Reception children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and have access to a wide range of experiences.

Activities in Reception are child and teacher initiated.  During child-initiated times, the teachers make careful observations and engage with the children, enhancing their learning through questioning, modelling, and adding more resources.  We encourage children to be independent, to be interested in the world, to ask questions and most importantly to have fun.  We emphasise learning through play and are able to target each child’s needs individually due to our small class sizes.  By the time they have reached the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage in Reception, they are ready to progress on to a more formal learning environment in Year One.

The children develop understanding of mathematical concepts of Addition and Subtraction, counting in 2s, 5s, and 10s Shape, Space and Measure, through practical and meaningful activities such as cooking in the Lower School DT Room, collecting interesting natural objects outside in Forest Schools and measuring in the Sandpit.  The children are taught how to record numbers and a strong emphasis is placed on mental arithmetic

The Reception classrooms are bright and airy, well equipped with modern technology, including interactive whiteboards, large creative areas that are always accessible, and stimulating resources at child-height, so that they can fetch and put them away themselves.  As part of building independence, we ensure that children take responsibility for their classroom.  The large french doors allow the children to free-flow in and out of the classroom during their child-initiated play.  The outside side area is fully enclosed and astro turfed allowing it to be used in all weathers. 

Some of the topics which we cover include Dinosaurs, People who help us, and life cycles.  Visitors such as a police officer, a dentist, a firefighter come to visit the classes to teach the children more about the important jobs they do and what the children can do to help themselves.  In addition to the visitors, we go on exciting trips, including the local Tilford Rural Life Centre in Farnham and the Natural History Museum in London.

Children visit the school’s purpose-built Library each week and have their ICT lesson taught in the classroom on touch screen Chromebooks.  They are taught by specialist teachers for Art, Swimming, PE and French once a week and Music twice a week.  The children also participate in Forest School once a fortnight which always ends in a very welcome mug of hot chocolate.