Welcome to the Reception Page.

In case Holly Grove shuts the school, teachers will contact you on class dojo about home learning. Any additional documents or resources that you will need to help support your child with their learning, can be found here. 

General Information

Here you will find lots of information about Reception. Our page will be updated regularly with key information and dates related to Reception. 

Please check back again soon. 

Mondays

This is where we focus on our Literacy skills. At the start of the week we focus on a book, where we home in on our communication and language skills. We predict what is going to happen next in the story and talk about what 'I see, I think and I wonder'. On Mondays children take part in woodwork sessions, We focus on developing children's hand and eye coordination and thinking how to keep safe with tools. Woodwork is taught in small groups where each child has the opportunity to progress in the different skills,

Tuesdays

This is our maths and fine motor day. Children take part in the DEMs programme, which we run to help improve fine motor control ready for when children start to form their letters correctly. Children have the opportunity to experiment with tweezers, zips and pegs, to build their finger control up. 

Wednesdays

Wednesday's are our p.e. day. Children come to school already dressed for p.e. P.e. kit consists of long hair tied back along with earrings covered. P.E kit consists of green/black shorts, plain white t-shirt, green/black jogging bottoms and green/black tracksuit top with trainers. Children take part in indoor p.e. with their class teacher in the mornings which is usually a dance or gymnastic lesson and then have a sports coach for their outdoor session in the afternoons, which they develop skills such as throwing/ catching and negotiating space. We are very lucky for the Autumn term to be able to run a balance bike programme with all of the children. 

Thursdays

This is our writing and creative challenge day. Children take part in different writing activities. In the afternoon children have a creative challenge, building up their mixed media skills. This can be using the role play, creating different textured pictures or making different music or singing. 

Fridays

This is our Forest school day. One class will go to forest school where they will where develop their outdoor learning. We learn our forest school rules, play games like duck duck goose, fishes and hide and seek. We also get to use some forest school tools with the forest school leader Miss Mantle such as fire flights, bow saws and loppers etc. If it is not our turn at forest school we take part in some scissor skills and some PSED games.  

Reading/ Phonics 

At Holly Grove we are a reading school and encourage reading at every opportunity. In Reception we follow the Big Cat collins scheme, children are only given reading books when they are ready. Each child reads with a teacher at least twice weekly and we ask you read this book with them at home at least 3 times a week. Children have the opportunity to choose a library book to take home and read during class reading sessions which we offer 10 minutes everyday. Children change this book twice weekly. If a child reads three times weekly they will be given a raffle ticket, if they read every day they will be given two raffle tickets. Raffle tickets are drawn out at the end of each month for your child's chance to win some free books. 

Phonics sessions take place daily here at Holly Grove, where we follow the Little Wandle letters and sounds scheme. Children in Reception will learn phase 2 phonemes between September and October half term. 
 

Parents can access Little Wandle resources to help support your child at home with their phonics. Please see the following website. 
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

Aswell as all the exciting experiences we offer the children at Holly Grove, children also have timetabled big maths sessions to develop their numeracy skills and number knowledge 3 times weekly and also take part in daily phonics sessions. Along with this children also take part in daily massage which promotes SMSC.

Community Links

As we provide the children here at Holly Grove with as many exciting experiences as possible, we often visit the local church to help learn and gain knowledge from Matt the vicar and his team with termly visits to the church. 

Also looking and learning about our environment we are taking the children on a trip to our local Farm. 

British Values

To help promote British values within Reception, children are taught about different communities and cultures, where we often celebrate festivals around the world, such as Chinese new year, Diwali, pancake day, Christmas etc. Children also learn and gain knowledge from visitors who come in to speak to the children about special days such as World book day, Remembrance Sunday. As part of school, children in Reception think very highly of our TORCH values where they strive to  show attributes to be chosen for the TORCH child of that week. 

Class Dojo

Like with the whole school we award monster points to children who show the superhero learning powers within Reception, children who do good tidying up and also children who complete their homework. As part of an incentive the more monster points the children earn the better the prizes. Please find attached Receptions prize list.