Early Years
At Hugh Joicey C of E Aided First School, we provide children with a safe, nurturing environment where they feel valued as individuals, which encourages children to become independent, curious and enthusiastic learners, in line with our school vision and values. Most of our children in Reception have already attended our on-site pre-school, and strong links with this setting mean that transition into Reception is smooth and is an exciting step in their learning journey. We are delighted to welcome new children into our class too, and take care to ensure that they feel confident, safe and secure in their new environment. In Reception, children are in a small class, with friendly and experienced staff. Miss Carr and Mrs Rawlings take every step they can to support and nurture learning and development for every children in their care.
Our Learning
In Reception, we aim to provide exciting, meaningful and challenging learning experiences in a stimulating and interesting environment. Our activities are planned to follow the children's interests, and we also set themes in order to create excitement and enthusiasm in learning. Children have opportunities to build, create, imagine, develop, explore and play.
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which is split into 7 interconnected areas of learning: 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas (please see our Early Years Policy for more information on these areas.) We use Development Matters statements to track children's progress across these areas throughout the year. We use the White Rose Maths scheme to support our teaching in this area. We teach systematic synthetic phonics using the Read Write Inc scheme, which is used across the school. Please see our Phonics and Early Reading page to find out more about this. To develop vocabulary, spoken language and develop our reading and writing skills, we also use Greg Bottrill's Drawing Club. Drawing Club uses books, oral storytelling and animation to develop children's imagination and creativity - anything can happen, and it often does! See our long term plan for the texts we cover during these sessions.
Assessment
We start the year by taking part in the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment. This is a standardised national model, focussing on Literacy, Maths and Communication and Language. Half termly Read Write Inc assessments take place to allow us to track and monitor progress in phonics, meaning that teaching is constantly adapted to ensure that all children are recieving the exact phonics teaching to meet their needs. We also use the Development Matters statements to track progress in all curriculum areas throughout the year. At the end of the Reception year, children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals. This assessment is based on observations and teacher judgements, and inform future teaching and transition activities, giving a starting point as children move into Key Stage 1.
Communication
At Hugh Joicey C of E First School, we use Seesaw to communicate with parents/carers. This is an online learning journey, which allows parents/carers to communicate directly, updating on children's learning and progress and also communicating anything else that parents/carers might need to know about school events etc. We use ParentPay to provide email updates and to facilitate payments and consent for things like trips. We also hold termly parent consultations and a written report at the end of the year.
SEND
At Hugh Joicey C of E First School, we aim to meet the needs of all pupils. Occasionally, some children experience greater difficulty than others. In this case, we will continue any previous work in place, or start the identification process, so children get the help and support they need as quickly as possible. Hugh Joicey implements the SEND Code of Practice and follows guidance and support from the Local Authority, as well as following a graduated response to meet individual needs as effectively as possible.
We use Quality First Teaching strategies and targeted classroom support where needed. We monitor the impact of these actions and regularly review targets. Parents/carers are engaged throughout the process. In some cases, outside agencies may be contacted for advice and support, with the consent of parents/carers.
Whole School
Reception children are actively involved in all aspects of whole school life. This helps to bring the whole school community together, as well as making transition to Key Stage 1 even smoother, as children are prepared to be part of a larger group. Our whole school events provide a variety of enriching experiences to take part in, including whole school performances, sporting events, collective worship, themed days, whole school trips and church services.
