Welcome to our Class page!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back – we hope you all had a magical Christmas and a restful break.

This half term, Red Class will be learning about our new topic, People Who Help Us. The children will be finding out about the special people, places and services that make up our community. They will explore what a community is, why it is important, and how everyone has a role to play in helping it work well.

 As an exciting introduction to this topic, we would love to invite you to join us on Tuesday 13th January, 9:00am – 11:00am. During the morning, the children will explore a range of different roles within our community, focusing on the people who help to keep us safe and healthy. We are also delighted to welcome Little City into school, where the children will have the opportunity to explore real-life roles through imaginative play in a fun and engaging way. This experience may even inspire their future career aspirations!

Throughout the topic, we will look closely at different community roles such as shopkeepers, doctors, dentists, firefighters, police officers, military personnel and many more, learning how each one helps to keep us safe, healthy and supported. As part of this learning, we are hoping to invite visitors into school to talk about their professions. If you are able to help with this in any way, please do get in touch.

We are really looking forward to an engaging, hands-on topic that will help the children build a strong sense of belonging within Mareham and the wider local area.

Maths in Reception – Alive in 5!

This term in Maths, we are following the White Rose Maths scheme. Our focus is Alive in 5!, which helps children develop a secure understanding of numbers up to 5.

During this unit, children will be learning to:

• Count confidently to 5 and beyond
• Recognise numbers to 5
• Understand that numbers are made up of smaller parts (for example, 5 can be made of 2 and 3)
• Subitise (recognise small quantities without counting)
• Compare quantities using language such as more, fewer and the same

Learning is very hands-on and play-based, using practical equipment, stories, songs and games to help children build strong number sense.

How you can support at home

You can help your child by:

• Counting everyday objects together (toys, stairs, snacks)
• Practising recognising numbers to 5 in books, on doors or in the environment
• Talking about numbers in real-life situations, such as “We have 3 apples, how many more do we need to make 5?”
• Playing simple games involving counting, matching and number recognition
• Encouraging your child to show numbers on their fingers

Most importantly, keep maths fun and informal — short, regular chats about numbers make a big difference!

Phonics in Reception

This term in Phonics, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. At the start of this term, we are consolidating last term’s phonics learning to ensure children feel confident and secure before moving on to new sounds.

Little Wandle teaches children to:

• Recognise letter sounds (phonemes)
• Blend sounds together to read words
• Segment words into sounds to support spelling
• Read and use tricky words that cannot be sounded out easily

Phonics sessions are taught daily and are lively, interactive and matched carefully to each child’s stage of development. More information for parents.

How you can support at home

To support your child’s phonics learning:

• Continue to practise the sounds and tricky words we send home each week
• Encourage your child to say the sounds clearly and blend them together to read words
• Read regularly with your child and praise their efforts and progress
• Revisit sounds often – repetition really helps children to remember and build confidence

Little and often is best and keeping practice fun and positive will help your child become a confident reader.

PE Days

PE will continue to take place on Mondays and Thursdays. On these days, children should come to school wearing their PE kit.

Please can we remind you to label all items of your child’s clothing and shoes. This helps us return belongings quickly and avoids any mix-ups during the school day.

Thank you for your continued support. 

EYFS - Parent Guide