WB:26/1/26

This week we continued our traditional tales topic but looked at creating our own alternate versions of a familiar tale. Children were challenged to keep the sequence of the story the same, but change the characters and the ending. They really enjoyed this and we could see them continuing this in their play at the tough tray where they were merging elements of one tale with another e.g 3 billy goats gruff and the big bad wolf.

One of the alternate tales we shared was ‘Mr Wolf’s pancakes’ The children loved this story which shows Mr Wolf struggling to follow a recipe. We decided to follow our own recipe and make gingerbread. Children enjoyed measuring, mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, baking, decorating and eating the gingerbread men. What fun we had!

To link with our topic, in Maths we looked at measure. We focused on comparative language using the key words of taller, tallest, shorter, shortest. Children ordered themselves from shortest to tallest and used non standard units to measure items in the classroom. Children were then challenged to use a ruler to measure smaller items more accurately.

WB:19/1/26

We started our topic on traditional tales this week. We shared many different tales with the children and transformed our classrooms into traditional tales settings. Children then wrote about their favourite book, giving reasons using the word ‘because’ in their writing.

In Maths this week we focused on sequencing times of the day. Children were very good at ordering their daily routines, and now can refer to morning, afternoon and evening.

In Nature school, to link with our topic, children made magical wands. They used sticks, feathers and wool to design and create their own wands. The children were very engaged and very creative.

WC: 12/1/26

This week in RE we have looked at Jesus welcomes the little children (Mk 10: V16). Children spoke about how Jesus welcomes us and how we can be more like Jesus and welcome others. Children reflected on how they can welcome visitors to our classroom, can welcome children to join in their games and greet people we meet in our community.

To continue our’ people who help us’ topic, after our visits last week from the police and a doctor, children were writing which job they would like when they are older. We came into school on Wednesday and a crime had been committed in our classrooms! Our priest teddy (Fr Jim) had been stolen and our reading corners had been left in a very messy state. The children were very engaged in this role play and enjoyed making wanted posters for the thief, which they then displayed all around the school. Children had to look for clues, and in their police officer roles, put the clues together.

Thank goodness we found Fr Jim in the Art cupboard, and the culprit wrote us an apology note. Crime solved, well done Reception.

WC 5.1.2026

Happy New Year! 

This week the children have had a wonderful week. It has been a very cold start to the term, with snow and ice. Children enjoyed catching snowflakes and rescuing our sea creatures, who were in the water but then became stuck in the ice! The children came up with great ideas of how to get them free, this was amazing collaborative work using problem solving skills. 

In RE we retold the story of the three kings. Children used their knowledge from our Nativity to explain their journey and had a good understanding of why they visited him. Children made links to giving and receiving gifts in their own lives. 

Our new topic has started, 'People who help us'. Children have been learning about public service jobs and how they help our community. We were lucky enough to have a talk from the police, and from a doctor. These lived experiences are so important for the children to immerse themselves in their learning. 

In Maths, children were making repeated patterns. They made these with colours, shapes and different sizes. Children then used this in their play which was encouraging to see. 

In Nature school, children made numbers from natural resources. They worked well together and loved the challenge of creating 'big' numbers. 

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

The EYFS team 

WC:1/12/25

Wow, what a busy week in Reception!

We started our week with our first school trip to the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith to see Ramond Briggs’ ‘Father Christmas’ The children were so excited to get the train and watch a show together. They were fully engaged and it was so touching so see their faces light up with the magic of Christmas!

This was then followed by Letter writing to Santa. Children used their phonics to sound out the items they wanted to ask Santa for. Then on Friday they walked to the local post box to post their special letters. We hope he writes back! A big thank you to all of those parents who joined us on these trips.

In Maths, the children continued their learning on the understanding of a whole being made up of parts. Children have really enjoyed challenging themselves to find the ‘parts’ which make ‘whole’ numbers. They have really impressed us with their thirst for a challenge and their early mastery of number!

In Nature school, children collected signs of winter and created frozen ornaments- we will enjoy watching them hang on the trees and melt in the sunshine next week!

Have a great weekend, 

The EYFS team

WC: 24/11/25

This week in RE the children have started their learning about the Nativity story. They have drawn the Nativity scene and will be writing the full story. They have really impressed us with their understanding and story re-telling skills. 

We continued our nocturnal animals topic by focusing on our text of 'Owl babies'. The children sequenced pictures of the story, and then used time conjunctions to sequence their re-telling of the story. They brought this topic outside for our Nature school where they made Owls using natural resources. They did very well with this.

We have been practicing our Nativity on the stage and they are doing amazingly well, we are so proud of them. They have learnt their lines, and are getting very confident at singing the songs- we are now adding in stage directions to bring it all together!

Well done Reception!

Have a lovely weekend

The EYFS team 

WC: 17/11/25

This week the weather has really changed. On Wednesday we were very excited to see snow! 

Thank you for ensuring the children have coats and hats in school. These are needed now as we learn inside and outside in every lesson. 

Children have really enjoyed learning about nocturnal animals this week. We read our book 'Owl babies' and then once we had discussed other nocturnal animals, the children had a go at writing a fact about their own. Children have made owls using tissue paper and toilet roll tubes which looked very effective. They also have enjoyed pretending to be a nocturnal animal in our very own dark enclosure. In PE, children created their own 3 step sequenced dance pretending to be nocturnal animals and were challenged to mirror each other's movements. They did very well with this. 

In Math we have continued to explore numbers to 5. Children are now mostly confident showing numbers to 5 in different ways, can show the order of the numbers and notice that as a number gets bigger in the sequence, 1 more is added. We had fun with this where children created their own number blocks. 

Nature school was a huge success this week. After speaking about healthy eating last week, children created their own 'healthy mud cupcakes' They added leaves, twigs, and stones for decoration. The cold weather didn't put us off, they enjoyed every second!

We were very lucky to have a parent speaker in school this week to teach us about her culture in Ghana. This was so that children could re-visit our learning before half term on Handa's surprise. Where we can, we pre-teach, teach and re-teach so that the children's knowledge is secure. In this workshop, children had the opportunity to try food, smell herbs which tea is made from, taste a fruit drink, play African instruments and each child took home a shell. These shells were used as currency in Ghana a long time ago. The children were very engaged and respectful and thoroughly enjoyed this experience. 

If you have something you would like to share with the children from your career/ culture then please get in touch as we love these opportunities to celebrate our community whilst enriching our curriculum. 

The EYFS team 

WC: 10/11/25

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week we have been learning about Remembrance Day and we have been thinking about how we can be kind, to others.

The children have draw poppies, made them out of different materials, and written their own sentence about what we remember when we see a poppy. The children also learnt a Remembrance Day poem which they performed and this is uploaded to Tapestry for you to enjoy. 

Before half term we learnt about Diwali, and this week we were reminded of this with our Diwali dance workshop. The children joined in with the actions whilst learning the story. They all thoroughly enjoyed this workshop and were able to retell the story of Rama and Sita through their play. 

On World Kindness Day we focused on how we are kind and help others. We shared books about what it means to be kind and shared examples of where we see kindness shown in school. Children came up with lovely ideas of how they can be kind to others. 

Thank-you so much for attending this weeks Parent Consultations. It was lovely to see you all and to hear that your children are happy coming to Reception.

Dates for your diary: 

20th November 2025 - Phonics Workshop for EYFS parents (9am-10am)

1st December- Reception trip to the Lyric theatre to see 'Father Christmas' 

17th December 2025- Reception Christmas Nativity (2:30-3:00)

Have a lovely weekend

The EYFS team 

WC: 3/11/25

Welcome back from half term. What a busy first week back it has been!

This week, children began their first week of looking at their new book 'Handa's Surprise'. The children enjoyed tasting and writing about the different fruits Handa had in her basket. We spoke about what a surprise is, and whether a surprise was always a good thing. This made children think about other's likes and dislikes and how they can be different from their own. 

The children had their first Nature school session this week. The loved getting their wellies on and exploring this new area of the school. When there, they discussed rules to keep them safe when learning in this area. They then worked as a team, using natural resources to build their own den structures. 

The children have also been busy practicing their songs for our Christmas Nativity. Parts went home today and we are so excited to get practicing. We have been ambitious with this play as we know these amazing children will rise to the challenge! 

Have a lovely weekend, 

Enjoy the fireworks!

The EYFS team 

WC: 20^th October 2025

Wow, what an amazing first half term with our lovely children. They have settled so well and are working so hard. It has been so heartwarming watching new friendships grow and their confidence develop.

This week in Reception we have finished our ‘Autumn’ topic. Children have worked hard to rehearse an Autumn poem and have performed this in front of KS1. We looked at rhyming words, actions to key words and speaking clearly.

In Maths this week, the children have been looking at ‘more/less’. They enjoyed problem solving and using this vocabulary in their play. Children were using the water play to compare volumes of water, loose parts to challenge their friends and practiced their 1:1 correspondence to check their answers.

In RE, children looked at how we are all made in God’s image. They discussed how it is important to treat others with human dignity and respect We reflected on how we are all made unique, and no matter a person’s differences, we are all to be treated equally. Children role played scenarios of how to treat others, and drew pictures of how they can show kindness. Some children even wrote sentences this week to explain their pictures!

This week, some families celebrated Diwali. To understand this, children learnt about what the festival means to those celebrating. They coloured Rangoli patterns, and made their own Diva lamps.

We hope you have a restful half term and look forward to welcoming you all back on 3^rd November.

The Reception team.

WC: 13/10/2025

This week we have Immersed ourselves in our ‘Autumn’ topic. We started our week with launching our own pumpkin patch, using our senses to investigate pumpkins, and practicing our chopping and slicing skills in the role play area.  

We read our text of ‘Pumpkin Soup’ and followed instructions to make our own soup. Children then enjoyed eating the soup with our roasted pumpkin seeds in our outdoor classroom! 

In RE, children have looked at what it means to be ‘welcomed’. We looked at how the sacrament of Baptism is a catholic welcoming into the church. We also discussed other ways we are welcomed and can be welcoming in our everyday lives.  

In Maths, we have been investigating the pattern of 4. We looked at how we can represent the number 4 in various ways. Children were great at showing a variety of ways, using a collection of materials.  

Have a lovely weekend

The Reception team

WC: 6th October 2025

This week in Reception we have been focusing on Black History. Through reading the story of Anna Hibiscus’s song, children have compared her family to their own. 

The children had their first PE lessons and Gross motor sessions which they thoroughly enjoyed.

In RE, children were looking at how we can care for God’s creation. They were very knowledgeable about recycling, turning lights off and preserving water. In this month of October, we have been taking part in the Rosary challenge. On Tuesday, we were very excited to pray the Hail Mary with Fr Jim.

We can't wait for our 'Autumn' topic to start next week!

Have a lovely weekend

The Reception team

WC: 29th September 2025

Dear Parents and Carers

We have had another very busy week in Reception where we have continued our Harvest celebrations and have now started our ELS phonics teaching. Children this week have learnt the sounds 's' 'a' 't' 'p'. They have also been introduced to the harder to read and spell word 'A/a'. If you would like to practice these sounds at home, please use the video link below through our teaching of phase 2. 

Children come into class in the morning, collect a whiteboard & pen and practice their previously learnt sounds. This helps with their memory of the sounds, as well as their letter formations. 

Thank you for all of your very generous Harvest donations. The children have loved giving these to the school and fully understand the importance of this. 

Next week we are starting PE. Please ensure your child is in full PE kit on Tuesday 7th October. They will stay in this all day. 

Have a lovely weekend.

The Reception team.

WC: 11/9/2025

Dear Parents and Carers, 

This week has been a busy week in Reception. The children have been settling in well, making new friendships and trying new activities. Children continue to move between the classrooms and explore outside in every lesson. They have been doing this with increasing confidence and it is lovely to see this developing.

This week in Literacy we have been reading the book 'The Colour Monster' and focusing on what makes us feel different emotions. Children were able to draw and explain what makes them happy and what makes them sad. They also know who they can speak to if they feel sad in school or at home.

The children have been looking at the 'Creation story' from Genesis in RE. They now know what God created on each day. Children then chose their favourite day in the creation story and drew this in their RE books. 

Our role play area was a farm shop this week. This was to introduce the children to the festival of Harvest. Children looked at where our food comes from, how it comes to be in the shops and how different people celebrate harvest. This focus will continue into next week- we can't wait to share our learning on Tapestry. 

Have a great rest of the week. 

Mrs Crouch, Mrs White & the Reception team