Spring Term in Reception

The inspirational texts on our Spring bookshelf will inspire our learning across the curriculum. 

The Reception year is a very special part of your child’s school journey. We strive to provide a unique, challenging and inspirational curriculum based on new and memorable experiences. Establishing strong relationships with our pupils and their families is our priority at the beginning of the school year. Throughout the year, we will work with your child to learn and understand their individual needs and support them in their learning and development.

During the Spring term in Reception, we will read a variety of inspirational and carefully selected texts that explore the character traits of kindness, citizenship, integrity, curiosity, bravery and gratitude.

The Character Traits that underpin the curriculum at Cheadle Hulme Primary School with associated icons - bravery, citizenship, curiosity, gratitude, integrity and kindness.

Spring Bookshelf

  • We will begin by meeting Alice Hemming’s ‘The Snow Thief’, as Squirrel explores the trait of curiosity with Bird showing citizenship to help Squirrel find out who the snow thief is!
  • Rob Biddulph’s ‘Kevin’ is a glorious picture book about a boy, his imaginary friend named Kevin and the importance of always being kind.
  • We then move onto ‘Foggy Foggy Forest’ by Nick Sharratt, enhancing our love for fairytales and rhyme with a superb book that has a multitude of characters sparking curiosity in our children.
  • Two classic tales are next, that of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs’. Goldilocks is used in a multitude of ways, with us bringing the book to life for the children’s Understanding of the World, with The Three Little Pigs demonstrating bravery, resilience and expressing citizenship in the face of danger.
  • In ‘Dogs don’t do Ballet’, we meet Biff, a little puppy who will stop at nothing to become a ballet dancer, which demonstrates bravery and gratitude.

Spring Learning at a Glance

In Maths we will expand our work on subitising and composition for numbers within and beyond 5, identify missing parts for numbers within 5, focus on equal and unequal groups when comparing numbers, begin to understand the concept of doubles, odd and even numbers and continue to develop understanding of counting sequences and the order of numbers. We will also explore the concepts of shape, space and measure by looking at mass, capacity, length, height and time.

Literacy will focus on new digraphs, moving on to trigraphs, developing our reading strategies and continuing to build on the format and structure of a sentence.

In Understanding the World we will celebrate Lunar New Year with a class trip in early February, learn about Holi, Easter, immerse ourself in World Book Day, understand how to stay safe on the Internet and take part in Science week. We will also look at the work of Gustav Klimt in Art and create our own masterpieces. Our PSHE curriculum will focus on teamwork, overcoming obstacles, seeking help and then moving onto how we can keep healthy.

It is going to be a busy and thoroughly enjoyable term!

Spring Term Highlights

  • Tapestry and Instagram updates 
  • Educational visits throughout the year, including one off-site visit per term
  • Year group assembly performance
  • Author visits (virtual and in-person)
  • Science investigations
  • Singing circles and in-class musical performances
  • Opportunities to learn outside of the classroom

The Reception Team

Mrs Cheshire – Class Teacher  

Mr Ross – Class Teacher 

Mrs Bancroft – Learning Support Assistant 

Mrs Duffy – Learning Support Assistant 

Mrs Smith – Learning Support Assistant 

Mrs Threader – Learning Support Assistant 

Mrs Warrington – Learning Support Assistant 

Miss Wood – Learning Support Assistant 

Important Information

  • Please make sure your child’s book bag containing their reading books and Reading Record is brought into school every day.
  • Each week, one phonetically decodable reading book will be sent home on a Friday alongside a recommended reading book for Reception aged children.
  • Please comment in your child’s Reading Record when you have read with your child.
  • Your child’s reading books and Reading Record should be brought into school each day.
  • Your child will take part in Shared Reading with an adult across the week.
  • Children are provided with a fruit or vegetable snack each day as well as milk (this is currently provided for pupils by the Government until they are 5 years old). You are welcome to send an alternative snack for your child, however this must be a fruit or vegetable. An oat milk alternative will be provided for any child with an allergy to milk.
  • Children in Reception are eligible for Universal Infant Free School Meals entitlement. You are of course welcome to send your child in with a packed lunch (please remember nothing in these should include nuts).
  • Children should have their water bottle in school every day. They will have access to this throughout the school day.
  • Pupils in Reception wear their PE kits in place of regular school uniform on their PE day (day currently, Tuesday).
  • Please provide a pair of named wellies in a plastic bag, that are to be kept in school.
  • Reception children will enter school through their own classroom door from the playground. Please support a successful start to their day by being on time. Whilst we appreciate it can be tricky to say goodbye on some mornings, it can be helpful to keep this brief and for children to enter school independently from the moment they start.
  • The children will be dismissed from their door onto the school playground, directly to their parent/carer. If the person collecting at the end of the day is different to usual, please inform the school’s admin team before pick-up so that Class Teachers are aware and know who to look out for.
  • Your Child’s class teacher will be available every day before and after school to receive messages, celebrate successes and answer any short questions. Please note that for any longer conversations, a meeting should be requested via our Admin team.

Instagram & Tapestry

As always, there will be lots of learning and exciting activities going on in Reception this term. Please speak to our admin team for access to the Reception Instagram feed @chps.reception

You will receive personalised activation information from Tapestry to your registered email.