Ferney Lee Primary School

Welcome to Reception Class

Meet the staff...

Mrs McKay (Class Teacher)

Mrs Kelly (Teaching Assistant)

Photo coming

Miss Georgia (Support Assistant)

Miss Zenab (Support Assistant)

Welcome to Ferney Lee Reception!

 Leaders have designed the curriculum for early years to prepare children for learning in Year 1. The development of speaking and listening is a priority. Adults use specific vocabulary in their conversations with children to help them learn new words. Teachers plan the indoor and outdoor learning areas to provide stimulating learning. As a result, children flourish.

(Ofsted, February 2023)

At Ferney Lee, we use Development Matters (Revised, 2021) to ensure that children get the best possible start to their education. Development Matters allows us to create a curriculum that meets the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework whilst also reflecting the needs of our wonderfully diverse cohort. High-quality interactions and attachment-informed practices underpin everything we do. This approach places the Prime Areas of Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language at the heart of a curriculum that enables our children to "flourish" (Ofsted, 2023). Our indoor and outdoor area, along with Forest School and PE, support their Physical Development. Our curriculum ensures that all children develop the foundational knowledge, skills and understanding that they need to develop as kind, curious and independent learners in Reception and, when the time comes, to make a successful and happy transition into Year 1.

Our curriculum begins with the children's start points. It takes into account the needs of our Todmorden community, interests and skills the children have shown at home, in our Nursery and other settings. It is informed by the learning the children will encounter as they move through KS1 and beyond. As the children begin to feel settled in September, we find out more about what they enjoy and plan for their individual next steps. Our curriculum develops similarly throughout the year, responding to the knowledge, skills and experiences we want the children to gain, whilst also reflecting individual and class interests, strengths, weaknesses and many inspirations. To find out how our curriculum met the needs of our 2022-23 cohort, please scroll down to the bottom of this page to see a selection of photographs from last year's learning.

Key to our learning is a well-planned environment that strikes a balance between familiarity and challenge. You may hear your child talk about "being in provision". These are the learning opportunities that our indoor and outdoor classroom provides when the children are choosing freely. Continuous provision allows the children to build on what they already know when an adult is not necessarily in support. We also adapt and enhance provision in response to the children's interests and skills, whilst remaining mindful of sensory and cognitive overload.

Daily routines really help us to settle into our learning. We especially love chatting in our keyworker groups at morning snack. We also brush our teeth in the same groups every day, using this as an additional opportunity to deepen our maths understanding. Movement breaks help us to focus and develop our strength - they're also really fun for both children and adults in class! 

Teacher-led sessions form a part of our day, with phonics, maths and writing taught in short sessions daily. We teach phonics using Read, Write Inc. and maths using NCETM's Mastering Number and White Rose Maths for space, shape and measure. 

We all reflect continually on how we are learning, so that we develop the Characteristics of Effective Learning  we need as we start our school journey together. We find it helpful to think about the Characteristics of Effective Learning as the Thrill, Will and Skill we need to make the very most of every day. 

****Read Write Inc Phonics****

Please click here for a video showing you how to say the sounds. Please ask if you have any questions.

What are we learning in Summer 1?

What did we learn in Spring 2?

What did we learn in Spring 1?

What did we learn in Autumn 2?

What did we learn in Autumn 1?

Welcome to our Reception library! Below is a selection of the books - fiction and non-fiction - that we will read, explore and enjoy together in Reception this year.

Look at the photographs below to find out more about our busy learning in Reception in 2023-24. We had a busy and brilliant year together!

In our first term together, it was all about the pedal bikes, snails and making musical instruments! We were confident from the outset to express likes and dislikes. We found I am bat by Morag Hood very funny and really enjoyed Would you rather…? by John Burningham. Just like last year, we showcased our creativity with our poppy paintings for Remembrance Day and a class poem for National Poetry Day. When the weather grew colder and the nights darker, we enjoyed spooky stories, especially Ruth Brown’s A Dark, Dark Tale. Divali prompted lots of temple-building in the block area and we used clay to make Diya lamps. Our nativity at the end of term, Whoops-A-Daisy-Angel, was a big hit with everyone. We also read Joseph Coehlo’s Our Tower during this term, sparking an interest in high rise buildings that would run all year.

 The Spring terms were very short but we packed a lot in! We cooked a lot this term – thank you Miss Pitt! Our play indoors developed with a change in the classroom layout and our growing independence. We also enjoyed Chinese New Year, especially finding out about dragons. We invited older children from school to play their musical instruments for us and our families to share in our maths learning for NSPCC’s Number Fun Day. The wet weather was a challenge, but we still enjoyed Forest School, climbing and playing in the outdoor water area…bbbbrrrr!! In Spring 2, we took another big leap with our play and with our making in our indoor workshop. We found out all about David Hockney and used his iPad drawings as inspiration for our Spring display. Later, we enjoyed baking biscuits for Easter and celebrating Ramadan and Eid.

The Summer terms flew by. The children amazed with their thinking, friendships and language – they especially enjoyed standing up in front of class to share their work, their news from home or their ideas. The play in the block area was particularly special with the children taking total control of this crucial area of the classroom by combining with the maths resources, making their own characters in the writing area when there wasn't quite the correct figure (often fairies or teachers) or by creating complex narratives that involved bunk beds, high rise buildings and frogs!  We enjoyed the warmer weather and went on nature walks to Meadow Bottom. We also found out about life on a farm with the help of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) education project and a visit from Mike and hens from Incredible Farm.

 We finished our year with a trip to the Fire Museum in Rochdale and multi-sports at Todmorden Sports Centre. We also voted for our favourite book this year - Nadia Shireen's Barbara Throws a Wobbler came out on top! Second place went to Mike Smith's Hundred Decker Bus and third place went to The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems. Well done everyone on a brilliant year in Reception!