Reception Curriculum
In Reception, children build essential foundational skills through guided play, storytelling, and hands-on discovery. They develop early reading and number skills, learning to recognize sounds, count with confidence, and explore shapes and patterns. Children also learn to make friends, share, express themselves, and build the physical control needed for writing and drawing. This foundational year fosters curiosity and confidence, preparing children smoothly for Year 1.
Our intent, implementation and impact statement can be found here
Curriclum Map
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 |
| Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework followed by all early years settings following the British Curriculum. This is a child centered curriculum, which places play and exploration at the forefront of the child’s learning journey.
The EYFS framework guides staff to provide meaningful learning opportunities across 7 areas of learning and development, outlined below:
The Learning Environment:
Our Reception classrooms are organised to allow children to explore and learn securely and safely. There are specific areas where the children can be active, be quiet, creative etc. Through our enriched learning environment, we aim to promote learning across all 7 areas of the EYFS framework.
All of our staff are passionate about promoting outdoor learning, and students have access to both the inside and outside areas across the school day. Being outdoors offers opportunities for doing things in different ways and in different scales than when indoors. The children can explore, use their senses and be physically active and exuberant. All areas of the curriculum can be explored outside.
What learning looks like:
Play and exploration is fundamental within our Early Years classes. This means children are able to choose activities where they can engage with other children or adults or, sometimes, play alone. During these activities, the children will learn by first-hand experiences; by actively ‘doing’ as well as through scaffolding and modeling by adults. We will provide them with sufficient space, both indoors and outdoors, time and choice with a range of activities.
There is a range of planned and prepared activities by the teachers, as well as allowing time for the children to initiate their own learning. Activities will be planned through discussion with the children around their current interests, as well as taking into account their learning styles and stages of development. Our environment enables children to try things out and make sense of relationships. As the children progress through Reception, the academic learning activities increase. Each child continues to be supported and challenged through a lively and motivating curriculum, which caters for each child’s individual needs and abilities. In Reception, we have structured literacy and numeracy sessions every day.
Literacy
High-quality books serve as the central spark for our learning adventures each term. By anchoring our curriculum in a shared story, children build deep emotional connections to characters, acquire rich new vocabulary and explore complex ideas through play and structured teaching.
| For our reading book list please click here |
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How Story-Led Learning Works
A single core text guides our classroom setup, role-play areas, and learning challenges, allowing children time to deeply understand and master concepts.
Story sessions introduce ambitious language in context, giving children the confidence to use new words naturally during independent play.
Children learn to map out narrative structures, re-enact scenes using props, and invent their own original tales.
Connecting Stories Across the Early Years Curriculum
A rich storybook naturally opens up learning across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):
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Area of Learning |
Story-Linked Activities |
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Communication & Language |
Discussing character motivations, asking open questions, and retelling key events |
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Literacy |
Mapping story plots, labelling illustrations, and practicing initial phonic sounds / writing sentences |
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Mathematics |
Counting story props, measuring items from the plot, and exploring shape and pattern / matching |
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Understanding the World |
Investigating real-world science, nature, habitats, or cultures featured in the text / family dynamics |
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Expressive Arts & Design |
Painting scenery, crafting character masks, and composing themed songs or movements |
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Personal & Social Development |
Exploring character emotions, developing empathy, and navigating problem-solving |
Pageticker
In Reception, we use Pageticker to build a strong reading connection between school and home. Every time we explore a new book, poem, or non-fiction text in class, we record it on the Pageticker app alongside key talk prompts and comprehension questions.
How We Use Pageticker in Reception:
- Class Story Updates: View the exact texts, picture books, and rhymes shared during carpet time and group reading sessions.
- Home Reading Prompts: Access tailored discussion questions—such as predicting what happens next, discussing character emotions, or exploring new vocabulary—to help prompt conversations with your child at home.
- Shared Progress: Log home reading sessions in seconds, allowing teachers and parents to celebrate milestones together in one digital reading diary.
Supporting Your Child at Home
Read Together Daily: Share the weekly class story or related books at home to build familiarity and confidence.
Talk About the Pictures or the story: Pause to ask open-ended questions such as "How do you think they feel?" or "What would you do next?"
Play with Vocabulary: Notice fun or unusual words from the story and try using them in everyday family conversations.
Shared reading creates a vibrant bridge between home and school, helping your child grow into a passionate, curious learner and storyteller.
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In Reception, pupils develop fine motor skills and accurate letter formation through Little Wandle Handwriting Foundations. Early spelling and phonic knowledge are built hand-in-hand using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds program. |
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Developing Number Sense
| Number sense develops the ability to understand the quantity of a set and the name associated with that quantity. Strong number sense developed in the Early Years is a key building block learning Maths as it connects quantities, develops the understanding of more and less and helps children to estimate quantities and measurements. |
Maths and Number Blocks
We follow White Rose Maths with Number Blocks in Reception with an emphasis on studying key skills of number, calculation and shape so that pupils develop deep understanding and the acquisition of mathematical language. Pupils learn through games and tasks using concrete manipulatives which are then rehearsed and applied to their own learning during exploration.
| We teach Maths using the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths material. Animation and loveable characters combine with engaging storylines introduce key concepts of number and mathematical language to support early mathematical understanding. Below are units to support parents. Each unit matches an episode from either series 1 or series 2 of the programme. |  |
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| S1 E7 | S1 E8 | S1 E9 | S1 E10 | S1 E11 | S1 E12 | S1 E13 |
| S1 E14 | S1 E15 | S2 E1 | S2 E2 | S2 E3 | S2 E4 | S2 E5 |
Assessment
Children in the Early Years will still be tracked using the Development Matters bands of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. By the end of their Foundation Year in school it is expected that they reach the ‘Early Learning Goals’. Children are tracked through their reading, writing and maths development by what they write down, through careful observation of what they can do, how they interact with others and how they explain what they know.
A learning Journey is kept of their development—which we will share with you throughout the year, parents can contribute to this to include what children can do and are interested in at home.
At the end of the EYFS year the EYFS Profile Assessment completes the picture of everything they have learnt, and are able to do. This is reported to parents in July, so parents know if their child is at the age related expectation. Most importantly it shows how much progress has been made during the year, and so teachers in Year 1 are ready to teach them their next steps in the National Curriculum.
Currciculum Learning
| How we shape our curriculum |  |
| How we support SEND and vulnerable pupils |  |
| Reception to Year 1 Curriculum |  |