Reception Class: Florencence Nightingale
Our classroom is named after the inspirational Florence Nightingale, who was born in 1820 and became famous for caring for sick and injured soldiers during the Crimean War. She was known as the “Lady with the Lamp” because she would walk around the hospital at night carrying a lamp, checking on the patients and making sure they were cared for. Florence worked hard to make hospitals cleaner and safer and helped to improve the way nurses were trained.
Florence was kind, caring, brave and determined — qualities that we hope to encourage in all of our children. Through our play-based approach, children have lots of opportunities to follow their interests, explore the world around them and learn through exciting, hands-on experiences.
We are very proud to have Florence Nightingale as the name of our classroom and look forward to sharing all the wonderful things our children get up to!
A warm welcome to our Florence Nightingale Class page.
The reception year is a very exciting time for both parents and children. During this year we will all work together to ensure that your child will develop a love for learning which they will carry with them for the rest of their school journeys. We understand that children learn best when they are interested and intrigued, and as such provide a nurturing and exciting learning environment to give all your children the opportunity to grow and develop into happy and confident learners.
If you have any problems or queries, no matter how small, please do not hesitate to speak to one of the team who will be happy to help you.
Meet the team
Class Teacher: Mrs Mollyneaux
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Hancox
1:1 Teaching Assistant: Mrs Molnar
1:1 Teaching Assistant: Mrs Cadwallader
Our Curriculum Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
In our reception classes, children will build on their pre-school and home experiences and take part in a wide variety of multi-sensory activities in both the inside and outdoor classrooms. Learning opportunities are planned predominately around the children’s interests, wants and needs. This allows us to provide individualised learning for each child. We provide many practical experiences, such as forest school, baking, role play, sand and water and physical play. Alongside this, there will be regular phonics, maths and reading sessions. We provide a balance between teacher and child-led activities and, in addition, we arrange both visits and visitors to help enrich the curriculum.
The EYFS Framework (2021) explains how and what children in our EYFS will be learning to support their development. Our EYFS pupils learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through seven areas of learning and development.
All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected.
There are three prime areas which are crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and for helping their capacity to learn:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
There are then four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
We will ensure that:
- Teaching and learning activities engage and motivate children to learn, and foster their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
- There are focused activities to support, develop and extend children’s learning at their own pace.
- Children are given opportunities to develop their own ideas, thoughts and opinions about their play activities.
- Activities are extended/modified according to what the children like/find tricky.
- There are strong links between home and school.
- Parental partnership in their children’s learning is recognised, valued and developed.
Click on the link to look more closely at 'Development Matters 2023'
Our Classroom
Our classroom is designed to create a calm, nurturing and homely environment, which research suggests is the best environment for children to feel safe, learn and thrive in.
We have lots of natural and 'real' resources which encourage curiosity, discovery, awe and wonder through open-ended experiences.
We have continuous provision organised within learning stations around the classroom (resources which are always available) as well as enhanced provision (new or additional resources) which are added in each week by targeting specific skills, with a focus always including early reading, writing and maths.
Class Information
WATER AND SNACKS
In addition to their own water bottles, all children have a drink of milk or water (in a cup) at snack time. We ensure that every child has a drink at this time, so please be reassured that they have been drinking, even if their school bottle still has some water in. We also refill lots of their bottles during the day. Children do have access to water if they forget their bottle. Infant children are also provided with a free fruit or vegetable snack daily.
COATS
Whilst the weather is still fairly pleasant, please ensure that your child has a coat in school with them each day, as we will take the opportunity to go outside in both rain and shine! We recognise that some children may find putting on and fastening their own coat difficult, and we support children in practising and developing this skill in school. This is something that parents can practise at home to help their independence.
WOW VOUCHERS
We love to hear about your child’s WOW moments at home. Please jot down any of your child’s achievements on a WOW voucher so that we can celebrate with them in school and add these to our WOW wall. Please ask if you need any more vouchers.
WELLY WALK
We are fortunate to have a dedicated area for our Welly Walks. Welly Walks offer an ideal opportunity to learn outdoors, and offer a rich and sensory environment for learning, particularly for our children in Reception. We go to the woods on a Friday afternoon. Although we will not take the children outside in heavy rain/snow, we try to go out whatever the weather! Please ensure that your child has a pair of named wellington boots at school. It is very wet and soggy down in the woods at the minute, and we don't want them to get their school shoes dirty.
PE AND MUSIC
PE will take place on Wednesday morning with Mrs Townsend. As the children are now changing into their PE kits, please ensure that all belongings are clearly labelled with your child’s name. That way, if your child brings someone else's uniform home, we can quickly return it to the owner. The children keep their PE kits on their pegs throughout the term, and then they will be sent home half-termly for washing. Please can ear-rings be removed for PE.
Music lessons will be conducted by our specialist teacher, Mrs. Farrington, every Wednesday morning.
LABELLING
Please ensure that all belongings (uniform, coats, shoes, lunch boxes, book bags, water bottles etc) are clearly labelled with your child’s name. This helps your child to recognise their name and locate their own belongings but also enables misplaced items to be easily identified and returned.
WHAT ARE WE LEARNING THIS TERM?
We hope you have had a restful two weeks and that the children’s batteries are fully recharged for the exciting term ahead!
This term, we will be focusing on celebrations, people who help us, and, of course, Christmas!
We will start the term by celebrating Bonfire Night. The children will listen to stories about Bonfire Night, learn why it is celebrated in England and talk about how to stay safe around fireworks.
We will also be learning about Remembrance Day and Poppy Day. The children will learn about the importance of remembering the people who have helped to keep us safe and will explore why we wear poppies as a symbol of remembrance. Through age-appropriate stories, discussions and creative activities, we will encourage the children to think about kindness, peace and helping others.
We will also celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. The children will learn about the customs and traditions associated with this special celebration and listen to the story of Rama and Sita. We will finish our celebrations with a special banquet, giving the children the opportunity to explore and try a variety of different foods.
As part of our topic on People Who Help Us, we will learn about the important roles people play in our community and how they help us in our everyday lives. We are hoping to welcome some special visitors into school to help bring our learning to life!
We will end the autumn term with the most exciting celebration of all for the children… CHRISTMAS! We will explore how Christmas is celebrated around the world and, if all goes to plan, transform our classrooms into Santa’s workshop, where our little helpers will take on lots of exciting jobs and festive activities!
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PHONICS
In phonics, we will recap all the Set 1 sounds to help children become more confident, consolidate their learning and fill any gaps. We will continue to practise oral blending and segmenting, and children will have opportunities to read and write simple words using the sounds they have learnt. The children will learn a new sound each day and will have lots of opportunities to recognise, say and practise each sound. As their confidence develops, we will begin to support the children in blending sounds together to read simple words.
Phonics is the key to unlocking reading and writing, and that is why we have chosen to use the Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics and writing scheme at our school.
Learning to read is a life-long skill and a key thing your child will learn. Everything else depends upon this skill, and so, at Bourton, we put as much energy into ensuring that every single child not only learns to read but learns to love reading!
We have included some documents at the bottom of this page which you can use to support your child at home, but here are the Set 1 Sounds your child will be starting to learn in Reception:
Video links you may find helpful when practising phonics at home with your child:
How to help your child learn the Read Write Inc. phonics sounds (youtube.com)
Read Write Inc. | Set 1 Sounds | Learn Phonics | British Teacher (youtube.com)
Reading the bouncy sounds with your child - YouTube
MATHS
In maths, we will be focusing on the numbers 3, 4 and 5. The children will explore how these numbers can be made in different ways, investigate number bonds, compare quantities and develop their understanding of number composition. We will use practical activities, games and resources to help the children build confidence and deepen their understanding of these important early mathematical concepts.
For further information, please look at the parent guide attachment.
Important dates:
Monday 2nd November: Children return to school
Wednesday 4th November: Halloween Disco
Wednesday 11th November: Remembrance Day
Friday 13th November: Non-school uniform day for Type 1 diabetes
Friday 4th December: Christmas panto
Monday 7th December: Festive open afternoon 2-3 pm
Thursday 10th December: Christmas Jumper Day
Monday 14th December: EYFS/KS1 dress rehearsal 1:30 pm
Wednesday 16th December: EYFS/KS1 Performance 1:30 pm
Friday 18th December: School closes for the Christmas holiday