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Welcome to Reception

At Pennine Way Primary School we have classrooms that have been specifically designed and resourced for reception age children. This is supplemented with a large outdoor space which is exclusive to our reception classes. These spaces provide a safe, exciting, and stimulating environment that the children can explore, play and learn in.

Our staff in reception are enthusiastic, well trained, and firmly believe in the importance of early education. Each class has at a minimum 1 fully qualified teacher and 1 dedicated teaching assistant. In addition to this a Higher Level Teaching Assistant is available to support the classes as required.

Each child is assigned a Key Worker, who will support the children’s development and help them take the next step forward, with the class teacher taking overall responsibility.

Our Reception curriculum adheres to The Early Years Framework and is based on Development Matters (which sets out pathways for child development) and skills we have identified as a school, that we believe are important for the children in our community to develop.

These are categorised into 7 Areas of Development:

• Communication and Language,

• Personal, Social and Emotional,

• Physical Development,

• Literacy,

• Mathematics,

• Understanding the World,

• Expressive Arts and Design.

Our curriculum is ambitious but flexible. Each half term we cover specific themes, but we also follow children’s interests as this enhances and drives learning; it can also lead us on amazing journeys and exciting adventures.

Our themes in Reception are:

• Autumn 1 – My World

• Autumn 2 – Celebrations and Festivals

• Spring 1 – Wild Animals

• Spring 2 – Food from Around the World

• Summer 1 – Aspirations and Jobs

• Summer 2 – Traditional Tales

Within Reception lots of the children’s learning and development happens within play. Our staff engage the children with high quality interactions that draw out learning and move children on to the next step of their development.

We do have more formal teaching sessions in Phonics, Maths and Literacy which are taught daily. Other more formal teaching sessions take place weekly and include:

• P.E.,

• Creative Skills,

• Understanding the World sessions based on our theme for the half term,

• 1 Decision and circle times focusing on Personal, Social and Emotional Development,

• Music,

• R.E.

Within class we have lots of story times, as exposure to stories stretches children’s vocabularies, expands their horizons, increases their imagination, and extends their ability to learn. We also spend lots of time singing nursery rhymes.

We believe that what children experience in reception creates strong long lasting impressions, which the children take with them into the rest of their school lives. It is our aim to make these experiences the best they can possibly be!

If you would like to find out more about reception within Pennine Way Primary School, then please contact the school office. We would be delighted to show you around the school.

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