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WELCOME PACK

St Cleer Primary Academy

September 2018

Welcome to your school!

We hope you and your child will have a happy and successful time at St Cleer Primary Academy.

The aim of this booklet is to give additional information for those joining our reception class, and should be read alongside the School Prospectus.

The first part of this pack includes some ideas of ways in which you can help to prepare your child for school.

The second part is designed for you to read with your child as it is addressed to them. It is written in the form of a guide to school life.

We hope you will find the information useful and know that you are always welcome to come in and talk to the class teachers or Mrs Stoate at any time. We are delighted that you have joined us!

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GETTING READY FOR SCHOOLA child learns from the moment of birth, not just the time he or she starts school. They learn from experiences within a family and here at St Cleer Primary Academy, we know that parents are children`s first educators, and are valued as such. When parents and staff work together, the results have a positive impact on a child`s development and learning. A successful partnership needs a two-way flow of information, knowledge and expertise. What you do at home makes all the difference to your child in the early stages of talking, reading and writing.

Here in reception we value learning through play and ask you to support us in learning this way. Play provides opportunities for exploration, experimentation and manipulation that are essential for constructing knowledge. Learning through play promotes the development of social, emotional and intellectual abilities of a child. It is through play that children develop their imagination, creativity and motivation to learn.

Please remember all children respond differently to starting school. As the practitioners working with your children, we endeavour to make their experience of school fun, familiar and secure. As a parent /carer you can help by reassuring your child, being positive about school and being careful that your own anxieties do not influence your child.

And a warning!

Be prepared for your child using more energy, therefore eating more and becoming very tired by the end of the school day. Unfortunately, parents often get the worst of their children during the reception year because of tiredness. But remember, the tiredness will be because your child is putting all his energy into school, learning a lot, making friends and enjoying a new stage in his life.

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Reception curriculumWe will be following the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) which now consists of three prime areas and four specific areas of learning and development. The prime areas cover the knowledge and skills which are the foundations for children’s development and future progress, and which are applied and reinforced by the specific areas - particularly literacy and maths- they form an appropriate baseline for the National Curriculum in Year 1.

The Reception curriculum now consists of;The Prime Areas - Personal, Social and Emotional Development- Physical Development- Communication and Language The Specific Areas- Literacy- Mathematics- Understanding the World- Expressive Arts and Design

Further information regarding this can be viewed at;http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/parents/

The children will experience a lot of practical work and structured play activities which take place outside as well as within the classroom. The purpose of these will be to:

- Interest and motivate the children;- Develop their feelings of security and confidence;- Extend their vocabulary, and language skills; - Develop their fine and gross motor skills;- Develop their concentration and persistence;- Develop their own thoughts and ideas- Encourage their personal interaction with their peers so that they

quickly form friendships and settle into their new environment.

The practical work may seem like play to the children, because we endeavour to make the activities enjoyable, but the activities are structured and provide a sound foundation for moving on to more formal, recorded work towards the end of the year. Activities are planned for both the indoor and outdoor areas throughout the year.

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Helping your child at home.ReadingDon’t fret about whether your child can read at this stage. Helping them enjoy books and be curious about reading is key. You can encourage a love of books simply by reading to your child as much as you can. Eventually children want to read and how much you can help them is really limited only by their interest and your time and patience. Try these ideas out:

Use non-fiction as well as fiction books so when your child asks you one of those impossible questions like ‘Why does it rain?’ or ‘Do crocodiles lay eggs?’ say ‘Let’s look it up, shall we?’

Point out food labels, newspaper TV listings, shop fronts, bus-sides: the letters of the alphabet are everywhere

Give the message that words are helpful and friendly by pointing out words that tell us when a favourite TV programme is on; where the bus is going; that there are baked beans in the tin

Teach by letter sound – it’s more important for your child to know that d is pronounced duh than to know that its name is dee

Use rhythm and rhyme to help teach your child that letters have sounds which are repeated – nursery rhymes are great for little children as they teach them to join in, to share words and books and to use their memory

Sing songs with your child.

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A word about writing

Many children like to pretend to write and their first attempt may look like scribbles. This is a very valuable and important stage in learning to write. You can encourage your child’s writing by providing them with note pads, old forms and diaries and by showing them the correct way to hold their pencil between their thumb and first finger. They may want to write their name and you can show them how to do this with a capital letter followed by the small letters. Letters from their name are often the first recognisable letters they produce in their play writing. Please do not write in capitals.

Do not worry if your child is not interested in writing yet. Drawing, painting, building with construction toys, using scissors and playing finger rhymes all help children develop their finger control and hand eye co-ordination and are activities that will help their pencil control when they do begin to write.

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Motivating maths

Small children have impressive powers of memory, but just as reciting a favourite book to you word for word isn’t reading, saying ‘one, two, three’ isn’t counting. Be creative:

Give them something interesting to count out: lunchtime grapes; a Beanie Baby collection; apples into a supermarket bag

Show the change you’re given and let them count the coins; let them pay for something at the local shop and wait for the change; play shops at home

Cutting cake, sharing out the cherry tomatoes, all those little things help them understand numbers and ‘lots’ – very useful when it comes to early maths

Shape recognition can be easily done at home with different sheets of coloured sticky paper; you do the cutting and they do the sticking, asking you for squares, triangles, circles etc

Use number rhymes and songs such as, One two three four five once I caught a fish alive, ‘Ten green bottles’, ‘There were ten in the bed’

Talk about: How many knives and forks you will need to set the table? How many people are in the queue at the supermarket check-out? Which glass will hold the most orange juice?

Play games like ‘Snakes and Ladders’ that involve taking turns and using a dice and counters to move around a board

Look for numbers in books, on posters, in comics Do jigsaws

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Understanding the world around us

Young children are fascinated by the world around them.

In the bath, show your child how some things sink and some float and ask him to guess which objects will float and which will sink

In the kitchen you show how liquid changes some things for ever and just gets other things wet - pour water into a small bowl of flour or get him to beat some eggs and stir them into the cake you’re making

Talk about where the food you buy comes from and how it is processed: how wheat becomes bread and tomatoes become soup

Talk about colours, and show the difference between things which are transparent and things which are translucent

Go to the park or wander round your garden and teach about evergreens, about how fruit comes from flowers, and illustrate the food chain by pointing by pointing out a bird eating a worm

Give an idea of history by using family photographs of your child as a baby and of your parents and grandparents – you can talk about whether they would have had cars, phones, televisions and washing machines.

Understanding the world around us cont: Gradually introduce your child to the idea that we live in Cornwall, but

there is a wider world out there. Tell them about the wonderful diversity and individuality each and every country in the world has. (This can be as simple as explaining where your ‘Chinese Take-Away’ originally came from!)

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Information Technology – Your child has grown up surrounded by technology. At school they will have lots of opportunities to use computers, take photographs and use programmable toys. They will be taught how to use all I.T. safely and responsibly.

Once you get going there’s no end to what you can talk about and what you can teach before your child goes looking for his peg and his tray on his first day of school!

Being CreativeThere will be lots of opportunities for your child to be creative. We do lots of drawing, painting, and model making. We use dough and clay to mould and model. We make music, sing songs and dance.

We use open ended resources in our role play area as this really allows the children to be even more creative and resourceful.

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Practical Information

School opening timeThe School gates are unlocked at 8.45 and School starts promptly at 8.50.

Collection timeSchool finishes at 3.15 and the gates are unlocked at 3.10. If after School you wish to use the School’s outside play areas (The Reception outside area is not included) and socialise with other parents please feel free to. Please note though that once the child/ren have left their classrooms they become your responsibility.

Uniform School jumpers and T-shirts can be purchased from Reception.

Naming clothingLast year we had a number of problems with school sweatshirts going missing. It is much easier to keep track of items of clothing if they are clearly labelled with your child’s name. Please make sure that all items are marked, including shoes and coats.

Reading Record CardIn your child’s reading folder, there is their Reading Record Card. Please feel free to use this to comment on your child’s reaction to their books or reading. We will also supply your child with a library book at least once a week.

Water bottlesAlthough we do provide water and milk please could we ask you to daily provide your child with a named bottle of water. As part of our healthy school policy we prefer to encourage water only.

P.E.We will be doing P.E. from September but your child will not need a P.E. kit until the Summer Term.

Tapestry

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Is an easy-to-use online learning journal, which helps teachers and parents to record, track and celebrate children's progress in early year’s education. We will quickly set you up with a tapestry account, but can we please ask that you inform us of any email changes and let us know if you are not receiving your tapestry emails. Thank you

Adult help in the classroomIt is always great to have help in the classroom. It can be given in all sorts of ways: - art work, story telling, computers, playing games, gardening etc. If any of you have some spare time and would like to help in school, please see your child’s teacher or Mrs Stoate.

Toys in schoolPlease try not to let your child bring toys from home into school in case they get lost or broken.

School lunches Please take advantage of the free school meals provided now for ALL children aged 4-7. They are really delicious, and staff will help your children to enjoy a good hot lunch cooked on the premises.

Travelling to schoolThe school is keen to promote sustainable ways of travelling to and from school. Children are encouraged to walk to school as often as possible. If you bring your child to school by car, you need to park in the free public car park opposite the church, barely 10 minutes healthy walk away.

You are not allowed to park outside the school or in the neighbouring roads. Police regularly check that the parking restrictions in the vicinity of the school are being followed: don’t risk a fine!

We do hope your child has a happy time at St Cleer School. Please remember that if you have any queries or concerns, come and talk any of the teachers or Mrs Stoate.

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