Class 1 2024 - 2025
Mrs Jones
Nursery/Reception Teacher: Mrs Jones Teaching Assistants: Mrs Williams, Miss Brown and Mrs Sweetnam
Welcome to Class 1
In Class 1, we have a wonderful mix of nursery and reception children, happily playing and learning together. Early on in the year, our aim is to build positive, secure and trusting relationships, to allow our children to flourish. Then, progressively throughout the year, the children’s experiences are broadened, as we work hard to provide opportunities for them to try new things and we encourage them to persevere with new challenges. We place a strong emphasis on developing the children’s ability to verbally express themselves and regulate their own feelings, so that they feel confident, respected and valued.
Our classroom provides a welcoming and stimulating play-based learning environment. The areas of learning have been carefully planned to provide high-level learning opportunities for our children. All of the resources have been specifically chosen and have ‘earned’ their place on the shelf. Enhancements to the areas are added to provide extra support and challenge throughout the year.
In order to support high-level learning, teachers and teaching assistants value and model play and they introduce the children to the endless possibilities of our open-ended resources. They know how and when to interact with children in their play in order to support, challenge or extend their learning. This then leads to engagement and independent exploration during future continuous provision sessions. Teachers and teaching assistants have many back and forth conversations with the children to develop communication and language skills within the class.
New concepts are taught through focussed adult-inputs. These include a wide range of learning opportunities to learn new skills, challenge thinking and embed learning. Adult inputs are carefully planned so that they are progressive and sequential across the seven areas of learning (Communication and Language, Physical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design).
To help consolidate the learning that has taken place at school, children will be given home learning challenges every two weeks. The home learning challenges are fun and engaging practical activities, that are enjoyable to do as a family. We ask families to support their child with these tasks and try to complete as many as the activities as possible. Our ‘Wow Moments’ sheets can be used to record and celebrate any significant learning. As children become more skilled at decoding words, they will be given a reading book to practise the sounds that they have learnt in phonics that week. Please encourage your child to read this book many times throughout the week, initially focussing on decoding the words and then developing more fluency towards the end of the week. This will then allow your child to develop their comprehension of the text each time they read it. After reading the book many times, children can also begin to add in expression and intonation to bring the book to life. In addition to their decodable reading book, children will also select a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ book to take home and enjoy. Children will have a set of words that link to the sounds learnt in phonics. Please support your child to practise reading and spelling these words in their spelling books.
At our school, we know how it is to develop positive relationships with our school families, in order to gain a wider view of each child’s needs. Throughout the year, we look forward to sharing the children’s fantastic learning and their wonderful work at parent meetings and our work showcase events.
Notes for your diary:
Wednesday – am - PE – SRFD
pm - Mrs Jones’s PPA. Mrs Latham will be teaching Class 1 during this time.
New reading books given out
Home Learning Challenges given out every other week (please record homework evidence on the Parent Postcard app on Evidence Me)
Thursday - pm – Forest School - one session per half term (please see school calendar for dates).
am - PE
Friday - Celebration worship (with families)
'Show and Tell’ in Class 1. This is an opportunity for children to share exciting news.
Useful websites to support learning at home:
All areas of learning
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies
Phonics
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources
Reading
Maths
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-maths-age-3-4-early-years/
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-maths-age-4-5-reception/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b08bzfnh/numberblocks