Reception

At Johnson Fold we provide high quality education and care in a stimulating, engaging environment.

Maths

At Johnson Fold we follow the Maths Makes Sense scheme. We use the principles of this programme throughout the school, alongside daily mental maths sessions and the practice of the essential foundations of number recognition and counting.

Reading

Stories and rhymes are at the heart of our curriculum. In Reception we read books from our Reading Spine and sing rhymes from our Poetry Spine.

Phonics is taught as the main strategy for teaching early reading. We use the Phonics International programme.

Dough Disco

During the day we stop for our daily ‘Dough Disco’ session. This activity helps to strengthen children's fine motor muscles to enable them to develop their pencil grip which in turn will help to develop their writing skills.

Writing

In Early Years children will be encouraged to develop their communication, language and literacy through playing, exploring and active learning, whilst also taking part in small guided writing tasks.

Outdoor Play

At Johnson Fold we recognise that outdoor play gives children new skills; raises their self-esteem, develops their thinking skills and collaborative skills. A lot of our learning takes place outdoors.

Early Learning Goals

At the end of their reception year, children are assessed against 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs). We use our knowledge and experience from working with your child to decide whether they have met the expected levels of development (expected) for each ELG or whether they are not yet reaching the expected levels (emerging).

Communication & Language

Listening, Attention and Understanding

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions;

- Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding;

- Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

Speaking

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary;

- Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate;

- Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Self-Regulation 

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly;

- Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate;

• Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions.

Managing Self

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge;

- Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly;

- Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices.

Building Relationships

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others;

- Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers;

- Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs.

Physical Development

Gross Motor Skills

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others;

- Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing;

- Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.

Fine Motor Skills

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing

– using the tripod grip in almost all cases;

- Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery;

• Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing. 

Literacy

Comprehension

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary;

- Anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories;

- Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.

Word Reading

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs;

- Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending;

- Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.

Writing

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed;

- Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters;

• Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others. 

Maths

Number

Children at the expected level of development will:

- 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.

Numerical Patterns

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;

- Compare quantities 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.

Understanding the World

Past and Present

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society;

- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;

- Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling;

People Culture and Communities

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;

- Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;

- Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.

The Natural World

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants;

- Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;

- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.