Reception M & W 2025 - 2026

Reception Newsletter June 2026 

Mrs Millington- Stubbs reception class teacher (RM) and EYFS coordinator and Miss Davies - Trainee Teacher  

Miss Woodcock reception class teacher 

Mrs Landell reception teaching assistant RM 

Miss Ward reception teaching assistant RB 

Mrs Begum, Miss Ali SEND support 

Welcome to Summer 2! 

It’s hard to believe we are now in the final half term of the academic school year! 

The children have worked extremely hard to get to this point as have the staff and we would also like to say a big thanks to all our parents and carers for your continued support! 

During this final half term Reception’s topic is Our Universe and at the start of the week we will investigate under the topic of Eco Warriors 

During this topic we will be supporting the children to re-think about the place in which we live and the way we live our daily lives and the impact this can have on our planet. They will explore the three R’s reduce, re-use, recycle and will be encouraged to become Eco warriors themselves litter picking around school and taking on roles that will each help to save the planet. In addition to exploring the changes we have seen our planet go through, the children will also look a lot closer to home and review their year in Reception and the progress they have made. During our whole school transition day they will begin to prepare for their next phase in learning, familiarising with the change in environment (their new class) and their new teachers. There will be an opportunity for you to come and celebrate your child’s achievement in EYFS on their Graduation morning on Thursday 16th July  

During our literacy lessons this half term we will begin with the text ‘Odd fish’ by Naomi and James Jones which is all about a plastic bottle in the ocean which confuses the other fish. This links nicely to our ‘Universe’ topic and supports children's awareness of litter and pollution and the damage it can cause. 

Our second text ‘If sharks disappeared’ by Lily James is a new book and will also support children's knowledge and understanding around looking after our planet and builds on previous learning around endangered animals from our last topic. Through both of these texts and the consolidation of phase 4 phonics (as seen below) we are aiming to get the children to meet the Literacy Early Learning Goal (ELG) which includes them being able to discuss stories they have read in detail. Apply their phonics to read simple sentences within books independently and write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others with most letters correctly formed. 

Phonics 

After targeting specific gaps recognised in our Little wandle summer 1 assessment we will then move on to teach the summer 2 plans. During this half term children will largely be consolidating prior knowledge and building confidence with their ability to decode longer words . Please try to hear your child read their reading practice book at least 3 times a week so that they can perfect applying their phonics and build reading fluency. 

Maths 

This half term in maths the children will be consolidating their knowledge of both Number and shape space and measure from across the year aiming for the Early Learning Goal which for Number is: 

• have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;
• subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;
• automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

and for numerical patterns is: 

• verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;
• compare quantities of up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than, or the same as the other quantity;
• explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts, and how quantities can be distributed equally. 

A few quick reminders...

Each week each class awards 2 pupils the 'Star of the week' certificate and our Characteristics of effective learning certificate. Children who receive the star of the week certificate are mentioned on the school’s weekly newsletter. The certificates will be given out to the pupils in the closest celebration assembly which is held in the studio at 9am so keep an eye out for this term’s dates in the newsletters. If your child has been awarded a certificate you are welcome to come to the celebration assembly to see them receive it and we will also get a text sent out to remind you of this. Please remember that the final assembly is open to all parents to come and celebrate the children's work and achievements over the half term!

Homework: We would just like to remind you about homework. We appreciate that life is busy but helping your child at home is vital for their learning. Each Friday, your child will be sent home with a book for enjoyment that could be a bedtime story read by you to them alongside their reading practice book which is what they need to read to you to support their phonics. There will also be some literacy/ phonics and maths homework. Please ensure that the homework bag is returned by the following Thursday morning. The homework is designed to be no more than ten minutes long, but it is good for the children to revisit the concepts of the maths and literacy we send home. Reading bags, books and records should be in school everyday but homework folders should be returned on a Wednesday. 

Attendance and Punctuality – if your child is not in school on time or off school altogether, they miss out on so much learning – please make sure your child is in school, on time, every day.

Drop off and pick up- Please enter by the Myrtle Street entrance and walk your child onto the EYFS playground. Gates open at 8:40am and and pick up will be at 3:15pm. 

Outdoor play- please make sure your child has suitable clothing, waterproof coat, wellies, sunhat, gloves, etc.  We go outside every day rain or shine.

P.E- Will be run by city in the community on a Friday afternoon. Children do not need to come to school in a P.E kit however please make sure they have suitable footwear on that day. 

Rainbow Challenge - In Reception a key priority is for us to support children to become independent, confident and resilient learners. We consciously spend the first weeks building positive relationships and creating a fun and safe space that the children both enjoy and feel comfortable in. Continuing on from nursery they will be encouraged to display independence and take ownership over their learning through the use of the ‘Rainbow Challenge’. For those pupils and parents who are new to school the ‘Rainbow challenge’ is used by the children during their ‘continuous provision time or extended learning’ which occurs after adult input lessons.  The classroom is broken up into areas such as construction, roleplay or reading and each represents a different colour of the rainbow. Children are encouraged to explore their whole environment throughout the week and in doing so gain a coloured lollipop stick for each area they have engaged with. If they complete the Rainbow they are rewarded with a sticker at the end of the week.

Please remember to put names in all clothes, shoes, bags, lunch boxes, etc.

Other useful websites-

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ 

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

https://tapestryjournal.com/ 

 https://www.dentalhealthcareeoe.nhs.uk/services/oral-health-improvement/early-years 

Thank you for all your support!

Reception Team