Welcome to Reception! We recognise how important and special this year is for so many reasons and we aim to reflect that in all that we do throughout the year. We start by making sure the children are comfortable in their new school environment and can find their way around confidently.

Making friends and building positive relationships with staff is a priority so there is lots of time for play and fun-filled activities, carefully planned around our Power of Reading texts, which are often familiar and much-loved stories.

As the year progresses we look to build memorable experiences, such as a Diwali Dance workshop in Autumn and a Nativity Performance at Christmas. Every child is included in this performance and parents and carers are invited to share in this very special and exciting event. 

In the Spring term we enjoy retelling familiar fairytale stories and have a visit from a drama workshop. We further enjoy investigating a range of different transport and had fun learning about transport in the past. 

The Summer Term sees us preparing for the whole school Sports Day and presenting our Class Assemblies to other members of the school community, demonstrating our growing confidence. We also like to look at changes and this usually involves us watching the changes in different animals. We have witnessed the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies and watched as ducklings have hatched from their eggs and even helped them with their first swim! 

A visit from a local farm and a picnic out on the field are highlights of the Summer and help to create memorable experiences that the children take with them throughout their time at Echelford.

Children in Reception class follow the Foundation Stage Curriculum as set out by Government guidelines.

The curriculum is divided into seven key areas which cover all aspects of the child's development: Personal Social Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication & Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding of the World, and Expressive Arts & Design.