Barcroft Academy

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Reception

Mrs Kandola

EYFS Phase Leader/ Class Teacher

Mrs Baker

Class Teacher

Mrs Thakur

Class Teacher

Ms Gayden

Teaching Assistant

Miss Bassett

Teaching Assistant

Our Early Years Curriculum

Autumn Term

🍂 Autumn Term – First Half Highlights 🍂

We had such a wonderful start to our year together! The children have settled in beautifully into our routines and are enjoying an exciting variety of topics, stories, and activities.
We begin with We Are All Different, inspired by The Ugly Duckling. We share stories about our own families and talk about why the people in them are so special to us. The children celebrate what makes each of us unique, and it’s lovely to see their pride in their own stories.
Next, Funny Bones takes us on an adventure into learning about our bodies. We discover fascinating facts about our skeletons, muscles, and the importance of staying fit and healthy. A favourite activity is making our very own skeletons from cotton buds – complete with vital organs – and talking about how amazing our bodies really are.
Our Autumn & Harvest theme brings a delicious fruit-tasting session, where the children explore flavours from all around the world. As part of our art activities, we have fun mixing primary colours to paint the Gruffalo, making sure to include his green warts, purple prickles, and bright orange eyes!
Finally, we celebrate the colourful festival of Diwali. The children create beautiful Rangoli patterns and design their own henna-style hand decorations, exploring patterns, shapes, and the joy of celebration.
It is a busy and joyful half term, and we are excited to see what the next one brings!
❄️ Autumn Term – Second Half Highlights ❄️
The second half of our Autumn term is full of excitement as we explore seasonal events and the festive period together.
We begin with Bonfire Night, inspired by My Mom is a Firefighter. We talk about the importance of staying safe around bonfires and fireworks, and we learn what to do if we ever encounter fire indoors – practising the “stop, drop, and roll” technique. The children listen carefully to the sounds fireworks make, explore the bright colours they see in the night sky, and use tissue paper to collage their very own bonfire scenes.
Next, we travel to the North and South Poles through the story Lost & Found. We carry out experiments with ice to investigate melting and freezing, discovering what affects how quickly ice changes. We explore the landscapes, weather, and wildlife in these icy places, and the children enjoy role-playing polar adventures while sharing their ideas about what life might be like there.
Finally, our classroom transforms into a wintery wonderland as we prepare for Christmas, with How to Catch an Elf as our festive story. We learn about Christmas celebrations around the world, exploring different traditions and customs. The children make beautiful cards and calendars to take home, and the term ends with the highlight of our Christmas play – performed proudly in front of parents and guardians.
It is a magical and joyful end to the term, full of learning, creativity, and festive cheer.
   

A warm welcome to our Reception Classes; Stars and Moons. Throughout the fun-filled year our children will experience a wide range of creative activities and have an array of opportunities to engage in real life events based on a range of fiction and non-fiction texts. 

Here are a few important reminders:

 * PE days - Monday and Wednesday - please ensure your child has their, correct and labelled, white and black PE kit and has removed any jewellery/studs beforehand.

* Homework - sent out on a Thursday, to be returned by Tuesday - ensuring homework is completed once a week with your child's name on, returned in their book bag.

* Reading books - to be returned daily or as regularly as possible and the reading diary should be signed by an adult. 

* Lunch - your child can bring in their own packed lunch or they can have a free school meal. Meals should be booked via ParentPay by midnight on Sunday for the upcoming week. 

* Wellies - bring in your own labelled pair to use across the school year in our water/sand features. 

* 1000 Stories - the book trolley is available on a daily basis for your child to exchange a book to read at home/bedtime etc. Please ensure these books are returned! 

 

Thank you all, we look forward to a wonderful year ahead.

The Reception Team

Take a look at our Long Term Overview for 2025/26

 

Our Curriculum Overviews

Medium term plans are created from the long term overview for EYFS. They are split into curriculum areas to ensure that our children are receiving a wide range of lessons in order to prepare them for Key Stage One. 

Medium Term Plans

Year 1 Readiness Skills

 

Educational websites

  • Phonics Play
    These resources will allow you to play games with your child based on the sounds they know. They can even differentiate between real and alien words!
  • Balloon Phonics Game
    This game is popular within the class where you can choose the beginning, middle or end sound!
  • Singing Hands - Makaton
    Singing Hands YouTube Channel has a variety of songs and rhymes performed using makaton signs and symbols.
  • Reception Maths Games
    There are a range of topics here to choose from that children will be familiar playing with, within school!
  • Reception English Games
    There are a range of topics here to choose from that children will be familiar playing with, within school!
  • Internet Safety
    Young children use the internet so much in this generation, please ensure your child is safe and understand how to stay safe by watching this video!

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