Oak Class – Reception

In Oak class we enable our Reception children to thrive through play-based learning, outdoor exploration and challenging opportunities in preparation for life's adventures!

Welcome to Oak class!

In Oak class we believe that the classroom is the second teacher and that with carefully thought out planning and set-up, children become autonomous learners; the children are the leaders. It is then our job as practitioners to support them in their exploration. We also have a wonderful outdoor learning area so that pupils have the choice of whether they explore new concepts inside or outside. They can design and build elaborate bridges to walk across; explore under the sea creatures at the water tray; cook interesting meals in the mud kitchen; become pirates using costumes and props or create a piece of artwork.

Through play based activities and challenges we teach the Early Years Curriculum in a way that inspires and encourages our children to ask deeper questions as well as providing a learning journey full of nurturing and enriched opportunities. With the opening imminent of our new adventure area, we can’t wait to see their imaginations set free as they explore the larger and exciting area!

Over the academic year we will have a broad range of topics. These topics will be planned, taking into account, the interest of the children and ensuring we create both a wide and diverse curriculum that engages and excites.

Term 5

St Julians EYFS Medium Term Plan Come Outside Summer 1 2025_2026

This term will embrace the warmer weather as we learn about plants and life cycles. In literacy , through Drawing Club , we will enjoy a range of books including Jasper and the Beanstalk, The seed and The hungry caterpillar.

In maths we will continue to develop a deeper understanding of 6,7,8,9 and 10. We continue to secure our understanding of numbers 1-10 and also begin to recognise the value of numbers 11-20. We will be looking for missing numbers within a number line to 20. We continue to explore and deepen our understanding of odd and even numbers as well as continuing our learning of time including clock, time and days of the week.

As part of understanding the world we learn what a plant needs to survive and grow. We will look at different life cycles for both plants and creatures. In art we will be learning about the artist Alma Thomas and attempting our own collage art work in her style. In RE we will be learning about the creation story and other stories in the bible. We will be celebrating our wonderful world which will also include celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday. In PSHE we are focusing on Relationships and what role we have and who helps us.

Term 5’s core value is – Joy. We will think about what joy looks like within a home, school and our world. We will talk about what gives us joy and how we can bring joy to other people and our world. We continue to build on our resilience to recognise the power of ‘Yet’ , recognising that something that is a challenge takes time and practice.

We love to hear about any achievements at home, please feel free to add these to your child’s Class Dojo profile page . We will be able to talk about these in the afternoons.

Phonics ,Reading, Writing and Maths

We will continue to teach Phonics using Little Wandle , Literacy using Drawing Club and Maths using White Rose and NCETM with both adult led sessions and continuous provision. As well as the adult led activities children will also have Explore time which follows the individual interests of the children. Currently in Term 5 we will begin to teach and learn Phase 4 . This will be no new sounds but will focus on trickier consonant blends e.g. scr, spl, st, pt etc. There will be a big focus on learning to write the tricky words.

All children have a school reading book which will be based on teacher assessment and phonics. Books will be given out on the Wednesday and must be returned to school on the following Monday as they are often rotated between groups. This book will be familiar as we will have read the book three times in school before going home. They should be reading the book fluently, with 90% of the words being read without the need to segment. As a result of this increase in fluency, speed and accuracy, comprehension improves as cognitive overload is reduced.

The second book the children will bring home will be a ‘sharing book’. This is a book chosen by your child to encourage a love of reading and can be changed at any time.

Please ensure you sign the purple home-school contact book/reading record each time you read with your child. The expectation is to read daily even for five minutes.

Click here for the overview of our phonics learning in EYFS and Year 1

Click here for access to the Little Wandle Revised Letter and Sounds Parents Support

Please note:

PE lessons will be Tuesday. Please send your child to school wearing their PE kit.
All children require a water bottle in school everyday, as well as a hat and waterproof coat for showers.
Children must have in school every day a spare pair of wellies for our outdoor classroom and paddock area as well as spare clothes in case they get wet.
Contact books/reading records are required in school every day.
As the days get warmer , children need to apply sunscreen before school. They can bring in named sunscreen which will be stored safely within the classroom and reapplied at lunchtime if required.

Reception

It is really important that children spend some time at home each week consolidating their learning at school and it is helpful if they have a quiet space to do so. You can find a copy of our Home Learning Expectation on the policies section of our website. In our class the expectation is: