Reception Curriculum Information
Term: Summer term 2025
Home Learning on Google Classroom
Both Reception classes have their own Google Classroom page where we will upload Maths and Literacy home learning tasks. These will be posted each Friday and you will have one week to upload the completed work.
EYFS Curriculum
The EYFS curriculum is divided into seven different learning areas.
There are three prime areas which are essential to creating a strong foundation for the children's learning.
Prime Areas
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal and Social Development
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design.
-As a Catholic school, we also teach RE.
Communication and Language
This area involves developing Listening, Attention, Understanding and Speaking skills.
We will be placing a big emphasis on using language in the classroom. We will be encouraging the children to develop their speaking skills through a wide range of activities across the curriculum and modelling language and vocabulary as they play. Sharing stories and songs at home will also help them to develop their language skills. As your child plays and you play with them, model the use of language and introduce new words.
Our role play areas inside and outside play an important part in developing children's communication and language skills. We will change these areas depending on children's interests and needs. For example, having a home corner, cafe, police station etc.
When talking to your child please encourage them to speak in full sentences, rather than giving one- or two-word answers.
In the summer term, we will also continue a language intervention called NELI (Nuffield Early Language Intervention). This is for children who need extra support but we will also be using some of the ideas and strategies with the whole class.
Communication Activities: Please click on the link below for suggested activities and games that you can play with your child to develop the important skill of communication.
Physical Development
This area involves developing gross and fine motor skills.
We have PE on a Thursday, with a specialist PE teacher so please make sure your child comes to school in their PE kit every Thursday. Alongside this, we will be developing fine and gross motor skills through a range of activities. Activities such as play dough, using tweezers, hammers etc this will help to develop your child's fine motor skills, which is essential for developing a good writing grip.
To help develop children's handwriting we are focusing on developing their core strength. To do this we will be using the play village and outdoor climbing frames to develop the muscles which will help children when writing. We will also continue to practice the correct letter formation. You can support your child with at home when they complete their weekly phonics home learning.
We use our outside area to develop gross motor skills using a wide range of apparatus. We use the climbing equipment, bicycles, hoops, sandpit etc.
Personal and Social and Emotional Development
This area involves developing Self-Regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships.
We will focus on developing good relationships with the other children and staff, through various games and whilst facilitating play. We will also be encouraging your child to talk about how they feel and giving them strategies to use to deal with various feelings. To help with this we will be sharing lots of stories such as The Colour Monsters, Freya’s Funny Feeling and Ravi’s Roar.
Mathematics
This area involves learning Numbers and Numerical Patterns.
At OLM we use the Maths No Problem programme to help children in Reception begin to develop a deep and long-lasting understanding of the world of mathematics. In the summer term we will be focusing on counting on to add, doubling and halving and odd and even numbers. We will then move on to learning about volume and capacity and mass before finishing the term learning about money, data and word problems.
It is really important that children understand the value of each number so counting socks, helping set the table for dinner whilst counting the number of plates, forks etc are good ways of making maths fun!
The Numberblocks series is a good way to develop your child's mathematical understanding. Please click the link to access more information, videos and PowerPoints: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/classroom-resources/ey-numberblocks-series-3/
Literacy
This area involves reading and writing (phonics)
This area involves comprehension, word reading and writing (phonics)
Drawing club
At OLM children take part in ’drawing club’, where children are giving the opportunities to immerse themselves in the world of story while learning new vocabulary. Through drawing club children develop their creativity and imagination by drawing and writing about different stories they have heard. We focus on a different text each week.
We will continue to teach the sounds of the letters in the alphabet. We will be focusing on two sounds a week and will continue to send home phonics sheets on Google Classroom for the children to practise reading and writing these letters.
We will constantly recap and apply the sounds to write words and begin to write sentences over the course of the term. Children will also have the opportunities to apply their learning in their drawing club books.
Children will be encouraged to use their knowledge of the letter sounds to blend and sound out words. We have now finished learning all of the single sounds, and have moved on to learning digraphs. These are phonemes which make one sound but have two letters. For example, 'ch'.
Please encourage your child to use the sounds they know to write simple words and sentences. The expectation at the end of the reception year is for children to write a short sentence independently. Remind your child to use a capital letter at the start, finger spaces between words and a full stop or question mark at the end.
Our aim is to develop a love of reading; we will be sharing lots of stories in class and discussing what has happened in the story in the beginning, middle and end, how the characters are feeling, where the story takes place etc. We are also working on prediction skills based on the front cover, the title and prior knowledge.
Your child will bring reading books for you to share at home each week. This will consist of one reading scheme book and one library book. In class, your child will read with an adult once a week. It is important that your child has a minimum of ten minutes reading time a day and that they are hearing adults read to them. Adults must make sure they have signed their child’s reading diary so we know that the book has been read.
Please make sure reading books are in the children's book bags each day.
Understanding the World
This area involves learning about Past and Present, People, Culture and Communities and The Natural World.
Children will explore the natural world around them, including visits to the Methodist Gardens. Children will be encouraged to talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society. We have developed our outdoor gardening area which children have free access to where they can learn about seeds and how to care for plants.
Children will have access to a variety of technology resources such as light boxes, cameras, Ipads/tablets, recordable devices etc which they can use independently to extend their learning. Children will have the opportunity to visit the ICT suite to access a variety of computer programs to extend their learning. We will also be teaching children about E-safety and how to stay safe online. Parents will play a very important part in supporting children with this. The children will listen to stories that take place in the past and they will investigate artefacts from the past.
Expressive Arts and Design
This area involves Creating with Materials, and Being Imaginative and Expressive.
Children will have the opportunity to use a range of media both inside and outside to be creative and imaginative. This will be through drawing, painting, junk modelling, using building blocks, tools and role play.
We will be responding to music through dance, singing and using various musical instruments.
R.E
We follow the 'Come and See' scheme of work to teach R.E. Each topic usually lasts for four weeks. We begin each topic by exploring what each topic means to us before moving on to how it relates to religion. During the year we also learn about other faiths. At OLM we focus on Judaism and Islam. This is a ideal way to teach respect for our community as a whole, regardless of cultures and beliefs.
The topics we will be covering in the spring term are as follows:
Good News: Children will begin this topic by exploring the idea that everyone has good news to share. We will then learn that Jesus sent us a new friend, the Holy Spirit as we learn about Pentecost.
Friends: We will start this topic by exploring what it means to be a friend and talking about the things we do for our friends. We will then talk about how we can be friends of Jesus and how we can tell him about all the things that are important to us through our prayers.
Islam: Children will learn about special objects in Islam. We will learn about prayer mats and how they are used. Children will see how Muslims use prayer mats in their own faith and then have the opportunity to decorate their own.
Our World: We will start this topic by exploring some places in the world which are special to us and how we can look after our world that God created. We will refer back to the story of creation and the things that God created on each day. Children will also have the opportunity to ask questions about what we love and wonder about our world.
Throughout the year, OLM focuses on different elements of Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Each half term we look at a different value and discuss what each one means:
Autumn 1 - Care of Creation
Autumn 2 - Preferential Option for the Poor
Spring 1 - Solidarity and Peace
Spring 2 - Community and Participation
Summer 1 - Dignity of Workers
Summer 2 - Human Dignity
Other information
All uniform, including coats and water bottles need to be clearly named.
Can all parents and carers look at the school uniform list and make sure that your child has the correct items of clothing.
Please note that children should have school shoes and not boots or trainers.
Also, anyone who has long hair, must have it tied up in school. If they do not then we will get a hair band and tie it up for them.
Please encourage your child to dress, undress, feed and use the toilet independently as this will also help them hugely in school.
Tapestry APP
Tapestry is an online learning journal to show your child's learning journey and development in their Reception year. You will be able to access this from home in order to look at photographs, videos and notes following your child's time at school. Please check this regularly.
How to help at home
You can help your child's social and emotional development by:
- Talking with your child and encouraging your child to talk with other children and other adults.
- Encouraging and supporting your child to play cooperatively with other children.
- Regularly discussing with your child feelings and the consequences of different actions.
You can help your child with the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics by:
- Continuing to encourage an enjoyment of books, stories and poems; visiting the local library and sharing stories with your child.
- Continuing to encourage your child to join in with rhymes and songs.
- Practice the letters and sounds learnt in school. You can also help by sounding out a three letter word (segmenting) using the sounds that they have learnt so far and asking your child to put them back together (blending) to make the word.
- Continuing to provide your child with a variety of writing equipment to encourage drawing and writing skills, encouraging your child to give meanings to the marks that they make.
- Play I Spy with your child (good for identifying initial sounds)
- Phonics website for games: https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
- Watch Alphablocks and discuss the episodes
- Watch Numberblocks and discuss the episodes
