EYFS

Meet our wonderful EYFS Team

Reception Teachers

Miss Keegan

Reception Teacher (currently on maternity leave)

Mental Health First Aider/Google Certified Educator Level 1

Miss Abbotts

Reception Teacher

Mrs Holden

Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Welfare Support

Mrs Daly

Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Welfare Support

Homework

Please listen to your child read their reading book and book they know each week. Please download the White Rose 1 Minute Maths app and encourage your child to use this. Here is the link for it https://whiterosemaths.com/resources/1-minute-maths

Reading

Reading books: Your child will bring one decodable book home every Thursday. This will be the book they have worked on in their Reading Practice Sessions at school that week. These need to be returned on Mondays ready for the sessions in school that week.

Books We Know: Your child will bring home a book they know each week. They will have read these books at school so sit back and enjoy them telling you a story. It will be their responsibility to look after it and they must remember to bring it to school each Friday in order to exchange it for a new book.

PE

We have PE every Tuesday. Please ensure children have PE kits in school and any earrings are removed or plasters need to be provided for the children to cover them with.

Uniform

All children should wear full uniform including their ALWAYS badges.

We do allow pupils to wear all black trainers - no coloured swooshes/stripes etc. with all black soles.

Black shoes are also still acceptable and preferred for school.

Reception calendar of events:

Reception calendar of events list

Toothbrushing at St Aidan's

Tooth Brushing doc

The ShREC approach to communication and language (conversations)-

Sh- Share attention

Be at the child’s level. Pay attention to what they are focused on.

R- Respond

Follow the child’s lead. Respond to their non-verbal and verbal communication. You could make a brief comment on what they can see, hear or feel.

E- Expand

Repeat what the child says and build on it by adding more words to turn it into a sentence.

C- Conversation

Have extended back and forth interactions. Give children time to listen, process and reply.

Please use this when having conversations with your child. Any questions please do not hesitate to ask. Miss Keegan.

Welcome Meeting:

Welcome meeting slideshow

Video Tour:

What to expect in EYFS

5.95 MB

Starting Reception is a big step! This helpful guide outlines key skills your child will be developing as they get ready for school. Please take a few moments to read it through for tips and ideas on how you can support them at home.

Starting Reception Guide

This half term our theme is Marvellous Me!

We have had a great morning in Reception.

We have had a busy afternoon in Reception.

Global week of prayer- we visited Church today to take part in some prayer activities.

Doing The Fancy Dance.

Being busy bees in Reception.

Creating self-portraits.

Fun in our outdoor area this morning.

A great day in Reception.

Enjoying lunch time at school.

We loved our first PE session.

Working hard on our phonics.

Adrianna had a great time with Ariah. Who will be our VIP award winner this week?

Well done to our SHINE dine table this week.

Boy band in the making.

Well done to our award winners from last week - 4.9.25

Well done to our award winners this week - 11.9.25

Working hard on initial sounds in phonics.

We have lots of busy bees and learning superheroes in class today.

Enjoying dough disco and pen party.

Adrianna had a great weekend with Willow. Who will be taking home Aidan or Adrianna this week?

Well done to our PE stars this week.

We had our first supervised tooth brushing session today.

Well done to our award winners this week -18.9.25

We have been sorting in maths today.

Sebastian is our reader of the week.

Adrianna’s stay at our house was all about Natalia’s Birthday! We went shopping together (remembering about the seatbelts in the car), and we went to the photographer for a professional photo shoot! Adrianna had even a go in front of the camera!

On Sunday we had a little party and we shared a cake together!

Who will be taking Aidan or Adrianna home this week?…

A Weekend of Celebrations: Adrianna Joins Natalia's Birthday Fun!

We have started to learn about all of the countries our families are from today. We will use this to learn a new way to say hello each week.

Well done to our Reception PE stars this week - 24.9.25

We recalled the story of creation and discussed how God created us all. We then spoke about what makes us all special.

Well done to our award winners this week - 25.9.25

We have some busy bees and learning superheroes in class today.

Paisley is our reader of the week.

We are working comparing amounts in class this week.

Well done to our PE stars this week -30.9.25

Fun in our new messy kitchen

Busy bees in Reception this week!

Well done to our award winners this week - 2.10.25

We have been recalling our knowledge of CREATION in the painting area this week.

Pen party on creation!

Enjoying our attendance race mystery prize - chocolate and Stick Man.

Having fun making potions.

Funny Bones is our story of the week.

We had our eyes tested in Reception today. Please check your child’s book bag for a letter regarding this.

Learning about The Lord’s Prayer in preparation for our special visitor on Friday.

Well done to our award winners this week - 9.10.25

More fab skeletons.

Comparing mass in maths. Our key vocabulary is heavier and lighter.

Enjoying pen party outdoors today.

We started our work on patterns in maths today.

Well done to one of our PE stars this week - 14.10.25

William is our reader of the week.

Well done to our award winners this week - 16.10.25

Our story of the week is Owl Babies.

Reception had fun outside today.

“Boritsefe was honoured to have Aidan for the weekend. They both had an amazing time together. They had thier reading time together, were Boritsefe was able to read his book to Aidan, all by himself! They had meal time, play time together and even enjoyed having to cuddle Aidan to sleep. It was alot of fun....thanks Aidan for sharing the weekend with Boritsefe and our family.”

Who will be taking Aidan or Adrianna home this week?

Boritsefe and Aidan's wonderful weekend!

Well done to our PE stars this week - 21.10.25

Hugo is our reader of the week -21.10.25

Balancing fun in PE today!

Well done to our award winners this week - 23.10.25

Your child will come home with the sounds we have learnt this half term. Please work on these with your child at home. Thanks.

This half term our theme is Let's Celebrate!

Making firework paintings

Threading repeated patterns

Working on our segmenting in Reception.

Well done to our PE stars this week - 4.11.25

We have been learning about Bonfire Night this morning. We loved tasting Parkin.

We had lots of fun on our autumn walk!

Rhyme Time was lots of fun today. Thank you to the parents who came. Remember it is on every Wednesday at 2:50!

Well done to our award winners this week - 6.11.25

Recalling our learning using our scrap books.

Aidan had a great weekend with David. Who will be taking Aidan or Adrianna home this week?

Boritsefe is our reader of the week.

Super shape pictures!

We are painting autumn scenes this week.

Interfaith week - Day 1: Judaism

Well done to our PE stars this week -11.11.25

Our story of the week is Handa's Surprise! We can't wait to try some of the fruits from the story at snack time tomorrow.

Interfaith week- Day 2: Islam.

Islam- making Mosques and Ramadan lanterns.

We enjoyed mango, pineapple and avocado for snack today.

Making cakes for Adrianna's birthday. We discussed irreversible change.

Interfaith week- Sikhism. We read the story of Guru Nanak and the Missing Money and discussed helping others and friendship. We then made friendship bracelets.

Thank you so much to all the parents that came to our Christmas Craft Afternoon! Hope you enjoyed creating with your children.

Decorating our cakes for Adrianna's birthday party tomorrow.

Interfaith week- Day 4: Buddhism. We read the story of The Monkey King and discussed peace and mindfulness. We made Lotus flowers because they are a symbol of purity, spiritual awakening, and enlightenment.

Buddhism- guided meditation.

Well done to our award winners this week - 13.11.25

Colouring Pudsey.

Fun at Adrianna’s birthday party!

Hayyatulah had a great weekend with Aidan. Who will be taking Aidan or Adrianna home this week?

David is our reader of the week.

Working on our pencil control in reception.

Well done to our PE star this week - 18.11.25

We are working on shape in maths this week.

We have been on a shape hunt around school to find some circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares.

Working on our positional language.

Well done to our award winners this week - 20.11.25

Story time with Miss Abbotts today.

Ariana is Reception's reader of the week!

Well done to our PE stars this week - 25.11.25

Hanna had a very festive weekend with Adrianna. Who will be taking Aidan or Adrianna home this week?

Dancing outside to keep us warm!

We received a certificate from the Dentist today.

Well done to our award winners this week - 27.11.25

Maths - Working on subitising and matching representations of 1 to 5.

Some Christmas Elves have visited Reception this evening.

We all got a new toothbrush and toothpaste from the dentist yesterday.

We use this song to help us with brushing our teeth at school ...why not try it at home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X4Udn7lbuY&list=RD3X4Udn7lbuY&start_radio=1

Reception are ready for the pantomime!

Ariah is Reception's reader of the week.

Well done to our PE stars this week - 2.12.25

Christmas Prayer Day.

Cheeky Eric the Elf has made a mess of our Christmas tree.

Working on the composition of 5!

Sequencing and recalling The Nativity Story in the small world area.

Working hard in Reception with our busy bee jobs

Busy wrapping presents to go under our Christmas tree! (Working on our fine motor skills)

Well done to our PE stars this week - 9.12.25

Reception put on a fantastic performance of our Prickly Hay Nativity! We are all so proud and thank you to any parents that joined us today.

We had a special delivery today! The elf had gone on a visit to see Santa and was delivered to school in a parcel. The elf reminded us that we need to send our Christmas wish list off very soon.

Willow is our reader of the week!

In maths we are learning about shapes in the environment!

Reception being fantastic busy bees!

We had a very special visitor that came with the elf today! It’s Greg the sausage roll! Reading their favourite Christmas book together.

Thank you so much to all the parents that came to our Christmas Craft Afternoon! Hope you enjoyed creating with your children.

Reception enjoying their Christmas party! We played musical statues and musical bumps.

We had a very special visitor at school today. Father Christmas! Eric the elf has told him how well Reception have been shining :) Father Christmas told Reception that they are all on the nice list! And he’ll be delivering presents very soon.

Impressive Christmas artwork in Reception, Snowflakes and Christmas trees!

This half term our theme is Brilliant Bears.

Well done to one of our PE Stars this week! - 6.1.26

Exploring and being fantastic busy bees in provision today.

Super work in Maths! Understanding Zero (0) and Not Zero

Well done to our star of the week

We have had a special visitor in Reception! We had an email from Daddy bear asking if his family could come and stay in our cottage. Baby bear was feeling sad so we sang ‘Teddy bear, Teddy bear’ to cheer him up.

Thank you to the parents that came to rhyme this week! Rhyme time will be on again on Wednesday 14th January at 2:50pm.

In Maths we have been working super hard learning about different representations of number and subitising 0-5!

In RE, we are learning stories Jesus heard, like Queen Esther’s. We made crowns to remember the importance of telling the truth!

In PSHE, we are learning how to keep ourselves safe, washing our hands, understanding what we need and where it goes on our body.

Reception have been busy outside!

Practising writing our names in pen party today.

Working hard together as a team, making a very long train track in provision!

Well done to our PE stars this week! - 13.1.26

Reception being fantastic busy bees this week.

Putting on a brilliant performance outside today!

Well done to Reception's award winner!

Joud was Reception's reader of the week last week. Such a Superstar!

Well done to our PE stars this week - 27.1.26

Well done Natalia our reader of the week!

In Maths we have been learning about Capacity (full, nearly full, how many cupfuls) and understanding numbers 6,7 and 8.

Well done to our fantastic stars of the week! - 29.1.26

In RE we had a special gift from clever cub who wanted to share an important story that Jesus had told! - The Good Samaritan. Reception understood how important it is to help when someone needs it.

Reception warming their fingers up in dough disco ready for pen party! In pen party we have been recapping our letter formations and names.

In Maths we have been learning about Pairs and Doubles! The children have worked really hard this week to understand these concepts, superstars!

Well done to our PE stars this week! - 3.2.26

In RE we have been learning about Stories Jesus Told, the story we have been focusing on is ‘The Lost Sheep’. The children had to find the lost sheep that were outside and inside. They learnt that God is like a loving Shepard who never gives up on anyone!

Getting busy outside in provision.

Well done to Rohaan our reader of the week!

Reception have been exploring Chinese New Year! They learned about family traditions, lucky colours, and the story of the Zodiac. The children enjoyed sequencing the animals from ‘The Great Race’ and creating their own festive lanterns and cards.

After recalling our knowledge of the history of Chinese New Year, we learnt about the type of food that is eaten and the dragon & lion dances in the parade. Reception loved trying some spring rolls and prawn crackers.

In Maths, Reception have been learning about Length and Height. Using mathematical language and developing their oracy further using shorter/longer, taller/shorter/tallest!

Well done Natalia! Our PE star of the week.

Reception being fantastic busy bees in provision!

Congratulations to all of Reception, our Stars of the Week! Alongside hard work in phonics assessments, we’ve seen a brilliant boost in oracy across all subjects—especially Maths.

This half term our theme is Real-Life Superheroes!

Adrianna has come back from travelling around the world. She brought back some souvenirs for Reception to explore!

In Maths, we have been learning about Time. Reception had a go at stopping the timer at 30 seconds and making their own timetable for the days of the week!

In Maths, we have also been learning about numbers 9 and 10. Looking at different representations and groupings to make 9 and 10. Reception went on a number hunt to find different representations.

Reception working super hard as a team to make a bus, with 2 drivers for different places!

Well done to our stars of the week this week! - 26.2.26

In PSHE, we have been learning about how we can help our special people. We talked about who is in our families and making sure we are kind to our families. Asking if there is anything we can do to help out at home.

Practising writing some phonics sounds and our names in pen party.

In Maths, we have been learning about one more, one less and conceptual subitising to 10! Reception are also using their fantastic oracy skills too!

In PSHE, we have been learning about how we can help our friends and what is the right thing to do! We learnt about the importance of kindness.

We are so proud of Lucy, our PE Star of the Week! It was also wonderful to see our Reception pupils working so hard and showing such great teamwork in their PE lesson.

Fantastic busy bees in provision!

In RE, Reception explored the story of Palm Sunday. After learning how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as a new king, the children held their own outdoor parade to celebrate and shout "Praise him!"

Reception had a fantastic World Book Day in their creative outfits!

We welcomed Caitlyn the vet nurse to Reception! The children learned all about animal safety and care, from listening to rabbit heartbeats to understanding the importance of microchipping.

Well done Ariah our PE star of the week!

In Maths, we have been recapping our learning of part part whole, 1 less and Odd and Even! Reception have been using fantastic oracy extending their sentences.

Well done to our stars of the week last week!

In RE, we have been learning about The Last Supper, we learnt that Jesus had a meal with his 12 disciples. The children broke their bread saying ‘this is my body’ to remember Jesus and drank (juice) saying ‘this is my blood’ to forgive all sins.

Beep beep! Pip the Paramedic visited Reception this week to teach us all about how healthcare heroes help our community. The children loved climbing into the ambulance and testing out the horn!

Science Week: Bubble Fun! Reception learned that bubbles are stretchy, spherical, and rainbow-coloured. We also explored the science of making them using water, washing-up liquid, and glycerine.

This half term our theme is On the Farm!

This half term our theme is Traditional Tales and Favourite Stories.

Autumn 1- Marvellous Me

We are settling into Reception well :-).

We are learning about sorting in maths this week.

We are learning about comparing in maths this week. We have compared height and length.

We are learning about repeating patterns in maths this week.

We started learning about Harvest in RE this week.

Reception continued their work on recycling today.

Oracy October- Reception

Reception have been planting bulbs today.

Reception- Black History Month:

Autumn 2- Let's Celebrate!

Reception have been learning about Diwali this week!

Reception have been learning about some of their learning powers today.

We have lots of busy bees in Reception this week :-)!

Reception had a great time on their autumn walk.

We are working hard on our blending and segmenting in Reception!

Our story of the week is Handa's Surprise.

Making cakes for Aidan's Birthday!

Celebrating Aidan's Birthday!

We have had a busy Monday in Reception!

Reception are having a busy week!

We have been working in pairs today to spot the differences.

We have been sequencing The Nativity Story in RE today.

Reception were fantastic in their Nativity performance today!

We had a fantastic morning doing Christmas crafts!

KS1 Christmas Party!

Spring 1- Brilliant Bears

There are lots of busy bees in Reception this week :-) !

We have had a very busy Monday in Reception!

We have been making lanterns for Chinese New Year!

Today we have been comparing mass.

Catching snowflakes

We have been working on questions today.

We have been learning about The Good Samaritan today.

We have lots of learning superheroes in Reception this week :-)!

We are all ready for our NSPCC Number Fun Day tomorrow!

NSPCC Number Fun Day was lots of fun!

Blakewater enjoying their winner's treat from Ninja Coffee!

We loved our Teddy Bears' picnic :-)!

Spring 2- Real-Life Superheroes!

What a busy Monday in Reception!

Having fun in our outdoor area.

Today we have been learning about measuring time. We did lots of 1 minute time challenges!

A terrific Tuesday in Reception!

Bob and Doc have stolen Miss Keegan’s gold hoop earrings! We have been making wanted posters to help us find them.

Wanted posters

World Book Day- Reception

We have been learning about Palm Sunday today.

Science Week in Reception - Bubbling Wizard's Brew

My Dentist came in today to teach us about oral health.

The Last Supper

We have been learning about The Last Supper in RE today. We had bread and 'wine' and discussed how these represented Jesus' body and blood.

Science Week- Charlotte from Elektec came to talk to us today.

We have found Bob and Miss Keegan’s earrings. He is in jail for 2 weeks now!

Working hard in PE today!

Thank you to everyone who came to our Mother’s Day Rhyme Time.

We have been learning about Good Friday in RE today.

We had a visit from the school nurse today.

We had another very special visitor in Reception today!

Pip is a Paramedic and she came to tell us all about how they help us.

Pip the Paramedic

Reception enjoying computing with Junior Jam today!

Reception also enjoyed music with Junior Jam.

Now we are learning Spanish!

We have been learning about the importance of concentrating like Emily the elephant today.

DT week-

We have had a great week investigating, designing, planning, making and evaluating our Easter bonnets. They are all ready for our Easter bonnet parade in Church next week.

DT Week in Reception

We had lots of fun on our Easter egg hunt today!

Summer 1- On the Farm!

Enjoying the nicer weather and being able to play in our outside area. What a great first day back. Well done reception!

Look at our new visitors in Reception! Our caterpillars have arrived for us to watch them change into beautiful butterfly’s. We are so excited to tell you all about their journey.

Look at our new visitors in Reception!

Yesterday we had a little surprise in Reception. Our caterpillars have entered the next stage of their development and have formed a cocoon. Mrs Holden very carefully transferred them into the net ready for them to transform into a butterfly.

What a beautiful sight awaited us in Reception this morning. We now have 9 beautiful butterflies!!! The children have been so careful not to disturb them and have watched them through the cycle. We can’t wait to set them free.

Yesterday we had a great time tidying up our outside area. We definitely have some budding gardeners in our class.

Smithills Farm trip

We have arrived and are already on our way round the farm on a very bumpy tractor!

We met lots of animals in pets corner.

The children were so brave feeding the animals as they were very greedy.

The donkeys went down a storm. Lots of confident and happy children.

We finished our day with a milking demonstration from farmer Carl. The children asked him lots of questions. We hope all the children enjoyed it and have lots to tell you. Also I’d like to say a big thank you to all our helpers today for making it such a memorable trip.

As you can see, we have had a tiring day!

Summer 2- Traditional Tales and Favourite Stories

Thank you to all the dads that came today it was lovely to see you all. Well done to all the reception children for some great singing.

Reception are already working hard and enjoying their moving up day. They are certainly ready for Year 1!

Fun at playtime on the BIG playground.

What a fantastic day we have all had!

Autumn 1- This half term our theme is Marvellous Me

As you can see from the photos the children have been busy exploring all our different areas, making new friends and most of all having lots of fun.

For this half term our topic is 'All about Me'. We started this on Thursday by creating images of ourself on a paper plate. We looked in the mirror and identified our facial features then added them to the plate using a variety of materials.

All about me rec 15.09.23

Can you guess what sound we have been learning today? We have learnt that the grapheme S makes the ssssssss sound.

Fine motor skills practise means only one thing Pen Party! The children listen to some of their favourite songs whilst practising this weeks skill which was drawing circles. Lying on their stomachs enables them to develop their core strength, feel more grounded and therefore more relaxed. Why not try it at home.

Fine motor 16.09.23

Today we joined the most magical club in the whole school! This afternoon we started drawing club. This is a session designed to enhance vocabulary, imagination, fine motor skills and also the children's oracy skills. Here are a few examples. Ask your child what happened to their monster when they used their magic code. We also started our vocabulary bank with two very large words - shimmering and enraged. Well done reception.

Over the last two weeks we have been learning lots of new things in Maths. Our learning has taught us to create rules for grouping objects and to compare these groups. We have also learnt to use the correct vocabulary including using the words fewer and more. As our learning progressed we then started to look at whether objects are tall, small, big or large. We used the book Dear Zoo to help us.

This morning we enjoyed our first session of ‘Dough Disco’. If you look closely you will see each child has their own bale of dough. Every morning we perform different hand, finger and arm movements to a lively tune. These movements help improve the strength in our little hands and arms. Ultimately, this helps with our pencil grip and our stamina for writing.

In Maths we have begun to compare the length and height of things. We used different equipment to work out if something was longer, shorter, taller or smaller. The children worked extremely well alongside their partners.

Free choice play across a range of our activities.

How amazing are our junk model creations. They wanted to bring them home but we decided to recycle and use them again. They even added magic codes to give their creations super powers.

Can you guess what we were learning in Maths last week? Following a teaching input, children are encouraged to practise the concept throughout the day. You can encourage your child to look for patterns, draw them or even make them at home or the environment around them.

This week we have started to learn all about the numbers 1,2 and 3. We can recognise them in patterns, in our environment and we can make them with our fingers. The children were then set a challenge to show me the number 2 and 3 but using both hands….very tricky when you’re little. You may notice the children are sat facing the person next to them. This was our first attempt at talk partner work which helps us to improve our oracy skills. Well done Reception.

Each week we invite the children to tell us what they would like to see or do in our class the following week. Jacob suggested volcanoes and the rest of the class agreed. The children watched a short video on how to make one and then they recalled the ‘ingredients’ they would need and then located all the equipment they required. It was a wonderful afternoon with lots of aw and wonder for our budding scientists.

Pen Party - A big hit with the children. We did this activity for ten minutes whilst listening to some classic songs from the film 'Sing'. Our focus was zigzags which was a little tricky but we had a good try. This is something the children could do at home with just a piece of paper, felt tips and songs they like. Have a go, we would love to see the pictures in class.

Today we were lucky enough to visit our local post office. As this will be our role play area next term we thought we would go and see how it all works. The post office staff were great and showed us how to send a parcel. We also combined this with a walk in the park to observe how the trees are changing due to the seasons. All children were fantastically behaved and very well mannered.

Real life experiences on a trip to the post office. Next term we will write a letter to say thank you and post it in our very own post box.

Autumn 2 - This half term our theme is Let's Celebrate!

We are making Diva lamps for our Diwali rhyme time.

Friday saw us celebrate Aidan’s birthday and Children in Need day. We enjoyed playing traditional party games like musical statues and musical bumps. We also danced to ‘Superman’, Barbie girl and the Hokey Cokey. The children also loved eating the biscuits they made.

Yesterday we had a wonderful trip to church to meet Reverend Cath. She told us all about the history of the church and about St Aidan. The children behaved wonderfully and really impressed Reverend Cath. Well done Reception.

Some of us even tried communion bread!

Spring 1- This half term our theme is Brilliant Bears.

Can you guess the story?

Did someone say snow day!

This week we decided to offer the reward of a trophy as well as our stars of the week. Every week children are give rainbow challenges (activity) to complete either independently or with the help of an adult. This trophy will be awarded each week to the child who has worked or tried hard, shown resilience and been proud to complete their work. Our first winner is Scarlett. Well done!

Having fun at lunchtime.

This week we have been working on Design and Technology. We decided to combine our work with our learning of Chinese New Year. The children thought about what materials they could use and how they could attach things. We drew our designs and then set to work. We hope you love our finished product.

The Good Samaritan

Spring 2- This half term our theme is Real-Life Superheroes!

Today we had another exciting visitor in school only this time it had 4 legs and was very fluffy. Kaitlyn, our veterinary nurse brought along a little friend to show us how animals are cared for when they are ill. We learnt lots of new things, and we even listened to Willows heartbeat, which was pretty amazing.