Our classes are named after two popular authors.

Morning Drop-Off
The school gates open at 8:45am. Children and their parents/carers should line up by the Reception paddock gate, which is located on the Key Stage One playground. A member of the Early Years team will be at the gate to welcome the children into school. Any messages can be passed on to this staff member, who will ensure they are relayed to your child’s class teacher. If you need to speak directly with a member of staff, please do so at the end of the school day so that the morning handover remains focused on keeping children safe.

Afternoon Pick-Up
The school day ends at 3:20pm. Gates open at 3:15pm for parents/carers to line up outside the two Reception gates. Children will be released at 3:20pm. To ensure safety, please wait for staff to call and release your child rather than calling out to them yourself.

 

Protective Behaviours
At our school, we embed a Protective Behaviours culture. Children regularly reflect on and update their Network Hand, helping them identify trusted adults they can turn to whenever they feel worried—no matter how “big or small” the concern.

Proactive Social Media Guidance
We provide parents with regular reminders and guidance around social media. We strongly encourage you to check your child’s devices frequently and maintain full access to their accounts. By working together in this way, we can better ensure pupils’ safety online and beyond.

Learning for Life
Our Learning for Life curriculum is closely aligned with our school values. It takes a proactive approach to teaching children how to stay safe, while also supporting their learning in relationships education, sex and relationships education, and health education.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, focusing on the seven areas of learning. Our themes and topics are built around high-quality texts and shaped by the children’s own interests. This approach helps to inspire and engage the children, encouraging them to become curious, active learners.

Our provision offers a wide range of exciting learning opportunities through a varied daily programme of teaching. This includes daily sessions in Literacy, Maths, Phonics, and Kinetic Letters. Learning experiences are carefully tailored to meet individual needs and often linked to children’s own interests. Activities are differentiated to ensure every child is supported and challenged at the right level.

The EYFS Curriculum is organised into two main areas: Prime Areas and Specific Areas. The Prime Areas form the foundations of learning, supporting children to access and succeed in the Specific Areas. All areas are interconnected, creating a holistic approach to your child’s development.

Prime Areas

• Communication and Language: Listening & Attention, Understanding, Speaking

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Self-regulation, Managing Self, Building Relationships

• Physical Development: Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills

Specific Areas

• Literacy: Comprehension, Word Reading, Writing

• Mathematics: Number, Numerical Pattern

• Understanding the World: Past and Present, People Culture and Communities, The Natural World

• Expressive Arts and Design: Creating with Materials, Being Imaginative and Expressive

At the end of Reception, your child will be assessed against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) across the seven areas of learning. These goals help teachers make a well-rounded judgement about each child’s development and their readiness for Year 1. Teachers use their professional expertise and knowledge of each child to decide whether they are working at the ‘expected’ level of development or are still ‘emerging’. This information will be shared with you in your child’s end-of-year report.

Communication and Language

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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. Teacher should be understood to refer to any practitioner working with the child.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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.

ELG: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.

Mathematics 

ELG: Number 

Children at the expected level of development will: - Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number; 14 - 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.

ELG: 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 

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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.

ELG: 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.

Expressive Arts and Design

ELG: Creating with Materials 

Children at the expected level of development will: - Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function; - Share their creations, explaining the process they have used; - Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.

ELG: Being Imaginative and Expressive

Children at the expected level of development will: - Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher; - Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs; Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.

Reception Induction

• Parents/carers are invited to a school tour and a transition meeting to learn about routines, procedures, and meet staff.

• Families receive an Early Years prospectus and children take home a transition pack with activities to help them prepare for September.

• Staff meet with nurseries and carry out home visits to get to know each child and their family.

• Children attend a settling-in session to explore their classroom, meet their teacher, and make new friends.

• All children start together in September, with full days from day one. Parents can help settle their child during the first week, while independence is encouraged.

Transition to Year 1

• The Early Years Profile supports a smooth move into Year 1. Some children continue with the EYFS curriculum, while most begin the National Curriculum.

• Children visit their new classroom, meet their teacher, and help create a display to make the space familiar.

• Reception and Year 1 staff meet to share information, ensuring the Year 1 curriculum meets every child’s needs.

 

Phonics and Reading
At Temple Meadow, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised scheme. Each week, your child will be given a book carefully matched to their current phonic knowledge. They will read this book three times in school, focusing on blending, prosody, and comprehension. On Fridays, the book will be sent home for your child to share with you.

If your child finds the book easy, please don’t worry—this is intentional. Re-reading helps children build fluency, confidence, and enjoyment. Please listen to them read each evening, celebrate their success, and praise their efforts. If they struggle with a word, simply read it for them.

To nurture a love of reading, your child will also bring home a story or picture book of their choice. This is for you to enjoy together, rather than for them to read independently. You might:

• Read the story aloud and talk about the pictures

• Predict what might happen next

• Use different voices for characters

• Explore facts together in a non-fiction book

The most important thing is to have fun and share the joy of reading.

Please remember: book bags should be in school every day.

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Home Learning
At Temple Meadow, we believe home learning provides valuable opportunities for children to practise key skills, explore new ideas, and apply their learning in creative ways. Our aim is to support development in Communication and Language, Kinetic Letters, Phonics, and Maths.

Home learning is set each Friday on Tapestry and includes:

• 1 Phonics task

• 1 Kinetic Letters task

• 1 Maths task

Each task links directly to what your child has been learning in school that week.

If your child needs any support with their home learning, please speak to a member of the Reception team—we are always here to help.

 

Water Bottles
Children should bring a reusable water bottle to school each day, containing water only. Bottles can be refilled using our water machine, and we kindly ask that all bottles are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Milk and Fruit
Children under five are entitled to free milk. After their fifth birthday, parents and carers can choose to pay for this. A variety of free fruit is also offered to all children during snack time.

Snack Time
Snack time is more than just a chance to eat—it supports elements of the Personal, Social and Emotional Development curriculum. Children are expected to wash their hands before eating, are encouraged to make healthy choices, and use this time to come together as a class to chat, reflect on their learning, and build relationships.

Partnerships with Parents and Carers

At Temple Meadow, we believe that strong partnerships between school and home make a real difference to children’s learning and development. Parents and carers are a child’s first educators, and by working together, we can give every child the best possible start.

We welcome and encourage parents to take an active role in their child’s education and care. There are many ways to get involved, from informal conversations with staff to structured workshops and events.

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Working with Services and Professionals

To best support our children, we work closely with a range of services and organisations. At times, this may mean sharing information with other professionals to ensure the right support is in place.

Health professionals regularly visit school to carry out routine checks such as weight, height, and vision. They also lead sessions to help children learn about healthy lifestyles, including dental care. Our school nurse also attends parents’ evenings and is available to support families with specific needs, such as toileting.

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Parent Involvement Opportunities

We offer a range of opportunities for parents to be part of school life:

• Stay and Play sessions every half term, where parents can explore the classroom, chat informally with staff, and meet other families.

• Workshops providing advice and strategies to support learning at home.

• Parents’ evenings each term, alongside our open-door policy—parents are always welcome to talk to teachers at the start or end of the school day.

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Celebrating Learning Together

We place great value on the three-way relationship between children, parents, and staff. This partnership helps children make strong progress and reach their potential.

Parents can contribute observations of their child’s learning and achievements through Tapestry. Staff also use Tapestry to share classroom “WOW moments,” keep families informed of key events, and send reminders. This ongoing communication ensures everyone plays a role in celebrating progress and supporting next steps.