Cherry Class

Welcome to Cherry Class!

We have 30 Reception Cherries in our class.

"From the moment children start in Reception, they begin to learn to read through effective phonics teaching." Ofsted 2023

"Reception children receive an excellent start to their school life. They experience a rich curriculum that is engaging and well thought out. Their interests are clearly prioritised through the topic work, and as a result, children in early years are motivated and highly engrossed in their learning. From the moment children start in Reception, they begin to learn to read through effective phonics teaching." Ofsted 2023

"Staff know every child at this school really well and put them at the heart of everything they do."

OFSTED - Feb '23

Ms Wendy Brown is the class teacher, SENCO and Head of School.  Miss Laura Minter is the class teacher two days a week. 

Ms Brown and Miss Minter are supported by Mrs Kim Thomas, HLTA and Mrs Louisa Shutie, TA.     

                              ‘To be the best we can be for ourselves and others’

We wish to provide a secure, warm and welcoming environment in which personal, social, spiritual and educational values are developed and nurtured.  We welcome parents and carers supporting us by taking an active role in everything we do in school to encourage our children to become useful members of society. The school aims to meet the personal, academic, spiritual, moral and cultural needs of every child through a broad and balanced curriculum, where each child is given an equal opportunity to succeed.

Parents as Partners

We recognise the importance of parents and carers in each child’s developing stages. As a primary care provider, you are your child’s first educators and we greatly value any input, opinions and information you can share with us about your child’s learning and progress. To support this, we use Target Tracker ‘Learning Journey’ within the classroom that records your child’s learning and achievements during school. These represent both child-initiated activities and directed tasks, along with learning and photos in maths and phonics/literacy books.

Parents are actively encouraged to meet with the class teacher to discuss any concerns at the earliest opportunity. Please see Miss Brown to arrange an appointment or call the school office.  

Learning in the Foundation Stage Reception is where the excitement begins!

Foundation stage children learn together in an environment which is developed around the children’s interests. We pride ourselves on being an exciting and engaging place to be - encouraging our children to be independent learners through a range of practical activities. We follow a thematic curriculum which allows us to be creative with our lessons and let the children lead their own learning.

As our Foundation Stage children enter the classroom they learn primarily through a variety of play and real-life experiences. Our teaching is delivered through carefully planned tasks and guided key jobs. The children access their environment freely; however they understand they must complete 'key jobs' throughout the day which will scaffold and extend their learning. Their development is tracked through detailed, daily observations and child-initiated interaction.

The EYFS Curriculum

In reception our Foundation Stage children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS). This curriculum is based upon four themes and principles.

• The Unique Child - We understand that every child is an individual child who is capable in their own right. The holistic child has a variety of needs that need meeting over their time in the Foundation Stage.
• Positive Relationships - Social interaction is key to children’s development. Children become strong, independent learners; as well as scaffolding their learning through positive social interaction.
• Enabling Environments - Providing a safe, secure and stimulating base for your children is key to their development. The framework allows for experiences that respond to the child’s individual needs/ interests; as well as developing a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and carers.
• Learning and Development - Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities

Within `Development Matters’ there are 3 prime areas of learning and 4 specific areas. This framework provides the basis of how we structure the setting, the activities and opportunities we provide; as well as how we assess your child’s development. For each of these areas your child will have an ‘Early Learning Goal’ to work towards.

Prime Areas

· Communication and language

· Personal, social and emotional development

· Physical development

Specific Areas

· Literacy

· Mathematics

· Understanding the world

· Expressive arts and design

Characteristics of Effective Learning

· Playing and exploring

· Active learning

· Creating and thinking critically

Forest School

We are very fortunate to be able to provide forest school experiences within the school grounds. Children will all have an opportunity over the year to attend forest school, with our qualified Forest School Leader, Mrs Brownjohn. The children learn fantastic skills and gain the opportunity to explore and develop their outdoor skills. This gives the children a wonderful opportunity to become independent and lead their own learning in a natural environment. Children must have long sleeves, long trousers and a waterproof coat. You may wish to provide waterproof trousers and wellies will already be in school. Cherry Class will be exploring Forest School in Terms 1,2,5 and 6. If you would like to volunteer to help at Forest School, please do get in touch. 

Class Story

The school uses a closed private social media site, Class Dojo, to message and share pictures of the children’s learning story. If you are a parent of a child in the class, please follow this link: https://www.classdojo.com/ and login using the credential provided by the school.