GLF Schools

GLF Schools

GLF Schools was founded in 2012 in order to enable the federation of Glyn School (an academy in 2011) and Danetree Junior School. Together, we began our journey to become a MAT of more than 1000 talented staff working with over 10,000 children in 40 schools across 5 regions in southern England.

Reception

2 1224 sNightingale Class

Florence Nightingale

Class teacher: Mrs Brent and Mrs Demicoli

Learning Assistant: Mrs Downey and Ms Davidson

 

2 1225 sFranklin Class

Aretha Franklin

Class teacher: Miss Mortimer

Learning Assistant: Ms Jones and Mrs Houston

As well as delivering the EYFS curriculum, Reception and Nursery classes follow the whole school STEAM curriculum.  

Welcome back to Term 4 in Reception!

We hope you had a relaxing half term and are looking forward to the term ahead.  We are very much looking forward to this term and our new STEAM topic and we are sure the children will enjoy it too.

Uniform

The weather is still cold at times, and we continue to make the most of our wonderful outdoor learning environment, so it is essential that all children have a named coat in school every day.  A named pair of wellies to keep at school would be very useful also.  Please make sure your child is wearing the correct school uniform and that it is clearly labelled to avoid confusion.  Uniform guidelines are outlined on the school website – please contact the school office if you have any questions.   

Water Bottles, Snacks and Lunches

All children should bring a labelled water bottle to school every day. It is essential that bottles contain only water, not squash or juice as this supports the development of good oral hygiene. We also promote healthy eating in order to establish lifelong healthy food choices. Reception children are provided with free fruit and milk for snack time. Healthy Ideas for packed lunches can be found on the school website.

 

Please can we remind you that we are a Nut Free School, so please do not pack products in the lunchboxes that may contain nuts; this includes chocolate spread.

 

PE 

Our topic this term in PE is gymnastics and our PE day is Monday in Franklin and Wednesday in Nightingale.

For indoor PE: Children will need black shorts and a plain t-shirt in their house colour.

For Outdoor PE: black shorts and t-shirt, and a tracksuit or spare jumper for colder days.  Children will also need trainers. 

Jewellery: A reminder that only stud earrings and wristwatches may be worn to school. Earrings must be removed by the child or covered for PE.

Please can children not wear bracelets to school.

 

STEAM

This term our STEAM focus is Art, and we will be answering the question ‘Can I create a piece of art based on a period of history?’

Children will be working towards creating a piece of art involving shapes, dots and/or lines using a technique and medium of their choice.  Their art will be displayed in our very own ‘art gallery’.

 

The areas of learning and development 

There are seven areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. 

These are the Prime areas: 

  • Communication and language: the number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children's language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. 
  • Physical development: Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness. 
  • Personal, social and emotional development: PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. 

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are: 

  • Literacy 
  • Mathematics 
  • Understanding the world 
  • Expressive arts and design 

 

Curriculum

Literacy
  • Using our phonics skills to write simple sentences such as creating captions for artwork
  • Joining in with repeating refrains in stories
  • Using ‘because’ to extend our sentences
  • Describing what we see in paintings verbally and in writing
  • Writing descriptions of their own artwork using simple adjectives

Mathematics
  • Exploring shape within art and using shapes to create our own art
  • Looking at patterns within art
  • Continuing to develop our understanding of length and height
  • Beginning to develop our understanding of weight and capacity
  • Consolidating our understanding of the composition of numbers up to 10 e.g., 7 is made up of 5 and 2
  • Using practical contexts to sort objects according to criteria such as size and colour

Expressive arts and design
  • Looking at different artistic effects to express ideas and feelings
  • Returning to artwork to develop our ideas and refine our art
  • Exploring different techniques to produce art with and on different surfaces/textures also
  • Developing our colour-mixing techniques and understanding the process
  • Thinking about shades and tones in our art and how to create this effect
  • Opportunities to talk about their own art as well as the art of others

Understanding the World
  • Looking at different environments through art and sharing our own experiences of different places e.g., the beach
  • Exploring art from different cultures.
  • Looking at art from the past and comparing to present day, thinking about what is the same and what is different

Reading and Phonics

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together.

At Longford Park Primary School, we follow the Read Write Inc phonics scheme to teach your children the knowledge they need to become confident readers and, eventually, confident writers. Your child will receive daily phonics sessions. In addition, we enjoy phonics games daily that teach children the listening and sound discrimination skills they need in order to read. We communicate with you the sounds that your child is learning and send home phonics reading books weekly. It is essential that you hear your child read daily. Please also write an entry in their Reading Diary each time.

 

We are continuing to also use ‘Talk through stories’ this term, which provides the opportunity for children to really explore key texts, understand the principle of the story, learn new vocabulary and explore new characters. Each week we will focus on one key text which the children will become very familiar with.  

Our literacy key texts for this will be: 

  • Rainbow Fish
  • Ravi’s Roar
  • My Monster and Me

 

Other topical key texts this term will be:

  • Luna Loves Art
  • Katie and the Bathers

 

How you can support us further

At Longford Park Primary School, we are committed to working in partnership with our families and our community. We welcome parent/carer involvement in our curriculum and would be particularly interested this term in anyone who is a keen artist and would be happy to share their art with the children.

We make good use of unwanted items so if you have any kitchen roll tubes, corks, small boxes, washed yoghurt pots, old books, real items like kitchen utensils for role play purposes etc or toys please bring your donations to class at drop-off.

 

Key Dates:

Please look out for key dates on Class Dojo including our end of term STEAM Showcase!

  • Thursday 3rd March – World Book Day
  • Monday 7th and Thursday 10th March - Parent meetings via school cloud.

 

If you have any concerns, please do come, and speak to us bearing in mind that we tend to have more time at the end of the day as our priority in the morning is to settle the children and begin our learning. Thank you for your continued support – we are looking forward to another exciting term ahead.

 

Miss Mortimer, Mrs Brent and Mrs Demicoli

Reception Class Teachers


 
Useful parent links: 

Oxford Owl


Numbots (supporting maths)
How to support reading at home (phonics)
Literacy Trust

50 Things App


Year group information: 
The Four EYFS Principles  
 
The statutory framework is based on four guiding principles which shape practice in our Early Years Classes. These are:  
 
1) A Unique Child  
2) Positive Relationships  
3) Enabling Environments  
4) Learning and Development 
 
We are fully committed to the purpose and aims of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation (2014) which clearly states:  
 
‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high-quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.’  
 
Our Early Years Foundation Stage aims to create a happy, caring, secure and stimulating environment for all children; we do this through: 
 
Encourage confidence, independence and a desire to learn; (having quality interactions and provision through our Steam Curriculum) 
 
Focus on the development of every child as an individual, valuing and building on their previous experiences and responding to their individual needs; (Objective led planning) 
 
Work in partnership with parents and carers; (daily communications at drop off and pick up, Tapestry, Class Dojos, the weekly newsletter and twice a year parents evening meetings) 
 
Develop in children an enquiring mind, an interest in learning and an enthusiasm for the next stage of school life; (cultural capital and the characteristics of learning embedded in our STEAM curriculum) 
 
Provide good foundations for later learning; (RWI phonics STEAM links to the EYFS Curriculum) 
 
Encourage good social relationships, developing self-esteem and respect for others. (zones of regulation)  
 
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the statutory curriculum for children 0-5. For us, the EYFS covers our Nursery and Reception classes. Our curriculum challenges and inspires our children, encouraging them to develop into independent, motivated learners who are curious about the world around them. Our children are nurtured within a secure environment, whilst being allowed to explore, enquire and take risks both inside and outside of the classroom. Our children make rapid progress within a child centred context allowing a smooth transition into Key Stage 1.   
 
It is essential that the transition into school, whether that be into Nursery or Reception, is a smooth and successful one. We, therefore, offer a home visit, before they start school and have a professional dialogue with any previous settings, health visitors, EY SEND teachers and any other agencies. The home visits allows both the child and the parent to meet the teacher in the security of their own home environment.