Welcome to St Josephs Learning and Growing Together

Welcome to St Joseph’s

Learning and Growing Together in Faith and Friendship St Joseph’s is a Catholic Academy, and, working alongside 7 other Catholic primary schools in North Staffordshire, our first mission and purpose is to teach the Catholic faith. As a Catholic school, the Gospel values underpin all that we do and so RE and Catholic Life are at the heart of our school.

Our school mission is underpinned by our 4 curriculum drivers: Opportunity, Aspiration, Resilience and Compassion.

Reception Class Staff Miss Mogford (Class Teacher) Mrs Bradley (Teaching Assistant) Miss Gazey (Early Years Apprentice)

Our School Day School starts at 9. 00. Doors open at 8. 50. Children enter school via the Foundation Stage Entrance, through the Outdoor Area The school day ends at 3. 10 pm and children need to be collected from the Reception class door When the children first come in, activities in the different areas of learning will be accessible for them At 9 am, the children gather together for a morning song and morning prayer Children then have a taught carpet session for approximately 20 minutes- this may be focused on any one of the seven areas of learning

Our School Day Children then access a range of focused activities and opportunities for play, both inside and out, with activities focusing on Maths, mark-making leading into Writing, Reading, role-play, development of fine-motor skills, physical development and creative learning Some of these activities will be guided by an adult; others will be designed so that children can access independently At 11 am, all children will be taught daily Phonics At 11. 45 am, children will go to dinner in the school dining hall where they will be encouraged to order their own dinner, use a knife and fork if on hot dinners, tidy up after themselves and use their manners

Our School Day Children will have access to outdoor play after their dinner Children return to the classroom at 1 pm where they will register, say prayers and then start their afternoon session. A lesson will be delivered by the teacher- which could be an RE, Maths, Literacy, Topic or PE focus, and again, children will access continuous provision, being supported in their learning by staff Tidy-up time is at approximately 2. 30 pm; children will then have milk, fruit and story time before end of day prayers and home time.

Part of the school Reception class are very much a part of our school and so will partake in many activities throughout the week beyond the classroom. These will include: Monday morning’s Whole School Assembly PE sessions with our specialist PE teacher, Mr Sigley Weekly music lessons with our specialist music teacher, Mrs Cliffe Success Assembly on Friday mornings, which parents are warmly welcome to attend Reception are also fully involved in the wider life of the school such as World Book Day, STEAM week, House Teams, etc.

EYFS Curriculum Areas of Learning Prime Areas of Learning • Personal, Social and Emotional Development • Communication and Language Development • Physical Development Specific Areas of Learning • • Literacy Maths Understanding of The World Expressive Arts and Design

Learning Beyond the Classroom Learning beyond the confines of the classroom offers the children a different way to explore, and the great outdoors is part of our Early Years classroom. Please ensure that you always provide clothing suitable for outdoors: a warm, waterproof coat, hat, scarf and gloves for the winter and a sun hat and cream for the summer months. Wellington boots should also be provided, to be kept in school all year round on the welly racks. Reception go for frequent ‘Welly Walks’ down to our pond area and around the local area and it is important that children are dressed appropriately in order to access outdoor learning. We also go on termly trips to a range of different places to enhance learning; for example, a trip to the farm, the airport, a train ride to see Santa, etc.

Uniform Nursery and Reception A yellow polo shirt, with a grey skirt, pinafore or trousers A blue school cardigan or jumper, with the school logo Girls may wear a blue checked dress in warmer weather PE A sky blue polo shirt, with the school logo Navy shorts Black pumps or Velcro Trainers Please put children’s names in their uniforms and PE kits and all other belongings. Uniform can be purchased from: Smart School Uniform, Hassell Street, Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST 5 1 AR. Tel: 0800 068 1782 / 01782 633003 (Turn left after the Jolly Potter) AND Supersport, High Street, Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, ST 6 5 TT. Tel: 01782 367629 Also online at www. supersport. co. uk.

Dinner Times Children in Reception class are entitled to a hot school every day, under the Government’s ‘Universal Free School Meals’ scheme Alternatively, you child can bring a packed lunch to school with them.

Promoting Independence We encourage our children to be independent from the outset and promote this in a wide variety of ways: Children have their own coats/ pegs which they are encouraged to use Fruit, milk and water are available for children to choose/ help themselves to There are signs around the classroom showing how many children can access particular areas/ activities and children are encouraged to respect these rules In PE sessions, children will encouraged to dress themselves They will be expected to tidy up toys/ equipment after use At dinner time, children will learn to eat independently Children will be encouraged, as soon as they are physically able, to go to the toilet themselves- this of course is very closely monitored by staff

Other matters… Absence If your child is going to be absent from school please call the school office as soon as possible Contact Information Please make sure that all contact information is up to date. Please notify the office if there any changes Birthdays On your child’s birthday, they can come to school in their own clothes House Teams Your child will be put into a House Team named after a patron saint of Great Britain. On the saint’s feast day, you child will be able to come in their own clothes, wearing something in the team colour

How can you help at home? Talk to your child! The best teacher your child has is you! Teach them the names of everyday objects, animals, foods, etc. Sing Nursery Rhymes and read a bedtime story every night. Share your child’s library book with them and join a local library for a wealth of free books Make sure your child knows their name, address and how old they are Introduce colours, shapes and initial sounds in simple words, e. g. d is for dog. Start to segment the sounds in these words d-o-g and blend them back together Count using 1: 1 correspondence- stairs, steps, food… Encourage turn- taking in games and sharing Be creative! Paint, draw, bake, grown flowers, provide them with play dough- and always talk while you are together Enable your child to climb, run, jump- at the park, soft play centres, etc.