At Walnut Tree Walk, we believe that every child should become an active and happy learner.  We focus equally on the seven areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  This allows all children to shine in the areas they are most confident while at the same time developing new skills and discovering passions they didn’t have before.

Personal Social and Emotional Development

Our school mission is for all children to ‘be the best they can be’, and in Reception we focus on our children’s self-confidence.  We teach the children that this is their school and give them a sense of ownership over it. 

This is taught through the way adults talk to the children and in specific learning sessions. We introduce the children to key members of staff such as the headteacher and office staff, so that they feel at home in their new school.  

All children take part in a welcome assembly to the rest of the school in their first term so that every individual is known throughout Walnut Tree Walk.  Children’s work is celebrated throughout the year in displays and achievement assemblies so all learners feel confident and proud of what they are doing.

We teach and encourage the children to take responsibility for the environment and their friends’ wellbeing.  In Reception, children are expected to look after the indoor and outdoor classrooms.  They keep them tidy and use the resources appropriately.  Most importantly, they know how to support their peers and we talk about how to be a good friend in afternoon circle times throughout the Reception year.

Communication and language

Talking, thinking and questioning are central to all other areas of the Early Years curriculum so we encourage all children to find their voice at Walnut Tree Walk!  From the time they join, we will encourage language development through role play, movement, and positive relationships. 

We know that happy, excited children are more likely to absorb language so all of our learning is designed to be stimulating.

We have a key topic each half term that allows children to learn new ideas and feel more confident to talk about them as time goes by.  For instance, in our topic ‘All Around us’, children will go for a walk with Kiddie Cams to take pictures of the Houses of Parliament, the Shard and Big Ben. 

We will use this trip to expand our vocabularies and then when we compare our photos to a class text such as ‘Night Night London’ - everyone has so much to say!

A key aspect of communication in Reception is learning to listen, pay attention and understand what the teacher or our friends are talking about.  We plan engaging activities related to the key class text and teach five whole class lessons a day on the carpet, as well as lots of small group, adult-led focus sessions. This ensures that the children get the specific attention they need while at the same time being ready for the transition to Year 1.

Physical Development 

At Walnut Tree Walk, we believe that the early years of a child’s life are so important to growth and development.  As such, we follow the Department for Health’s guidelines that children in the Early Years should have at least three hours of physical development a day.  Physical development is incorporated into our entire day in Reception.  The fact that children are able to access the outdoor area all day, every day, enables them to explore bigger movements and physical activities.  

We know that physical development does not just happen through specific learning opportunities.  It happens every time children zip up their coats, or bend down to tie their shoelaces.  In Reception, all children are encouraged to become independent as quickly as possible so that they can take ownership of their own fine and gross motor skills, physical movements and personal hygiene. 

Literacy

We believe in helping our children develop a love of literacy learning that will last a lifetime.  Chatting away in funny voices as we flick through picture books, enjoying interactive eBooks together, listening to stories being told via video or audio and singing nursery rhymes are just some everyday ways we spark communication and early literacy learning. A love of words is essential for developing early reading and writing skills.

We have a specific weekly indoor and outdoor literacy opportunity to engage the greatest number of early readers and writers.  These activities could involve writing letters to characters in the key text from the week, drawing huge maps on the floor using chalks to show we have understood the setting of the story, or reading some instructions to build a model.

Each child writes every day on a whiteboard in their phonics lesson and produces one more formal piece each week so we can closely monitor their early writing development.

Mathematics

In Reception at Walnut Tree Walk we aim to provide a meaningful and exciting start to our children’s mathematical journey. We recognise that a positive relationship with mathematics will enable children to develop the thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills needed to succeed throughout the rest of their time in the primary phase. 

We balance an enabling mathematical environment which encourages independent exploration of concepts with daily focused inputs to ensure all children are able to access the curriculum. Mathematical thinking is embedded in the daily language of our classrooms.  We count our friends in the morning and think about what would happen if one more joined, count our footsteps when we walk to the school canteen and begin to read some times on the clock so we know what is happening next in the day!

A typical week will involve a daily 15-minute whole class input followed by one focus session led by the teacher with a group of 6 children.  We build in time to have follow up sessions with individual children who have not grasped a concept or who need to be challenged to think at greater depth.  

These adult sessions are always fun and engaging, and largely practical.  We base our teaching around a theme that the children have demonstrated interest in, and ensure that it has meaning to their lives.  Each session is recorded in the children’s learning journey so that they can reflect on them at a later date and be shared with parents.

Understanding the World

At Walnut Tree Walk we have a diverse community and we use this to support our children to experience a wide range of experiences, cultures and religions.  As well as engaging in religious festivals such as Diwali and Christmas, we celebrate cultural events such as Chinese New Year.

We embed activities in our linked provision planning, and on a week such as this you might find children making Chinese lanterns, writing letters to send to loved ones in red envelopes, and cooking using noodles and different healthy ingredients!

We are very fortunate that our local built environment is one of the most dramatic in the country, so we base a lot of our teaching around key local landmarks and we think about how they may have come to be there and developed over the years.

We recognise that many of our children live in very urban and built up environments so we endeavour to teach about environments and animals that are more commonly found in the countryside, and take them to visit a local farm.

Expressive Arts and Design

In the Early Years we believe that art and design can support the whole curriculum because positive experiences can develop creativity and independent thinking, and boost confidence, self-esteem and personal, social and emotional development.  

As such, at Walnut Tree Walk children are able to access an art activity every day, which they can take part in independently and create a physical representation of their thoughts and feelings.

Our children develop the practical skills needed to be able to make a piece of art.  This could involve holding a paint brush, using scissors appropriately, manipulating a material such as playdough or clay, or knowing that there are different types of glue that have to be used at different times.

They are encouraged to discuss their plans before they make their model, drawing or painting, but also to have the confidence to change their ideas as they come up with new ones.  

We celebrate pieces of art as a class, with children given the chance to come to the front and discuss the key features of the work.  

In adult focus groups, our children learn to talk about and compare pieces of music (e.g “this music sounds like…”). They also learn to distinguish and describe pieces of music and changes in pieces of music (e.g “this music started like…. But finished like …. “). We provide an enabling environment both inside and outside where children can go freely and be uninterrupted by adult ideas so they can be curious, explore and create their own music using sound-makers, both bought and made.

Curriculum

If you would like to find out more about Walnut Tree Walk, then click the buttons here to either read our new school prospectus, or  contact us directly to arrange a visit. We look forward to meeting you.