Our Vision
At Silverstone CE Primary School Reception Class, we aim to give each child a positive and meaningful start to their school life, in which they can establish solid foundations on which to develop into independent and fearless lifelong learners.
We will encourage children to develop independence within a secure and friendly atmosphere; to support children in building relationships through the development of social skills such as cooperation and sharing; to help each child to recognise their own strengths and achievements through experiencing success and by developing the confidence to work towards personal goals.
Our high expectations will enable each child to develop socially, physically, intellectually and emotionally and to achieve their full potential. We will offer a structure for learning that has a range of starting points and unlimited availability for development through a wide range of new and exciting first-hand experiences that will give children the opportunity to consolidate, explore and test their skills, knowledge and understanding alongside existing experiences. We will ensure that children are kept healthy and safe and that they achieve the knowledge and skills they need to start school.
Learning in Reception
At Silverstone CE Primary School all the areas are delivered through a well-planned play based approach, with a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. Throughout the foundation stage we plan and continually enhance our provision so that it is an interesting, intriguing and evolving place for children to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in every area at the appropriate developmental level. We capture children’s individual needs and interests and use this to inform our planning. This gives us the opportunity to extend their interest, by asking open-ended questions and considering ways to apply this interest to other options within the environment. We have recieved praise on various occasions for the high level of engagement in our children as they are always interested in what they are learning.
Children have opportunities through their play to think creatively and critically alongside other children as well as on their own. They are able to practise skills, build upon and revisit prior learning and experiences at their own level and pace. Play gives our children the opportunity to pursue their own interests, inspire those around them and consolidate their understanding and skills. The children learn to adapt, negotiate, communicate, discuss, investigate and ask questions. Our adults take an active role in child initiated play through observing, modelling, facilitating, teaching and extending play, skills and language.
In Reception we use Tapestry to create a digital learning journal that records each child's individual strengths and achievements. This also helps us to plan for your child's next steps. As parents you will have access to your own child's Tapestry account where you can receive instant notifications if a new observation has been added. We also appreciate any observations you upload of your child's experiences outside of school.
Transitions
At Silverstone Primary we recognise that starting school and moving up classes has the potential to be a stressful time for both children and parents. To this end we have established a strong procedure for transitions to ensure that our children and parents are as confident and secure as they can be when facing the challenges of each year group.
Our induction into Reception starts in the summer term before the children start school with a new parents evening aimed to provide parents with key information, school expectations, knowledge on our curriculum and assessment and advice on how they can help their child. All parents are offered a home visit prior to their child starting school and a ‘Stay and Play’ session is also provided for all children to come into school to experience their new learning environment. We endeavour to visit children who attend local nurseries or pre-schools in their settings prior to the summer holidays.
Where Tapestry is being used we transfer each child’s learning journey and this is used as part of Baseline Assessments.
As part of the transition to Key Stage 1 a gradual change occurs in the Spring Term with more whole class carpet sessions, more adult led group.
Children in Reception make use of the whole school facilities, such as the hall, library, playground and MUGA for appropriate activities to ensure that children are confident and well prepared for moving around the school and for mixing with older children. Throughout the reception year, when children are ready they are gradually introduced to whole school activities such as assemblies and to using the infant playground.
As we move to the Summer Term the daily timetable starts to include more of the structure of the Key Stage 1 day with whole class inputs in mathematics and writing and an expectation for children to complete more formal learning challenges.
At the end of Reception children have the opportunity to meet with their new teachers in their classrooms prior to starting Year one. At the end of each school year teachers have the opportunity to share their knowledge of each child’s knowledge, understanding and achievements, including end of year assessment data, with their next class teacher to ensure that all teachers have a well-rounded picture of the children prior to the new school year.
Partnerships with Parents
We believe that parents and carers are a child’s first educator and therefore work very closely to ensure they are involved in what their child does at school. We want parents to feel they can speak to us about their child and to feel comfortable in our setting. As well as the Stay and Play sessions we offer a social coffee session to our parents to give them the opportunity to share their child’s learning environment, have time to talk informally with the staff and to meet other parents. In the second half of the Autumn Term parents are invited to attend our whole school Celebration Assembly to share the achievements and successes of the children in the school. We also offer parents learning workshops to provide advice and information on how they can support their child’s learning. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to share information about their child, to ask questions and to discuss their child’s learning with the teachers.
We believe that all parents have an important role to play in the education of their child. We recognise the role that parents have played, and their future role, in educating the children. We encourage parents to share experiences and achievements on Tapestry as this information helps to build a well-rounded picture of the child for everyone. Parents are encouraged to join in with their child’s education from the very start of their school journey. In Reception parents are encouraged to support children’s learning through sharing books, attending assemblies and coming in to school for stay and play sessions as well as Parent Reading sessions.
Formal parents meeting are offered in the Autumn Term and the Spring Term, where parents have the opportunity of speaking with the teachers to discuss their child’s progress, development and their next steps in learning. Parents are always welcomed to discuss their children informally before or after school.
Health, Safety and Safeguarding
Children learn best when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them. We follow the safeguarding and welfare requirements detailed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Guidance (2014) and we adhere to the school’s safeguarding policy.
We are a healthy school and our children under 5 receive free milk and all children have access to fresh water and free fruit from a Government scheme. All children who stay for lunch are eligible for free school meals or can choose to bring in a healthy packed lunch.
Each Reception classroom has access to their own toileting facilities and we teach the children the importance of hygiene, hand washing techniques and throughout the year we plan cooking activities to give children experiences of a range of healthy food.