Starting School
Starting School at Grange Primary
We are delighted that your child has been offered a place to join our wonderful school.
We have a very experienced staff team who are looking forward to meeting you and your child and welcoming you to the Grange community.
Meet the Reception Team
Our EYFS Vision & Values
Living
At Grange Primary School, we aim to create an EYFS curriculum, which develops children as confident learners who work in collaboration with others. We aim to provide children with an environment in which they feel safe and secure, where they are not afraid to face challenges and are encouraged to take risks. We endeavour to create enthusiastic all-round individuals who embody the Grange vision of living, learning and laughing.
Learning
At Grange Primary School, we deliver a creative, engaging curriculum where children are given a wide variety of opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. Through an exciting, interactive, enabling environment, we aim to develop our children as independent learners who follow their own interests, showing curiosity and resilience.
Laughing
At Grange Primary School, we plan our learning around children’s interests. We use special events, such as Welly Days and Messy Days, to capture children’s passion for learning and further their personal, social and emotional skills. A range of opportunities such as, forest school days, trips and our the use of our imagination station, are regularly planned to support the learning inside the classroom.
A Day in Reception
|
8.35-8.45 |
Meet and greet at the Reception classroom doors |
|
8.45-9.00 |
Children self-register and have access to continuous provision in the classroom |
|
9.00-9.30 |
Phonics |
|
9.30-10.30 |
Continuous provision inside and outside/group learning. |
|
10.30-10.45 |
Snack time - healthy snack from home or fruit option from school |
|
10.45-11.00 |
Literacy |
|
11.00-11.30 |
Continuous provision inside/reading/interventions |
|
11.30-11.45 |
Numeracy |
|
11.45-13.00 |
Lunchtime - school dinners or packed lunches in the hall. |
|
13.00-13.15 |
Register and Dough Disco. |
|
13.15-13.30 |
Topic ‘I wonder’ learning. |
|
13.30-14.50 |
Continuous provision inside and outside/group learning. |
|
14.50-15.10 |
Story time |
|
15.15 |
Home time - children are dismissed one at a time from their classroom door. |
What Will I Need for a School Day?
Uniform
- Yellow or white polo shirt
- Burgundy jumper, cardigan or fleece
- Grey or black trousers, skirt, shorts or pinafore
- Yellow or burgundy summer dress
- Black school shoes
- No jewellery or nail varnish
PE kit - Thursday
- Plain yellow or white t-shirt
- Burgundy shorts
- Black trainers
Equipment
- School bag
- Lunch box (if they have chosen to have packed lunches)
- Water bottle
- Waterproof coat
- Sun hat/warm hat
- Healthy snack (optional)
- A change of clothes (kept in their bag)
Please ensure that all clothing and equipment is clearly name-labelled, so that we can ensure that the children can identify their own belongings and that they are easily returned to the correct child.
Top Tips for Starting School
Talk to your child about school:
Talking about the exciting things your child is going to do at school helps them get over any nerves. You could:
- Talk about what your child might expect for their day at school. It is important to talk to your child about school and what they can expect. Explain that they will be making new friends, playing with new toys and learning new things. You can also use this page to share some photos (Starting School Booklet) and information with your child.
- Talk about how fun school is and what you enjoyed about school when you were their age.
- Discuss your child's feelings about school.
- Read stories all about schools, related to what might happen and feelings about school.
Visit Us:
- Visit the school - Attend some of our story and formal sessions, where your child can get to know their school environment and the adults and children that they will be spending their time with. Walking or driving past the school at the end of the school day and watching children come out in uniform can also be very exciting!
- Practise the school routine- It can be helpful to do a practice journey before the big day, looking for interesting things on the way. It might be a good idea to make sure your child has school-friendly bedtimes and getting-up times a few days in advance.
Practise Independence:
Developing independence and resilience is key for your child to have a successful start to their school journey. Before starting school, encourage your child to become independent in:
- Showing curiosity in their interests and the world around them
- Asking for help when they need it
- Communicating with friends and adults
- Sharing with others
- Toileting (Please refer to the 'eric' charity website for support with this - https://eric.org.uk/)
- Self-care - hand washing, getting dressed etc
Some tasks may be overwhelming for your child and hard for them to manage. Break these bigger tasks down into smaller steps. As your child gets more confident, you can then gradually build on these steps. It is important to make sure you give your child lots of praise and encouragement. It will help them to keep learning and to want to learn more. The best way for child to learn is through play. The more fun and exciting you make learning new skills, the quicker your child will pick them up.
Please refer to the 'Starting Reception pdf' below, for more detailed steps on how to help your child be ready for school.