Welcome to the Autumn term in Reception! 

Reception Class Teacher - Mrs Brotherton and Miss Mullins  Learning Support Officer - Mrs Sally Harris

Reception Class Teacher - Mrs Parker and Learning Support Officer - Mr Levy

We have had a fantastic start to the year and the children have settled in very well. Our unit of work for this term is 'Significant People of Wales and the World'.

The children have spent time exploring their new learning environment and we have discussed our classroom expectations, rules and routines. We will continue to learn about friendships, family and caring for others. The children will develop their social skills by playing co-operatively and responding appropriately to both adults and peers. They will be encouraged to look after their belongings and continue to develop their independence.

• September - Respect and Responsibility 

• October - Compassion and Hope 

• November -  Friendship and Forgiveness 

• December - Understanding and Patience

This term the children are continuing to develop their reading and writing skills through our Read, Write Inc programme. Through class-based and small group activities, children will show they can listen, respond appropriately and effectively with growing attention and concentration. 

As well as learning phonics, we will begin to follow our Literacy curriculum, a book-based approach utilising high-quality texts to foster a love of stories. We will begin by looking at the book 'Super Milly'.

Children will be encouraged to respond to more complex instructions, ask and answer a variety of questions. A love of reading will be developed through our book corners, daily stories and later in the term with home/school reading resources. The children will use a variety of instruments and a range of materials to develop their letter formation. Emergent writing will be developed through role-play activities and concept-based work. 

Children will begin to use incidental Welsh through our daily activities and Helpwr Heddiw sessions.  Children will be encouraged to respond and ask questions through stories, songs and rhymes. 

This term in maths, the children will use the number names accurately, matching the symbol to the sound. They will begin to count to 20, reciting forwards and backwards from different starting points. They will read, write, compare and order numbers up to 10.  We will be using mathematical equipment such as five and tens frames, where we will be encouraging the children to visualise what they can see and what is missing. We will also be using dice, counters and number blocks. We will be exploring different mathematical concepts through stories, songs and rhymes. Children will explore numbers and concepts through day-to-day activities and play.

They will listen and begin to use and respond to mathematical language and key vocabulary. We will be introducing the children to sentence stems and a variety of mathematical language, e.g. '.... is bigger than', '.... is smaller than', '..... is fewer than', '.....larger than'. We will explore non-standard measures, including size, height, length, and distance. 

They will explore 'Numicon' shapes and investigate these in their play and structured activities. They will recognise and name 2D shapes in their environment and play with shapes by making models and pictures. We will also explore the concepts of addition and subtraction in a variety of practical ways using a range of equipment. 

During PE, we will develop our collaboration skills, teamwork, and independence. 

We will be learning about who cares for us and how we can care for others in our community.

During the school day, we will have regular check-ins and circle times to discuss our emotions and feelings.  

Oldcastle Primary School are fortunate to have adopted ‘Thrive’ a therapeutic approach to help support children with their emotional and social development. Children will take part in group activities and children may begin to take part in Thrive and well-being sessions with Mrs Diehl.

During our other Areas of Learning and Experience, we will think about the Significant People of Wales and the wider World. We will think about what it means to be significant and begin to understand that it is not only famous people who make significant impacts on communities, societies and the world. Throughout this unit of work, pupils will focus on developing pupils' knowledge of the Significant People of Wales and the World. Pupils will explore belonging and Cynefin by identifying their place within families and communities and how this links to their Welsh and the wider world heritage.  Pupils will gain a culturally diverse awareness of historical contexts and religious celebrations by exploring Wales and the world, making observations, and asking questions. 

In Expressive Arts, we will be creating self-portraits using various creative materials. We will look at art and music from different cultures, identifying how different pieces represent and influence how they feel. They will begin to look at how colour can be used to express cultural identity.

In Health and Wellbeing, we will be learning about who is significant in the community and the wider world, looking at people who care for us. They will have opportunities to explore and express themselves to develop their emotional well-being and become more independent learners by exploring their own unique qualities those around them.

In Science and Technology, we will be investigating materials. In addition, we will look at how our bodies change and what makes us different to others. 

In Humanities, we will be looking at significant people in our own culture and where we live. We will identify our own communities and find out about our own history.   We will discuss tradition and heritage and consolidate this by looking at family trees and making our own timelines of our lives so far.

Please ensure children’s water bottles have water in them and not squash.  Bottles need to be clearly labelled with their names. 

PE will be on a Wednesday afternoon and children will need to wear their PE kit to school on their PE day. Please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled. We have a fruit snack in the afternoon, so if you wish your child to have a fruit snack, please send in a small tub, with fruit cut up and prepared. 

We do have some children in school with a nut allergy, we aim to be a nut-free school so please do not send in sandwiches or snacks that contain peanut products such as nutella.

Please complete this form to provide feedback and comment

To contact your child's teacher please drop us an email via ask@oldcastleprimary.co.uk or call us 01656 815790.  

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.