Welcome to Year R!

2026-27

In Year R, our teachers are Mrs Baker (Class 1), Mr Tagarsi (Class 2) and Mrs Jandula (Class 3). We are also supported by our dedicated Learning Support Assistants (LSAs): Miss Candy, Mrs Croft, Miss Drury, Mrs Eldridge and Miss Williams.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your child's teacher. If they are not around at pick-up, you can speak to them by phoning the school office and requesting an appointment.

Keep referring back to this page for regular updates about the children's learning. 

Curriculum Newsletters

Year R Autumn 2 Curriculum Newsletter

Year R Autumn 1 Curriculum Newsletter

Update - Friday 23rd October 2026

This week, we have been using Funnybones by Allan and Janet Ahlberg as the inspiration for our learning across the curriculum. We also found out about the authors, Allan and Janet Ahlberg, learning a little about who they were and the books they wrote together.

In Literacy, we cut out and sequenced the story, created our own sentences using Colourful Semantics and wrote labels, using our phonics knowledge to help us. We also explored the human body, investigating where different body parts belong and what they do. We had lots of fun creating our own X-rays using chalk and black paper!

We also loved turning ourselves into tricky word walls, writing the tricky words we have learnt onto stickers, sticking them on ourselves and testing our friends.

In Maths, we have been learning to identify, name and compare circles and triangles. We have also been developing our understanding of positional language by describing where objects are.

Outside, we created a fire station role-play area, giving the children opportunities to use their imaginations, develop their language and engage in lots of exciting role-play.

We also enjoyed getting our hands dirty and planting lots of flower bulbs around the area outside Class 1. We are looking forward to watching them grow!

Alongside all of this, we have completed our phonics assessments, enjoyed our weekly music lesson with Mrs Britton and had an amazing stay and play.

Update - Friday 16th October 2026

What a busy and exciting week we have had. We have enjoyed lots of imaginative play, storytelling, problem-solving and exciting learning opportunities.

Literacy, Oracy and Black History Month

This week, our learning has been inspired by the wonderful story We’re Going to Find the Monster by Malorie Blackman. We created a story-themed tuff tray with characters and scenes from the book, encouraging the children to retell the story, use their imaginations and develop their speaking and listening skills.

As part of Black History Month, we also learnt about Malorie Blackman, celebrating her achievements as a Black British female author and exploring her wonderful contribution to children’s literature.

Maths

In maths, we have been exploring the numbers 1, 2 and 3, developing a deeper understanding of each number and its properties. Through lots of practical activities and fun games, the children have been recognising, representing, comparing and exploring different ways to make these numbers.

Outdoor Learning

Our outdoor car wash was a huge hit! The children loved taking on different roles, washing the vehicles and working together to keep their car wash running smoothly. This provided fantastic opportunities to develop communication, cooperation, turn-taking and imaginative play.

We also had lots of fun using ribbons to develop our gross motor skills. The children made large movements, drawing patterns and practising their grapheme formation in the air. A wonderful way to strengthen shoulder and arm muscles while supporting early writing skills!

Phonics

This week, we learnt the phonemes h, u, r and b, along with our new tricky word ‘the’.

The children particularly enjoyed making their own grapheme cards and becoming phonics teachers! It was lovely to see them confidently sharing their knowledge and teaching their friends.

The Great Gloria Mystery! 

Year R was buzzing with excitement this week when we transformed our role-play area into a police station after the mysterious disappearance of Gloria, our class puppet!

Our budding police officers immediately got to work investigating the case. Throughout the week, new evidence began to emerge. Gloria had apparently been spotted entering One Stop, sitting in Festival Place and even coming out of McDonald’s!

The mystery deepened when we received a postcard from Gloria, who revealed she had been enjoying a beach holiday and apologised for worrying everyone so much!

Thankfully, on Friday, Gloria made her grand return, bringing along a new friend, Charlie Crow! 

The children were completely absorbed in solving the mystery. They developed their own theories, collected fingerprints, completed incident reports and answered telephone calls from witnesses. It was wonderful to see their imaginations come alive as they worked together, shared ideas, asked questions and used their developing writing skills for a real purpose.

We have also introduced more Forest School-inspired activities in our smaller outdoor area near Class 1. Three afternoons a week, the children will have opportunities to revisit, practise and build upon the skills they have developed during their Forest School sessions.

This week, the children have been using hammers to investigate conkers and acorns, exploring what happens when they apply different amounts of force. This builds on last week’s experience of using hammers to knock in nails.

These hands-on experiences are fantastic for developing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, concentration, problem-solving and confidence when using real tools safely. They also encourage curiosity, independence and a love of exploring the natural world!

Update – Friday 9th October 2026

This week, we used the story My Hair to inspire our learning, celebrate Black History Month, and recognise the importance of diversity and the contributions of Black people.

In our literacy activities, some children have begun writing CVC labels (consonant-vowel-consonant words), while others have been labelling pictures from the story using their initial sounds. We have also sequenced the story together before the children tried to put the events in the correct order independently. To help embed our phonics learning, the children have enjoyed a range of cutting activities and matching games in the tuff tray.

This week, we learnt the sounds ck, e, u and r, as well as the tricky word I. The children learnt their first digraph, ck, and discovered that a digraph is two letters that work together to make one sound. We have been practising recognising these sounds and applying them in our reading and writing activities.

In maths, we have been exploring one more than a number, using practical resources to help us understand how numbers change when we add one. We have also been developing our subitising skills. Subitising means recognising how many objects there are just by looking, without counting them one by one. For example, children might recognise that there are four dots on a dice simply by looking at the pattern.

We have continued our daily handwriting and reading practice, helping the children develop letter formation, pencil control, confidence, and early reading skills.

Well done, everyone, for another fantastic week of learning!

Update - Friday 2nd October 2026

This week, we have used the wonderful story The Leaf Thief to inspire lots of our learning. The story has helped us investigate autumn, noticing the changes happening around us and thinking about how autumn fits alongside the other seasons of the year. 

In Topic Time we have also been exploring living and non-living things. Using objects and pictures linked to The Leaf Thief, including plants, leaves, twigs, acorns, pine cones, stones, squirrels and birds, we thought carefully about how we know whether something is alive. We learnt that living things grow, need food or water and change over time. We also discovered that not all living things move from place to place – a tree is alive even though it stays in one place!

The children then sorted different objects and pictures into Living, Non-living and Once Living. This led to some fantastic discussions, particularly with the trickier examples. We discovered that a fallen leaf is no longer living, but it was once living because it was previously part of a living tree. We encouraged the children to explain their thinking using questions such as “How do you know?” and “Was it ever alive?”

At the art table, we have been busy creating our own squirrels inspired by the squirrel in The Leaf Thief. The children explored two different ways of creating their squirrels – using toilet roll tubes and through drawing. For both activities, the children were challenged to follow an instruction sheet independently, looking carefully at each stage and completing the steps in the correct order. This has been a great opportunity to develop independence, perseverance and the ability to follow instructions.

In maths, we have focused on patterns. We have explored repeating patterns, continued patterns that had already been started and created our own. We have been encouraging the children to look carefully at what is repeating and explain what should come next.

Our handwriting sessions have continued this week, and we have moved on to practising more pre-writing patterns and shapes. These movements are helping us develop the control and pencil movements we will need when we begin forming our letters.

In our reading sessions, some children have started to read books with words. For children who are continuing with wordless books, we still begin our group reading sessions by practising oral blending and reading simple CVC words. Wordless books remain really valuable for developing storytelling, vocabulary, comprehension and confidence when talking about a story.

This week we have learnt the phonemes g, o, c and k, and our new tricky word is ‘is’.

When we introduce a tricky word, we help the children understand which part follows the sounds they know and which part is tricky. For example, in is, we can recognise and say the phoneme /i/, but the s is the tricky part because in this word it represents the /z/ sound.

We are so proud of how the children are continuing to develop their independence and confidence across all areas of their learning. Another fantastic week of exploring, creating, talking, reading and discovering!

Update – Friday 25th September 2026

This week in Year R we have been using the book ‘A stroll through the seasons’ to inform our learning.

In Phonics, we introduced the phonemes i, n, m, and d, practising writing their graphemes and orally blending CVC words such as sit, tip, mat, man, pan, and pat, while in continuous provision the children segmented words, read them, and matched initial phonemes to picture cards. 

In Maths, we explored mass, length, and capacity, introduced simple repeating patterns, and used the stem sentence "I know that..." to explain our findings and reasoning. 

In Music, the children practised tapping to rhythms and learnt to start and stop singing as the music stopped. Inspired by autumn, our Art activities included rolling conkers and acorns to make patterns, leaf printing, and drawing around our palms to create hand leaves. 

Finally, in Topic Time, we explored the four seasons, learning about their characteristics and observing the changes that occur in plants, animals, and the weather.

We have continued our reading sessions this week. All children have been allocated books on the Collins Hub platform now-please use your child’s login details to familiarise yourself with Collins Hub and to read at home. 

As always, please share any exciting news, outings and home learning on Tapestry. 

Update – Friday 18th September 2026

This week has been a very exciting 'week of firsts' in Year R! The children took part in their first phonics lessons, had their first school photographs, tackled getting changed for PE for the first time, and began their first handwriting sessions. The children continue to settle in brilliantly and we have been so impressed with them this week.

We have started our phonics journey and have learnt our first four phonemes: s, a, t and p. The children have been practising recognising the graphemes, saying the phonemes and beginning to use their new knowledge with classroom activities.

We have also started our handwriting sessions, which take place in small groups four times a week. At the moment, we are focusing on making different writing patterns which will help us when we are ready to begin forming letters.

We have been learning how to get our bodies and hands ready for successful handwriting. We start by warming up our hands, then make sure we are sitting correctly with our feet flat on the floor. We have also been learning our pinch, pinch, pinch, flick technique to help us hold and position our pencils correctly. Why not ask your child to show you how to “pinch, pinch, pinch, flick” at home?

In maths, we have been comparing groups of objects and learning to identify which group has more and which group has less. We have enjoyed using practical resources to make, compare and talk about different groups.

We have been using 'The Colour Monster' and 'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' to support our learning this week.

'The Colour Monster' has helped us to explore our different feelings and emotions. We have talked about how we might be feeling and how we can recognise different emotions in ourselves and others.

'Have You Filled a Bucket Today?' has encouraged us to think about kindness and how our words and actions can make other people feel. We have been thinking about how we can be “bucket fillers” at school by helping our friends, sharing, using kind words and making others smile.

It has been wonderful to see the children becoming increasingly confident and comfortable in their new school environment. They have approached so many new routines and experiences with enthusiasm and are already showing fantastic independence, curiosity and a real eagerness to learn. We are incredibly proud of how brilliantly they have settled into life in Year R and of everything they have achieved in such a short time.