[School Name] Starting school is the beginning of something brilliant.
Reception is one of the most important years in your child's education. It's where confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning take root. We make sure it's a wonderful experience — for children and for families.
Reception classroom photography
Learning in action · Reading · Outdoor play
More than just a warm welcome.
Reception is a statutory year of schooling — not just an extension of nursery. Children work across all seven areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, building the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will carry them through primary school and beyond.
At [School Name], we take a play-based approach because the evidence is clear: this is how young children learn best. Play in our Reception class is rich, well-planned, and purposeful. Our practitioners are skilled at extending learning through careful questioning, the right resources, and an environment that invites curiosity at every turn.
[School-specific paragraph: describe what makes your Reception provision distinctive — your outdoor space, your reading programme, a specific feature of your classroom environment or community.]
Reception classroom photo
In Reception, children begin their systematic phonics programme — the evidence-based method for teaching reading that the DfE recommends and Ofsted expects. We follow [Little Wandle / Read Write Inc.] and deliver daily phonics sessions that are fast-paced, multi-sensory, and joyful.
By the end of Reception, most children are decoding confidently and beginning to read real books. We match each child's reading book to their phonics stage and send books home every week.
What your child will learn in Reception.
Our Reception curriculum covers all seven EYFS areas of learning, with the three Prime Areas — Communication & Language, Personal Social & Emotional Development, and Physical Development — at its core.
We choose topics that connect to children's interests and lived experiences, using high-quality texts, real-world exploration, and continuous provision to bring learning to life. Daily maths, phonics, and story time give the year its rhythm; the topics give it colour and meaning.
In Reception, we also introduce the foundations of writing, number, and early science — always through rich, purposeful activity, never through rote repetition.
Reception Long-Term Plan 2024–25 — topics, key texts, and learning intentions across the year.
Download PDF →Early Years Curriculum Intent — our whole-school approach to EYFS.
Download PDF →Is my child ready for Reception?
This is a question almost every parent asks. The honest answer: every child is ready when they start — and it's our job to meet them where they are. Here's what we focus on in the first weeks, and what you can do at home to help.
- Building a trusting relationship with the class teacher and key adults
- Learning the routines, the rules, and the space
- Making a friend and feeling part of the class
- Feeling confident to ask for help and to use the toilet independently
- Read together every day — it doesn't have to be long
- Talk about what you see, hear, and do together
- Practise putting on and taking off coats, bags, and shoes
- Share stories about starting school — keep it positive and exciting
- Confident early reader with phonics knowledge to Phase 4/5
- Beginning to write simple sentences independently
- Counting confidently to 20 and understanding number
- Happy, curious, and ready to work both independently and collaboratively
Our Reception year delivers against the government's five early years ambitions.
Keeping you involved, all year long.
Reception is a big year — for children and for families. Here's how we keep you close to your child's learning.
From Reception to Year 1 — and beyond.
We plan the transition into Year 1 carefully so that it feels like a natural step, not a sudden change. Children leave Reception confident, curious, and ready.
How to apply for a Reception place.
Reception admissions are coordinated by your local authority. Here's what you need to know and do.
Application deadline: 15 January
National Offer Day: 16 April
Start date: September
Come and see Reception in action.
Our open mornings give you and your child the chance to see our school at its best. We'd love to meet you.