Reception/EYFS

Starting school at Newlands in Reception.

Thank you for considering Newlands Primary School for your child’s education. 
We have created this page to inform you about what you can expect from us, and what life will be like for your child in Reception.

As well as reading through this page, we would also strongly recommend that you come and see the school in action, to gather further insight into whether we are the best school for your child. We would love to show you around, and answer any questions that you may have.

Our open days will be taking place on Wednesday 5th November at 4.30pm or Thursday 6th November at 10.00am. 

You can book your tour here or by calling the school office on 01843 593068. 

 

Our mission

We strongly believe that Reception lays the foundations for the rest of a child’s learning journey and schooling experience. Therefore, our aims for what we want your child to achieve by the time they finish Reception are: 

  • A love for school -  At the heart of everything we do and teach, we want every child to love school, and feel excited about coming to Newlands and learning. Therefore, to do this we put every child at the very centre of our reception curriculum, because we want to ensure they are motivated to learn and come into school everyday. 
  • Confidence - Self-confidence and self-efficacy play a huge role in a child’s learning. For that reason, we strongly believe that we have a vital role in making school a safe space, where the child sees themselves as a valuable individual, and is comfortable in embracing challenges and ‘having a go’, so that they can grow further. 
  • Real life experiences - We know that children need concrete experiences before they develop abstract ideas, to guarantee they gain a deep conceptual understanding of a given topic. We will be providing every child with opportunities to learn beyond the classroom, whether this is on a school trip or in our Forestry Area, to allow them to have these concrete experiences, which they will then be taught about or embedded into their play, so that they then gain deeper knowledge of that given topic. 
  • A wealth of knowledge - It is crucial for the rest of a child’s primary schooling that they have the foundational knowledge to then be able to build from, therefore we aim to develop a depth of knowledge that expands from Maths and Literacy to the wider world, so they are ready for Key Stage 1. 

To achieve these aims, our curriculum consists of a balance of child-initiated play, adult-lead learning (focusing on learning set out from the Department of Education and Development Matters) and real life experiences outside of the classroom.

 

What can you expect to see?

Continuous Provision

Continuous provision describes all of the different provision areas which are available for your children to use every day.

At Newlands we have an indoor and outdoor provision. In our indoor provision we have areas such as: Block Play and Small World, Construction, Maths, Writing, Water, Science, Art, Puppet and Reading, Zones of Regulation, Home and Role play area. In our outdoor provision we have: Sand, Water, Construction, Games, Role Play Area and Mud Kitchen. 

Continuous Provision is extremely important in the Early Years setting.

Carefully planned continuous provision will enable children to learn skills, will challenge their thinking and help them to embed concepts. It should also provide the context for a variety of learning conversations between children and adults with rich opportunities for modelling and extending speech and vocabulary. It is within this learning environment that the children will also develop key learning attributes. 
 

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Structured Learning

As well as incorporating an effective continuous provision, we equally value the importance of structured learning.

Therefore, we ensure that we have a balance between both within our timetable. 

Structured learning are lessons that follow a structure and syllabus that aligns with the curriculum. Structured learning can take the form of the teacher being at the centre of the learning, explicitly teaching students various concepts to help them grow their knowledge, or the child being at the centre of the learning, where they explore concepts with the teacher's assistance to help them develop their knowledge.

In reception, we believe structured learning is critical in a child's learning journey because it creates the groundwork for them to obtain additional knowledge as they continue throughout the school.Your child will be taught Read Write Inc, to develop their ability to read, Maths, Literacy, and topic based learning that covers the Early Learning Goals for ‘Understanding the World’ and ‘Expressive Arts and Design’.
 

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Real Life Experiences beyond the classroom

In our Reception provision we offer lots of real life experiences, from our school trips to: the Granville Theatre, Wingham Wildlife Park, Quex Park Farm and Dumpton Gap Beach, to visitors from Kent Police and Firefighters, Road Safety and RNLI. We also offer opportunities to embrace and experience different cultures, through our Diversity Week. For example, we offer the children to participate in a celebration of the Holi Festival.

School trips and visitors offer far more than just a change of scenery or time out of class. They play a vital role in shaping a child’s learning experience, moving beyond the classroom to investigate topics in the real world and develop classroom relationships. School trips especially, are crucial outings that provide a well-rounded education by fostering new skills.
 

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Forestry Area

Forestry areas benefit early years children by improving physical and emotional well-being, enhancing social skills through collaboration and communication, and fostering cognitive development through problem-solving and creativity. They build resilience, confidence, and independence as children safely take risks and overcome challenges in a natural setting. Additionally, forestry areas, cultivate a deep connection to nature, promoting environmental awareness. All of these benefits align with the prime areas of learning stated in Early Years Framework such as: Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal Social and Emotional Development. 

We will be using the Forestry Area fortnightly, providing the children with waterproof clothing and wellies in case the conditions are muddy, so they are still able to explore the environment and enjoy learning about how the weather changes the conditions of the environment. The children will be set tasks by the adult to complete. These tasks align with the topics across the year, and allow for children to achieve the Early Learning Goals set out by the Department for Education. 
 

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Curriculum and Assessment

Our Curriculum:
At Newlands Primary School, we follow the Department of Education's Development Matters and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years documents, to inform us of how to lead our Reception provision. 


The Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of seven key areas.

These areas are as follows:


Prime Areas

  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development


Specific Areas

  • Literacy
  • Maths
  • Understanding of the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design


Children's development across these areas are met through a curriculum that is well designed to meet the children's interests through a themed approach.


In order for a child to reach a Good Level of Development (GLD) we must first ensure strong foundations in the Prime areas and then the Specific. Each area of development is intrinsically connected and dependent upon each other.


Here is our long-term overview, outlining how we ensure that each of the Prime and Specific Areas are taught across the year. Reception 2025/26 Long-term plan

 

Assessment:
When your child starts Reception, at any school, they will participate in the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) within the first 6 weeks of starting reception. The purpose of the assessment is to provide the starting point for a progress measure that will help parents understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6.  

Here is a poster containing further information regarding the assessment

Reception Baseline Assessment Information

Then, throughout the year there will be continuous assessment through observations and work examples, that we use to inform the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, which is completed at the end of the academic year.

To complete the EYFSP, the children are observed against the Early Year Goals (ELGs) throughout the structured learning and continuous provision, if the child is assessed as ‘expected’ for their age in the Prime Areas, and Maths and Literacy, then they will achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD). The formative assessments will be conducted continuously throughout the year, meaning that we will consistently monitor your child’s progress and adapt the curriculum so they can achieve further success.

To evidence the observations completed, we use Tapestry. This allows parents to also observe what the children learn during the week, and upload their own photos of what the children have been learning at home. 

For more information regarding Tapestry, please refer to the following letter: Tapestry letter

Parent Participation and Information

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we work closely with parents and carers to foster positive relationships.

By working closely together to support the development of the child we will enable strong foundations for learning. Throughout the year, we have regular opportunities for parents to meet with the teacher to discuss their child’s progress.

Parents are expected to engage and contribute towards their child’s learning journey through the use of the Tapestry app and home projects that we set throughout the year. This ensures a joint understanding of the child’s development and we can jointly celebrate their achievements. It also allows for children to embed their learning further at home, so they are recalling the newly taught concept, which will ensure learning is retained.

Here is a letter containing key information for parents joining us in Reception:
Key information letter