Welcome all to our Reception and Nursery Page for this Academic Year 2023-24.

We are an EYFS unit with up to 60 children aged 3 to 6 in our care and all the children are supported by an amazing team of staff...

Key Information

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or concerns.  

Mrs Knox - rknox@stbedes.cumbria.sch.uk or message on SeeSaw

 Mrs Noble - cweatherill@stbedes.cumbria.sch.uk or message on SeeSaw 

Mrs Palmer in the school office - secretary@stbedes.cumbria.sch.uk or phone 01228 528274

Mrs Winter (Headteacher) - head@stbedes.cumbria.sch.uk  

Dates for the Diary

• MacMillan Coffee Morning - Friday 29th September
• Reception Relax Kids - Wednesday 4th October
• National Poetry Day - Thursday 5th October
• Reception Class School Trip to Stocks Wood Forest School - Wednesday 18th October 
• Parents Evenings - 16th, 17th & 18th October 
• October Half Term - 23rd - 27th October 
• End of school term - 18th December 

Drop off and Collection

Reception children are to line up in the infant playground and will be taken into class at 8:50am. School finishing time is 3:15pm and the class will be let out of the gate onto the infant playground from the Early Years outdoor area.

Nursery enter through the gate near the bike shed and it will be opened from 8:50am. This is also the gate they will leave by at either 12:00noon or 3:15pm, depending on the length of their session. 

PE Days

Reception Class have their PE day on a Friday this half term. We ask that the children have a PE bag in school with a white t-shirt and black shorts/leggings and trainers please.

Nursery children do not need to have a PE kit in school this term. They have plentiful opportunity to develop their fundamental movement skills within the classroom and outdoor environments.

What the children need every day:

Reception: a named, filled water bottle (water only); a Book Bag (available from the school office); a coat (children play outside in ALL weathers and their packed lunch (if not having a school-made dinner).

Nursery: a named, filled water bottle (water only); a coat (children play outside in ALL weathers and their packed lunch (if not having a school-made dinner and staying for a full-day session).

Nursery children also benefit from having a bag with a spare set of clothes in which is kept in school for any accidents, falls or . They also require a School Book Bag (available from the school office), which is brought in weekly.

Worship:

Reception and Nursery children at St. Bede's take part in various worship opportunities. We also say our School Prayer, every morning, in each classroom within the unit. 

The Curriculum

As an Early Years Unit, we cover a variety of topics through a two year, rolling curriculum. Below are our themes for each half term, over this 24 month period as well as this half term's focus. In the Early Years, there are 3 Prime and 4 Specific Areas of Learning. Our plans provide breadth and depth across the 7 Areas, but also allows for flexibility and revision, to meet the needs and interests of the children we teach.

Ways to support your child's development at home...

Making Playdough

Recipe:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 cup of boiling water
• Food colouring of desired choice.  

Great for communication and language skills, fine and gross motor development, modelling and using mathematical language, expressive arts and social and emotional development.

Phonics

In Nursery and Reception children are working towards or within the Read Write Inc Phonics scheme. Children who are not yet ready to access the scheme fully will access some Phase 1 phonics activities from Letters and Sounds to support them in developing their early phonics skills.

(Please see the Reading section of the website for more information on Read, Write, Inc. phonics)

In Phonics children learn the skills needed to read and write successfully and get the opportunity to apply their newly-learnt skills. At home please make sure children in Reception regularly look at their phonics sheets in their homework file and practise saying these sounds.

Also regularly look at their reading book, which is phonetic, not forgetting to look at the questions in the covers of the book too. 

Supporting Number

Number recognition games can be very exciting for your child and free too!

Reading numbers on doors, car registration plates, on letters, on clocks, on calendars. Going on number hunts around the house or garden area are great fun!

Counting games can be done whenever and wherever. Whilst waiting in queues, out shopping, sitting in the car or even at mealtimes.

Useful websites to use at home...

Early Years Maths - Topmarks Search

ictgames 

Games for kids and early years activities - CBeebies - BBC

Literacy Activities | Doorway Online