The experience in Reception Class at Stafford Prep. has been amazing! Our son comes home full of excitement every day and can’t wait to tell us what he has been up to.
Where next?
Reception / EYFS
The Reception Class at Stafford Prep is where the adventure begins! We give our children the very best start in life and we delight in seeing them blossom in our caring and stimulating environment.
In Reception class, we enable our children to develop self-confidence and a positive approach to learning. We encourage them to take risks and to continually develop their skills. We have a small Reception class, which means that we get to know every child as an individual and support their needs. It means that we can celebrate each child’s uniqueness. We have an open door policy for our parents, allowing Reception parents to bring and settle their child into class.
Children in Reception are able to participate in clubs available including gardening, colouring and construction club. Wrap around care is provided for all children between 8am and 6pm.
Reception class children are able to use a wide range of playground equipment, so that they have fun whilst also developing their physical skills. They also have access to an outdoor area which complements indoor learning. Equipment has been carefully chosen to provide the children with opportunities to explore, investigate and lead their learning.
Reception Class Education
Children in Reception Class are encouraged and supported as they learn within the EYFS framework. They are taught by our Reception class teacher, but also supported further in creative subjects, such as music and PE, by specialist teachers. The children follow a holistic curriculum covering the seven areas of learning as outlined in Development Matters.
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Expressive arts and design
- Understanding the world
The children are supported individually through literacy through a story-based approach and progressive synthetic phonics using the Read, Write Inc scheme. Children begin by learning to match letter names and sounds, play rhyming games, begin to write letters and are introduced to the first key words.
We take a practical approach to numeracy through the use of songs, stories and games that develop a solid foundation and ensure that children enjoy their learning. The children are given opportunities to embed their learning and apply mathematical thinking through enriched play. We teach number sense using an immersive scheme called Ten Town, children embrace the world of Ten Town and learn to apply their mathematical thinking to different situations.
During the Early Years, your child will learn through high-quality play. They will develop at their own pace, having fun, make friends and learn as they play. They become confident and secure children who, when the time comes, are well prepared for the transition to Year 1.
At Stafford Prep. School, we love the children to be creative. Each week we offer Music, Dance, Forest School and PE lessons ensure that the children have great fun learning in the classroom and outdoors, and also get plenty of exercise; all of these are taught by specialist teachers. Children also have the opportunity to participate in the wide range of peripatetic lessons on offer.
Reception Learning Journey
A Learning Journal is created for each child as they progress through Reception. It showcases their development and achievements as well as helping to track progress. This is also a great reminder of all the memories they have during the year and parents and children treasure them in the future.
We encourage parents to be fully involved in their child’s learning journey, through access to our online learning platforms, learning journals, social media, PTA events and the daily catch up in the playground. Reception children receive a settling in report at the October half term. This informs parents of their child’s starting point based on baseline observations and assessments. Parents also receive reports at the end of each half term with updates on their progress. There are regular parents’ evenings throughout the year to discuss your child’s individual progress and development.
Each term we offer a ‘stay and play’ session so that parents can see what happens in the classroom first-hand.
