Reception 2025 - 2026

Routines, Reminders & Messages

Doors open at 8.45am and Reception children will continue to be brought down at 3.10pm, just before Key Stage One finish for the day.

The New Tapestry App Has Arrived - Desktop Users will not need to do anything but App Users now need to download a new app (not an update) from the App Store / Google Play store. We have sent you a Tapestry memo with more information and new user guides.

Spring Term Parents Evening - Wednesday 18th March.  There is still time to book an appointment if you haven't already done so.

Book Bag and Reading Diary - Your child was given their book bag and reading folder on their first day.  The folder contains their reading diary and phonics reading books.  Please look through the diary and complete the permissions pages as soon as possible (we can't put any lovely photos on our webpage until we have your consent).  

Please record in the diary each time you read with your child.  We will make a note of when we have read in school too.  You can use the diary to pass notes to us but please remember that they are not checked daily.  If your message is urgent or very important then please telephone or email the school office instead.

Phonics Reading Books - Your child will bring home two books per week, that match the sounds learned in phonics lessons. It is important for the children to re-read the books - at least 3 times at home - to help them become more fluent, begin to recognise words and to feel successful as a reader. We encourage the children to read once to sound out and blend all of the words, a second time to remember and begin to read a little more confidently and a third time to help their understanding of the book and be able to talk about it. 

Please ensure all books and the reading diary are kept in your child's folder in their book bag and brought in to school every day, as we also read these books in class. Books are changed on Mondays - we have very limited supplies so please ensure they are in school and availiable to be passed on to the next child.

'Reading for Pleasure' books -  Your child will choose a Reading for Pleasure book during their first week.  These are lovely books for you to share with your child at home. Your child is not expected to read these for themselves but they are wonderful as a bedtime story or snuggled up on the sofa to read together. These books are also changed on Mondays and again we have a limited supply, so would appreciate your support in ensuring they are returned on time to be available for another child.

P.E. -  Our P.E. day is on Thursday. Children should come to school in their PE kits (House t-shirts, school or plain black/navy tracksuit) and velcro pumps or trainers - no laces please!

Home Learning is sent home on Fridays.  This will be a mixture of activities in Home Learning books, online or via Tapestry. Please ensure it is completed and, where applicable, books are returned by the following Wednesday, when we collect them in. 

Tapestry - we use this to share highlights of your child's learning, send messages and set some home learning tasks.  If your child attended our Pre-School then your existing login details are still valid.  If you are new to Rode Heath then you should have received an email with instructions on how to get started (check your junk folder if you don't receive an email). As always, please let us know if you have any problems.

School Spider - Please ensure that you have downloaded the School Spider App. We use this for communicating general school messages and information such as head bumps and changes to arrangements for clubs.

Ensuring that our children are happy, safe and secure in school is very important to us.  We follow our Hearts and Minds curriculum to ensure children's personal, social and emotional development is central to our practice.  More information about our Hearts and Minds curriculum and the weekly Hearts and Mind planning can be found using this link: Hearts and Minds. 

To find year group expectations for Maths, please click here, scroll down and click on the overview. 

For year group expectations for English, please click here, scroll down and click on the overview. 

The expectations for Science and the Foundation subjects can be found by selecting the relevant heading from here.

Our Learning Journey: Monday 16th March 2026 

Phonics:

This week we will be recapping the Phase 3 graphemes j  v  w  x  y  z  zz  qu  We will make sure we recognise the graphemes and can link them to the sound they make (phonemes).  We will practise hearing the sounds in short words, reading short sentences and forming the letters correctly to write words.  We will also learn the tricky word are.  We call them 'tricky words' because they cannot be sounded out phonetically, we have to learn to read and write the whole word.

The Rapid Phonics group will be focusing on recapping all Plase 2 graphemes this week, as well as reading and writing the Phase 2 tricky words.

Pure Sounds - We teach the children to use 'pure' sounds (the sounds that letters make in words)  Click on the pictures below to hear the 'pure' sounds for Phase 2 and Phase 3 phonics.

Phase 2 Graphemes - s  a t  p  i  n  m  d  g  o  c  k  ck  e  u  r  h  b  f  l  ff ll ss

Phase 3 Graphemes - j  v  w  x  y  z  zz  qu  ch  sh  th  ng  ai  ee  igh  oa  oo  ar

Phase 2 Tricky Words - I  no  go  to  the  into

Phase 3 Tricky Words - he  she  we  me  be  was  my  you  they  all

Literacy:

This week we will be using our Phonic knowldege to plan and write simple sentences using taught sounds and tricky words.

Letter Formation - We work very hard on developing a good pencil grip and forming our letters correctly in Reception. This is important because it reduces strain on the hand muscles and prepares children for joining letters and writing at greater length in Years 1 and 2. The pictures below show the correct formation for each letter and the rhymes we use to support the children to recall them.

  Maths:

This week we are continuing with building the numbers 9 and 10. We will explore these numbers using real objects, tens frames and structured play so the children can see how they are made and learn different ways to represent them. We are also developing early number sense by comparing amounts, noticing patterns and talking about what we can see.

   Personal, Social & Emotional Development:

This week we will be reading Mommy, Momma and Me as part of our No Outsiders learning. We will be exploring different types of families and talking about how all families are special. We will be learning to celebrate similarities and differences and to show respect for everyone.

   Understanding the World

  Physical Development:

This week, we are exploring running, jumping, landing and handling different equipment 

    Expressive Arts & Design:

Engineering:

Don't forget to visit our Think Like an Engineer website regularly to see what we're all busy doing: 

https://thinklikeanengineerproject.com

Our door is always open, please contact us for help at any time. 

At busy times, please telephone to leave a message or email and we will respond as soon as we can.

If you are worried about how to keep your child safe online, please follow the following link:.

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/keeping-your-under-five-safe-online