Write book they have been reading with their teacher as homework and it would be great if you could listen to your child read this to you at least 3 times a week. 

PHONICS

The children have daily phonic SOUNDS WRITE lessons, as well as lots of  activities around the classroom to help them apply their learning. There are lots of fun ways you can help your child at home with phonics! Here are some ideas:

• Encourage your child to hear the initial sounds in words through games such as ‘I Spy’.
• Can you go on a sound hunt around the house, for example finding lots of objects that start with the sound ‘s’?
• Sounds Write HOMEWORK  comes home once a fortnight. This homework encourages your child to blend and segment sounds to read and write independently.  You can even ‘time’ your child, over the school year, to watch their fluency improve!

WRITING

There are lots of  opportunities for children to practise mark-making and writing in the learning environment. There are lots of  ways you can help your child at home with writing! Here are some ideas:

• Can you make letters out of playdough or draw them in shaving foam or sand?
• Can you help your child to draw/ write birthday cards for friends?
• Can you set up a pretend shop at home, and have fun writing shopping lists and price tags?

MATHS

There are lots of  opportunities for children to learn about maths in the learning environment. There are lots of  ways you can help your child at home with maths! Here are some ideas:

• Practice counting up to 10 objects. e.g. counting steps, jumps, teddies, pairs of socks that come out the wash.
• Help your child to spot and recognise numbers everywhere e.g. on house doors, clocks, car registration plates, buses.
• Play games with dice/dominoes – encourage your child to spot number patterns (e.g. knowing what the number is on a dice without needing to count the dots)
• Can you help your child work out what is one more or one less than a given number? Lots of counting rhymes help with this, such as ‘Five Little Speckled Frogs’.
• Can you go on a shape hunt, spotting 2D and 3D shapes all around you? For example, house windows, books, car wheels.
• Can you bake at home, and enjoy weighing out different amounts of ingredients?