Early Years Foundation Stage
On this page you will find out all about the exciting learning opportunities Reception have in store as the year goes by. You can also find key dates for your diary and access important documents such as our long term plan, newsletters, homework and other announcements.
Please click on an image for a brief introduction to the teachers
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Mrs ColeEYFS Teacher
Mrs Cole
I am Mrs Cole and am currently teaching in Apple Class. I have taught EYFS for many years, and have previously taught Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2.
I have been teaching since 2014 and have always loved teaching in the Early Years, my teaching degree also specialised in the Early Years Foundation Stage. I am also interested in Special Educational Needs and how each child can be included within the classroom, but also develop at their own personal rate.
In my teaching career, I have led Computing, RE and Music. At Alexander McLeod I have also been the EYFS Leader of Learning and Key Stage 1 Leader of Learning. I am currently developing my practice and undertaking my SENCO qualification.
If you ever want to speak with me, you will find me in my classroom at the end of each day.
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Miss McMullenEYFS Teacher & Leader of Learning
Miss McMullen
I am Miss McMullen and I teach in Plum Class this academic year and am currently the EYFS Leader of Learning at our school. I have taught EYFS for many years but have also taught both Year 1 and Year 2, as well as previously being the KS1 Leader of Learning.
I started at Alexander McLeod in 2015 but started teaching in 2011. I have a passion for the Early Years and my Teaching Degree specialised in the Early Years Foundation Stage. I am honoured to be a child's first ever teacher and love that I can introduce the children to skills they will use for the rest of their lives.
If you have any questions or concerns about Reception or EYFS over all you will find me in my classroom at the end of each school day.
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Mrs BrownhillEYFS Teacher
Mrs Brownhill
I am Mrs Brownhill and teach in Cherry Class this academic year. I have over 17 years experience of working with young children and have a passion for teaching children in the Early Years. I believe that this is where the foundation for all children's future learning is built and am enthusiastic to help them reach their full potential whilst instilling a love of learning.Outside of school I am an avid baker and can often be found experimenting with different recipes to create delicious baked goods.I can always be found in my classroom at the end of the day if you ever need to speak to me! -
Mrs RichardsEYFS Teacher
Mrs Richards
I am an enthusiastic Early Years teacher with 15 years of experience in nurturing and educating young children. I hold a PGCE in Primary Education and a BA in History. I am passionate about helping children develop a love for learning from an early age by making learning fun and meaningful. I am dedicated to helping children reach their full potential and foster a positive and inclusive learning environment where every child feels valued and supported. I am also a qualified Forest School Leader and love taking the learning outdoors and beyond!
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Miss HamiltonEYFS Teacher
Miss Hamilton
I am Mrs Hamilton I have been a Class Teacher at our school since 2021. I have taught across KS1 and EYFS in many schools. I have vast experience working as a Teacher including for a time a Swimming Teacher! I love working with the wonderful children at our school. It's a privilege to teach them.
Our Curriculum
Reception is a very important year for our children as it marks the beginning of their learning journey in a school setting. Children in EYFS learn through child-initiated play in both the classroom and outdoor area through cross curricular learning. High quality resources and activities will be provided for your child to help them achieve the objectives on the curriculum through play as well as some adult-led activities. Each day children will be allowed to freely explore the indoor and outdoor areas and be offered daily challenges within these areas.
Within the EYFS framework, there are seven areas of development that shape our curriculum alongside the characteristics of learning. The areas of learning are broken down into prime and specific areas. The prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. They are:
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Communication and Language
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Physical Development
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
The specific areas then help the child to strengthen and apply the prime areas. The specific areas are:
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Literacy
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Mathematics
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Understanding the World
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Expressive Arts and Design
The characteristics of learning focus on engagement, motivation and critical thinking. They are:
Playing and exploring – engagement
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Finding out and exploring
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Playing with what they know
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Being willing to have a go
Active learning – motivation
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Being involved and concentrating
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Keeping trying
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Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
Creating and thinking critically – thinking
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Having their own ideas
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Making links
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Choosing to do things
Our Learning
During this year we will deliver our curriculum through exciting topics that will be led by the children’s interests and focus on embedding the different areas of learning. The cross curricular approach offers a creative way of developing knowledge, understanding and practical skills through a mixture of the different areas of learning.
Our first topic is ‘Amazing Me'. During this topic we will learning about ourselves, families, our body and senses; as well as looking at different festivals and celebrations that different family’s experience. During the spring term our topic is ‘Adventure Awaits’. This topic will focus on fantasy worlds and be highly driven by the children’s interests. We could learn about pirates, monsters, knights or even dragons! Each week we will explore a new world and look at both fiction and non-fiction texts as well as traditional tales. During the Summer Term our topic will be ‘Here, There and Everywhere’. Again this topic will be driven by the child’s interests and will start by looking at animals and minibeasts, but this topic could end up in the rainforest or in the African desert!
Throughout the year the children will be exposed to a language rich curriculum in which they will be read a number of high quality texts and will get the opportunity to learn about rhyme, story structure, characters and role play- thus developing a love of reading. We will also have daily phonic sessions, story times and your child will read regularly with an adult.
We aim to ensure that children develop a deep understanding of all areas of the curriculum and produce fantastic outcomes each week through art, drama, speaking and listening, writing and mathematics.
Educational Visits
Throughout the year, educational visits in Reception are used to support learning, engage children in new topics and spark their natural curiosity. Pupils naturally learn (and remember) a lot from first-hand experiences, with trips also contributing to their personal and social development, such as their understanding of risk management and teaching them valuable life skills. By supporting children in identifying risks on trips, they are then able to better manage their own safety.
End of year assessments
Our curriculum has the seven areas of learning and each area is broken down further into Early Learning Goals. Each Early Learning Goal gives specific examples of what children can do within that area of learning. Reception children will receive an end of year profile in which they will receive an ‘emerging, expected or exceeding’ judgement at the end of the year for each of the 17 Early Learning Goals. This is based on the age-related expectations as set out in Development Matters.
