We have had a fantastic start to our new school year and the children have really settled in well and have enjoyed exploring their new classrooms.  We have all really enjoyed building new relationships with each other and making lots of new friends.  Everyone is excited for the year ahead!  For some children the first few weeks in Reception can be a little overwhelming and they may find it difficult at times separating from their parent/carers. Please be assured that this is normal and once they are in school it doesn't take them long to settle!

Our school day begins at 8.35am.  The children will need to be in school for registration by 8.45am.  On arrival, there are always members of staff to greet the children and pass on any messages you may have.  Teachers will be in classrooms settling the children into school routines so if you require a conversation with them, please call the office where an appointment can be made.

Dismissing children at home time always takes a little longer at the beginning of the year as we get to know you, please be patient with us and give us a wave so we can identify you in the playground. We ask all parents to wait behind the gated area when collecting children to ensure we can see all parents and dismiss children safely. Please inform us if somebody different is collecting your child.

At Rood End, we teach children to become independent and look after their belongings so it is important that these are all clearly labelled. This includes all uniform, shoes, coats, P.E kit, book bags and bottles.  There is a Lost Property area located in our school foyer should your child misplace something.

The children have snacks available both morning and afternoon. They are provided with a piece of fruit or toast. No additional snacks should be brought into school please. You can also provide your child with a water bottle for them to use throughout the day.  This can be filled with water, flavoured water or squash.  No juice or fizzy pop please!

Communication and Language 

• Understand a question or instruction that has two parts, such as: “Get your coat and wait at the door”.
• Understand ‘why’ questions, like: “Why do you think the caterpillar got so fat?”
• Sing a large repertoire of songs.
• Know many rhymes, be able to talk about familiar books, and be able to tell a long story.
• Develop their communication but may continue to have problems with irregular tenses and plurals, such as ‘runned’ for ‘ran’, ‘swimmed’ for ‘swam’. Develop their pronunciation but may have problems saying: • some sounds: r, j, th, ch, and sh
• multi-syllabic words such as ‘pterodactyl’, ‘planetarium’ or ‘hippopotamus’.
• Use longer sentences of four to six words.
• Use a wider range of vocabulary.
• Start a conversation with an adult or a friend and continue it for many turns.
• Be able to express a point of view and to debate when they disagree with an adult or a friend, using words as well as actions.
• Use talk to organise themselves and their play: “Let’s go on a bus... you sit there... I’ll be the driver.”

Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

• Select and use activities and resources, with help when needed. This helps them to achieve a goal they have chosen, or one which is suggested to them.
• Develop their sense of responsibility and membership of a community.
• Become more outgoing with unfamiliar people, in the safe context of their setting.
• Show more confidence in new social situations.
• Play with one or more other children, extending and elaborating play ideas.
• Find solutions to conflicts and rivalries. For example, accepting that not everyone can be Spider-Man in the game, and suggesting other ideas.
• Develop appropriate ways of being assertive. Talk with others to solve conflicts.
• Talk about their feelings using words like ‘happy’, ‘sad’, ‘angry’ or ‘worried’.
• Understand gradually how others might be feeling.
• See themselves as a valuable individual.
• Build constructive and respectful relationships.
• Express their feelings and consider the feelings of others

Physical Development

• Start taking part in some group activities which they make up for themselves, or in teams.
•  Increasingly be able to use and remember sequences and patterns of movements which are related to music and rhythm.
• Match their developing physical skills to tasks and activities in the setting. For example, they decide whether to crawl, walk or run across a plank, depending on its length and width.
• Choose the right resources to carry out their own plan. For example, choosing a spade to enlarge a small hole they dug with a trowel.
• Collaborate with others to manage large items, such as moving a long plank safely, carrying large hollow blocks.
• Use one-handed tools and equipment, for example, making snips in paper with scissors.
• Use a comfortable grip with good control when holding pens and pencils.
• Show a preference for a dominant hand.
• Be increasingly independent as they get dressed and undressed, for example, putting coats on and doing up zips

Maths 

• Develop fast recognition of up to 3 objects, without having to count them individually (‘subitising’).
• Say one number for each item in order:1,2,3,4,5.
• Know that the last number reached when counting a small set of objects tells you how many there are in total (‘cardinal principle’).
• Show ‘finger numbers’ up to 5.
• Solve real world mathematical problems with numbers up to 5..
• Link numerals and amounts: for example, showing the right number of objects to match the numeral, up to 5
• Compare quantities using language: ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’.
• Talk about and explore 2D and 3D shapes (for example, circles, rectangles, triangles and cuboids) using informal and mathematical language: ‘sides’, ‘corners’; ‘straight’, ‘flat’, ‘round’.
• Understand position through words alone – for example, “The bag is under the table,” – with no pointing Discuss routes and locations, using words like ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’.
• Make comparisons between objects relating to size, length, weight and capacity.
• Select shapes appropriately: flat surfaces for building, a triangular prism for a roof, etc.  Combine shapes to make new ones – an arch, a bigger triangle, etc

Literacy

• Understand the five key concepts about print:

 • print has meaning

 • print can have different purposes

• we read English text from left to right and from top to bottom

• the names of the different parts of a book

 • page sequencing

• Engage in extended conversations about stories, learning new vocabulary.
• Develop their phonological awareness, so that they can:
• spot and suggest rhymes
• count or clap syllables in a word
• recognise words with the same initial sound, such as money and mother
• Enjoy drawing freely
• Use some of their print and letter knowledge in their early writing. For example: writing a pretend shopping list that starts at the top of the page; writing ‘m’ for mummy. 
• Write some or all of their name.
• Write some letters accurately.
• Read individual letters by saying the sounds for them
• Blend sounds into words, so that they can read short words made up of known letter– sound correspondences

Understanding the World 

• Use all their senses in hands-on exploration of natural materials.
• Explore collections of materials with similar and/or different properties.
• Talk about what they see, using a wide vocabulary
• Explore how things work.
• Begin to make sense of their own life-story and family’s history.
• Continue to develop positive attitudes about differences between people.
• Show interest in different occupations.

Expressive Art and Design 

• Take part in simple pretend play, using an object to represent something else even though they are not similar.
•  Begin to develop complex stories using small world equipment like animal sets, dolls and dolls houses, etc.
• Make imaginative and complex ‘small worlds’ with blocks and construction kits, such as a city with different buildings and a park.
• Listen with increased attention to sounds.
• Respond to what they have heard, expressing their thoughts and feelings.
• Remember and sing entire songs.
• Sing the pitch of a tone sung by another person (‘pitch match’).
• Sing the melodic shape (moving melody, such as up and down, down and up) of familiar songs.
• Create their own songs or improvise a song around one they know
• Play instruments with increasing control to express their feelings and ideas.

Communication and Language 

• Understand how to listen carefully and why listening is important.
• Learn new vocabulary
• Use new vocabulary through the day.
• Ask questions to find out more and to check they understand what has been said to them.
• Articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences.
• Connect one idea or action to another using a range of connectives.

• Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen.

• Describe events in some detail. 

• Retell the story, once they have developed a deep familiarity with the text, some as exact repetition and some in their own words.

PSED

• Show resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge.
• Identify and moderate their own feelings socially and emotionally.
• Think about the perspectives of others.
• Manage their own needs: Personal hygiene
• Know and talk about the different factors that support their overall health and wellbeing: • regular physical activity • healthy eating • toothbrushing • sensible amounts of ‘screen time’ • having a good sleep routine • being a safe pedestrian

Physical Development 

• Develop their small motor skills so that they can use a range of tools competently, safely and confidently. Suggested tools: pencils for drawing and writing, paintbrushes, scissors, knives, forks and spoons.
• Use their core muscle strength to achieve a good posture when sitting at a table or sitting on the floor.
• Combine different movements with ease and fluency.
• Confidently and safely use a range of large and small apparatus indoors and outside, alone and in a group.
• Develop overall body-strength, balance, co-ordination and agility.
• Further develop and refine a range of ball skills including: throwing, catching, kicking, passing, batting, and aiming. 
• Develop confidence, competence, precision and accuracy when engaging in activities that involve a ball.

Maths 

• Talk about and identify the patterns around them. For example: stripes on clothes, designs on rugs and wallpaper.  Use informal language like ‘pointy’, ‘spotty’, ‘blobs’, etc.
•  Extend and create ABAB patterns – stick, leaf, stick, leaf. 
• Notice and correct an error in a repeating pattern. 
• Begin to describe a sequence of events, real or fictional, using words such as ‘first’, ‘then...’
• Understand position through words alone – for example, “The bag is under the table,” – with no pointing. 
• Describe a familiar route.
• Discuss routes and locations, using words like ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’
• Count objects, actions and sounds.
• Subitise
• Link the number symbol (numeral) with its cardinal number value
• Understand the ‘one more than/one less than’ relationship between consecutive numbers.

Literacy 

• Write some or all of their name.
• Read individual letters by saying the sounds for them
• Blend sounds into words, so that they can read short words made up of known letter– sound correspondences.
• Read some letter groups that each represent one sound and say sounds for them.
• Read a few common exception words matched to the school’s phonic programme
• Retell a familiar story.
• Read simple phrases and sentences made up of words with known letter–sound correspondences and, where necessary, a few exception words.
• Re-read these books to build up their confidence in word reading, their fluency and their understanding and enjoyment. Form lower-case and capital letters correctly
• Spell words by identifying the sounds and then writing the sound with letter/s.
• Write short sentences with words with known sound-letter correspondences using a capital letter and full stop

Understanding the World 

• Talk about members of their immediate family and community.
• Name and describe people who are familiar to them.
• Comment on images of familiar situations in the past.
• Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
• Draw information from a simple map
• Recognise some environments that are different from the one in which they live.
• Describe what they see, hear and feel whilst outside.

Expressive Arts and Design 

• Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings. 
• Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them.
• Create collaboratively, sharing ideas, resources and skills.
• Listen attentively, move to and talk about music, expressing their feelings and responses.
• Explore joining materials.
• Watch and talk about dance and performance art, expressing their feelings and responses.

Communication and Language 

• Learn rhymes, poems and songs.
• Engage in non-fiction books.
• Listen to and talk about selected non-fiction to develop a deep familiarity with new knowledge and vocabulary.
• Listen carefully to rhymes and songs, paying attention to how they sound

By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Listening, Attention and Understanding 

• Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions
• Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding
• Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

Speaking 

• Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary
• Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate
• Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present, and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher

PSED

• Know and talk about the different factors that support their overall health and wellbeing: • regular physical activity • healthy eating • toothbrushing • sensible amounts of ‘screen time’ • having a good sleep routine • being a safe pedestrian

By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Self-regulation

• Show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly.
• Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate.
• Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving   several ideas or actions.

Managing self

• Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge.
• Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly.
• Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices.

Building relationships

• Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others
• Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers.
• Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs.

Physical Development 

• Further develop and refine a range of ball skills including: throwing, catching, kicking, passing, batting, and aiming

By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Gross Motor skills 

• Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others
• Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing
• Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.

Fine Motor Skills 

•  Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases 
• Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery
• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

Maths

• Select, rotate and manipulate shapes to develop spatial reasoning skills.
• Compose and decompose shapes so that children recognise a shape can have other shapes within it, just as numbers can
• Continue, copy and create repeating patterns. 

By the end of Reception children should be able to:

• Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number; 
• Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5; 
• Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) 
• and some number bonds to 10, including double facts
• (ELG Numerical patterns)
• Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system
• Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity
• Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

Literacy

• Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
• Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play

By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Comprehension 

• Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
• Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play

Word Reading  

• Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs
• Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending
• Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words. 

Writing 

• Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed
• Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters
• Write simple phrases and sentences that can be ready by others.

Understanding the World 

• Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
• Compare and contrast characters from stories, including figures from the past.
• Name and describe people who are familiar to them.
• Talk about members of their immediate family and community.

By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Past and Present

• Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class
• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling

The Natural World

• Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants
•  Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class
• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter

People, cultures and community

• Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
• Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and (when appropriate) maps.

​​Expressive Art and Design 

• Explore and engage in music making and dance, performing solo or in groups.
• Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings. 
• Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them. 

​​​​​By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

Creating with Materials

• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form, and function
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used
• Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories. 

Being Imaginative and Expressive

• Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher
• Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs
• Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate try to move in time with music.

Phonics reading books

As children begin their phonics journey with the Little Wangle scheme, they will begin to bring reading books home each week. This will be read in school prior to them bringing it home and so will be familiar to them. It will match directly to their developing phonetical knowledge and so they will be able to read it to you. We ask that you encourage your child to read their book to you several times over the week to increase fluency and understanding.  

Reading for pleasure library book 

Childen will also bring home a library book for you to enjoy and share together. Children will not be expected to read these books themselves, but instead have them read to them by family. These will be age appropriate, high quality texts that children will both enjoy and learn new vocabulary from. We encourage you to talk to your child about the books they bring home and enjoy the quality family time together.  

Maths learning

Children can practise subitising at home via playing this game:

1-Minute Maths

Our phonics progression in EYFS We use the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds scheme to support our children with their reading skills.

Lots of families celebrate special days within the year. We will be learning about what happens on:

• Chinese New Year
• Valentine’s Day
• Shrove Tuesday
• Holi
• Easter
• Ramadan

Plus any others… if you and your family are celebrating something, please let us know through Dojo.