Southborough Church of England Primary School
Southborough Church of England Primary School
Reception 2024-2025
Welcome to Reception
We are delighted that your child is joining our school. We very much look forward to getting to know you and your child and working together in partnership. Southborough is a welcoming, exciting and successful school and we hope your child will quickly feel happy, confident and secure in their new environment.
This page of our website has been written for the parents and carers of new Reception children. It aims to answer some of the questions you may have so that you too will feel confident and well prepared when your child starts school.
Meet the Teachers!
Mrs. Large and Mrs. Coles (River Class), Miss Hughes (Forest Class), Mrs Crumly (Mountain Class)
We have an enthusiastic, skilled and experienced teaching team in Reception. In addition to the class teacher, your child will be taught by and interact with the Reception support team.
Your Child’s Learning Journey at Southborough
During the first few weeks, we concentrate on settling in your child into our secure and comforting environment.
We introduce children to the routines and expectations of our school so that they have a sense of belonging and know what to expect. Our free flow sessions, which are part of our continuous provision, are called ‘Adventure Time’ and this is what we hope your child will love about our school as we explore and get to know each other.
We use short adult-led teaching for our core subjects in maths, phonics and other areas. Phonics and maths are golden threads that run through all our learning opportunities and are supported throughout the school day, as well as in specific adult led teaching times.
Our adult-led sessions build the children’s excitement for the learning focus and introduce key vocabulary and skills. This then extends into our ‘Adventure Time’ sessions, with a rich variety of continuous resources and ever-changing activities where children can develop their curiosity and extend their learning. Our environment, both in the indoor and outdoor classrooms, enables us to be active and have adventures every day in all weathers.
We teach reading and writing through our phonics scheme: Read, Write, Inc. from the middle of the first term. You may also want to explore this website for further details.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/
Each term we explore a book together, in some detail, using the Power of Reading scheme with linked activities. On a daily basis, we also share a wide range of stories, factual books, poems to inspire our thinking and later our writing.
The interaction between our adults and children is a crucial part of our daily learning, whether it be encouraging independence, developing thinking and problem-solving skills, or learning whilst having fun.
The team are passionate about the way we learn and develop in Early Years, and your children will experience busy and fulfilling days.
A sample timetable for a typical day in Reception is available on your child’s Class Page of the website https://www.southborough.kent.sch.uk/class-pages/ . This page will also include weekly updates and photographs and information about the curriculum and topics taught in class.
What should my child be able to do before starting school?
We know that each child is unique and there is no ‘one size fits all’ for what they can or should be able to do. However, it would be helpful if they were able to put on and take off their school shoes, wellies and coats to enable them to access our fantastic learning environments, both inside and outside more speedily.
Here is a link to BBC Bitesize which has some useful resources for your child to support them during this transition.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/collections/starting-primary-school/1
And a link to the PACEY website with more useful resources.
Here are some examples of the learning your child might enjoy at our school!
