Welcome to Reception Class!

Reception at John Betts Primary School is a unique and exciting time as children begin their transition into school and embark on a lifelong learning journey in close partnership with parents and carers. Within our nurturing and inclusive school community, children build secure relationships with their teachers and peers, helping them to feel happy, safe, and confident in their new environment.

Our Reception curriculum offers a rich range of practical, hands-on, and playful learning experiences designed to spark curiosity, develop critical thinking, and encourage open-ended exploration. High-quality children’s literature lies at the heart of learning at John Betts, introducing children to the joy of reading and writing through carefully structured phonics teaching. Mathematical understanding is developed through practical activities, purposeful play, role-play, and discussions linked to children’s everyday experiences.

Through supportive collaboration with our experienced staff, children at John Betts Primary School develop strong foundational skills and positive learning habits that prepare them for the more structured academic challenges of Year 1 and beyond, while fostering a lifelong love of learning.

Strong Foundations

Strong foundation practices in Reception refer to strategies that ensure children develop secure early learning skills across literacy, numeracy, and personal development. These include high-quality adult-child interactions that build language and thinking, daily systematic phonics to support early reading, and practical, hands-on experiences for developing number sense and mathematical understanding.  A detailed progression in fine and gross motor development is followed to support pencil grip and correct letter formation.  Daily opportunities are given to strengthen and promote a dynamic pencil grip and structured letter formation is taught to ensure that children form letters correctly.  

A well-planned continuous provision encourages independent exploration in meaningful contexts, while regular observation and assessment help identify gaps and plan next steps. Strong foundations also involve engaging parents in supporting learning at home, adapting teaching for SEND and EAL learners, and fostering emotional and social development through routines, self-regulation, and positive relationships. Together, these practices create a safe, inclusive, and stimulating environment that prepares children for future learning success.

Our school has adopted a Strong Foundation Charter to ensure every member of staff understands the key skills children need to access learning. This shared commitment helps us provide consistent, high-quality support so that every child can develop secure foundations and achieve their full potential.

Phonics and Early Reading

Phonics

At John Betts, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers thanks to a systematic and synthetic phonics programme. We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Government approved Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.

The system is based on a six-phased progression scheme which is taught in Nursery (prior to the children’s arrival) through to Year Two.

Reception – Phases 2, 3 and starting 4

Year 1 – Revise Phase 3 and move on to Phase 4 and 5

Year 2 - Phase 6

As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read. At John Betts we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Daily phonics sessions are taught in Reception and Year 1. In Reception, we build from 10-minute lesson with additional daily oral blending games, to the full-length 25-minute lesson as quickly as possible. Each Friday, we review the week’s teaching to help children become fluent readers. Assessment is used to monitor progress and to identify any child needing additional support as soon as they need it.

Each grapheme (the smallest unit of a writing system, such as a letter or a digraph) is introduced with a visual and an action to help children recall the sound. Handwriting is also supported as the formation phrase complements the visual cue for the grapheme. Please have a look at the Phase 2, 3 and 5 Grapheme Information Sheet below:

Early Reading

At John Betts, we value reading as a crucial life skill. By the time children leave us, they read confidently for meaning and regularly enjoy reading for pleasure. Our readers are equipped with the tools to tackle unfamiliar vocabulary. We encourage our children to see themselves as readers for both pleasure and purpose.

Reading Records – All pupils have a reading record. For young children this serves as a dialogue between the class teacher and parents about:

• the book the child has read
• how they read
• any words they have found difficult

Reading for Pleasure

We value reading for pleasure highly and work hard as a school to grow our Reading for Pleasure pedagogy.

‘Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s success.’ (OECD 2002)

We have an inviting book corner that encourages a love for reading. Children are encouraged to bring their favourite stories in from home to share with the class. At the beginning of the year Reception children are paired with a Year 5 buddy. They will read together once a week, fostering a love of reading and promoting interactions that encourage conversations around stories.