Reception

Welcome to Ducklings!

Welcome to Ducklings class (formally known as Reception! ) Thank you for visiting our class page. On this page you will find key information about our curriculum and our classroom. We will also be sharing some of our learning with you so please come back to visit to see what is new!

Staff in Reception

Key Weekly Information

• Miss Stevenson is out of the classroom on  Thursday mornings and alternate Tuesday afternoons. Mrs Kiernan will be covering the class during these times
• Visits to the wildlife area will be on a Thursday morning. Please ensure your children have appropriate clothing as we know how quickly the weather can change!

Curriculum

In Reception we follow the Early Year Foundation Stage. If you would like more information you can view our full curriculum here: http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf

In Reception we use an approach called 'in the moment planning'. Rather than pre-planning activities which children may not engage with (due to their ever changing interests), we instead carry out the cycle of ‘observe – assess – plan’ on a moment by moment basis. This means that the adults are always engaging meaningfully with the children, responding to their immediate needs and interests.

Focus Children

We will have focus children each week (approximately 10% of the class). Your child will be a focus child once a term. At the end of each week we will select the focus children for the following week. Once the focus children have been selected they will be given a parent consultation sheet to bring home. All we ask is that you fill in the sheet in as much detail as possible and take some photos over the weekend of your child/family. You can then upload these photos via Tapestry, or if you prefer you can print them out for us. Once we have completed observations for your child covering all areas of the Early Years curriculum then we will contact you to arrange a meeting. During the meeting we will share what we have observed and discuss next steps. I am happy to arrange meetings to suit you best - whether this be before school or later in the evening. These meetings will replace the Parents Evenings which are held by other year groups across the school in November and February. Observations during your child’s week will be recorded on a separate focus child sheet and will be uploaded to Tapestry once we have met. If your child is not a focus child for the week, please don’t worry – they won’t be ignored! They will continue to access the curriculum in the same way as their peers and ‘wow moment’ observations will be recorded on Tapestry as usual.

We believe this is best because ...

“Babies and young children are experiencing and learning in the here and now, not storing up their questions until tomorrow or next week. It is in that moment of curiosity, puzzlement, effort or interest – the ‘teachable moment’ – that the skilful adult makes a difference. By using this cycle on a moment-by-moment basis, the adult will be always alert to individual children (observation), always thinking about what it tells us about the child’s thinking (assessment), and always ready to respond by using appropriate strategies at the right moment to support children’s well-being and learning (planning for the next moment).”

From National Standards document ‘Learning, Playing and Interacting’.

Progress and Development

When children show high levels of involvement, that is when there is progress and development occurring – when the brain is at its most active.  High level involvement occurs most often when children are able to pursue their own interests in an enabling environment supported by skilled staff. Planning in the moment helps to make this possible.

An Enabling Environment

We have a workshop style environment indoors and outside.  Nothing is set out on the tables meaning the children can select what they want to do in each area. The principal is that resources are accessible to the children at all times, and they are varied and open-ended. This gives children the opportunity to select resources to support their chosen activity and also supports the development of their independence.

Characteristic of Effective Learning

Another extremely important part of our curriculum are the characteristics of effective learning. These are the ways

in which children engage with others around them and their learning environment. These different characteristics underpin learning and development and support the children in becoming effective, motivated and life-long learners. In Ducklings' class we promote these characteristics through the use of animal characters. We use this language in our everyday conversations with the children for example, congratulating them for being a 'persevering parrot' when engaging with a challenging task.