Summer Term 2026

This half-term, our topic is Glorious Growth. We will begin by discovering some ‘mysterious’ seeds and using our curiosity to investigate what they might be and what they could grow into. The children will use information books, the internet and their own knowledge of how things grow to help them find answers.

Once we discover that the seeds are beans, we will learn how to plant them and share the story Jasper’s Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth. We will explore Jasper’s planting methods and think carefully about how to improve them, sequencing our ideas to help him become a better gardener. 

The children will then plant and care for their own beans, making sure they have the right amount of sunlight and water to help them grow.

As our beanstalks begin to flourish, we will move on to the story Jack and the Beanstalk. The children will use their imaginations to think about what might be at the top of their own beanstalks. Through actions and storytelling, they will learn to retell the story confidently and perform it for their friends and other Reception classes.

Spring (Jan) 2026

After the Christmas holiday, we returned to school to find two mysterious presents waiting on our teacher’s chair. When we opened them, we discovered a small red bus and a book. This led us to lots of questions: What did they mean? Who should we be saying ‘thank you’ to?

As we began reading, the first pages introduced us to a huge city called London. We explored what London is like and compared it to where we live in Redditch. We discussed landmarks and were impressed by how much knowledge the children already had, confidently identifying places such as the water tower, Morton Stanley Park and The Vaynor First School.

After receiving the little red bus, strange things started to happen around our classrooms and everything was not quite as it should be! As the story developed, we discovered that the book was about a ‘Naughty Bus’ that had been causing mischief in our school.

By the end of the journey, the children had helped to solve the mystery of the Naughty Bus and understood that the adventures were all part of a story being told. We reflected on the events, created our own imaginative stories, and shared ideas about what the bus might get up to next. The experience inspired lots of creative writing, discussion and map work, and helped us deepen our understanding of London and how it compares to our local area.

Autumn 2 (September) 2025

Reception Half-Term Enquiry: A Bear in Our Classroom! 🐻

This half-term, Reception will be developing their prediction and investigation skills through an exciting story-led enquiry, inspired by the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.

After the half-term break, the children discovered a large cave in our classrooms, with footprints leading inside, sticks and leaves scattered across the floor, and even strange growling sounds coming from underneath it! This immediately captured the children’s imagination and curiosity.

Using our key text, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, as inspiration, the children began to investigate. We researched animals that live in caves, examined the footprints more carefully, and studied a small piece of fur we found nearby. All the clues led us to one exciting conclusion—it must be a bear!

At first, the children felt a little unsure, but they soon decided that this bear was kind, friendly, and enjoyed spending time with us in our classroom. Just as we were getting used to our new friend and sharing stories together… the bear vanished!

Now the children are determined to find out where the bear has gone and how we can bring it back. They have written detailed descriptions of the bear, which we will use to help with our search. We would love your help—please keep an eye out in the local area for any clues that might lead to the safe return of our bear.

The journey continues as Reception embarks on a whole-school ‘Bear Hunt’ around The Vaynor First School.

Watch this space!

Our enquiry question:
Is the bear trying to make friends with the family?

 

Autumn 1: (September) 2025

We have started school!

All the teachers would like to thank the new boys and girls of Reception 2025 for settling into Reception life so well. They have embraced new routines, friendships and classrooms with enthusiasm and a determination to achieve.

We have already started to recognise our names on our coat pegs, box files and reading folders so that we ensure we remember where to find our belongings. 

The children have devised their own class rules to keep our friends happy and safe. We are trying very hard to follow them and enjoy moving up the zone board for trying our best! 

Sharing books and Little Wandle books have gone home, and we are trying hard to get those 5 signatures a week (checked every Monday) so that we receive a stamp on our reading chart. Grown-ups don't forget to look carefully at the RED reading challenge letter and help us to keep our Vaynor reading promise. Little Wandle books are brought back on a Monday and a new book will be given out on a Thursday.

Our fingers and thumbs have been working extremely hard, and we are trying to strengthen those muscles to help develop our pencil grip. We have enjoyed exploring the funky fingers table and using the playdough, threading, pencil control sheets and name writing activities. We are working towards our dynamic tripod grip by using our 'pinchy fingers'!

In Maths we are learning to develop subitising skills (saying how many objects are in a group without counting them). We are also developing our one to one correspondence skills, recognising numerals, ordering numbers, creating a repeating pattern and singing number songs and rhymes. 

Finally, we ask Walt the puppet what we are learning about each day. He is a little cheeky at times, but we all like getting to know him.

Here is a picture of Walt: 

Our Topic this term is: Marvellous Me!

We have been thinking hard about what makes us unique, and the teachers have already sent home the 'Marvellous Me' bag/box. Each child will have the opportunity to fill this with items that are special to them. We will all get a chance to explain and share why they are so important to us and display them in our classrooms. 

We have an Investigation Area in our classrooms and have been busy using our senses to explore what we look like and who we are. We have particularly enjoyed the smelling pots and using our sense of smell to guess what might be inside each pot. 

Soon it will be Walt's birthday and we are busy guessing how old he might be, making preparations for his party and thinking about our birthdays and how we will celebrate them. 

Our enquiry question is: Are we all the same?

We will be exploring our favourite things, our special people and our happy places. We will learn to understand that everyone is unique and has different special qualities. We will learn to tolerate and be interested in others as we settle into our new classrooms. 

 

Characteristics of Effective Learning in Reception

The characteristics of effective learning describe the behaviours we use in order to learn. 

At The Vaynor First School we use our 3 dinosaur puppets to support our learning.

We have the:

 Exploraptor

The Exploraptor helps us to play and explore

                                                                           Tryceratops

The Tryceratops helps us to try very hard and concentrate on our learning. 

Thinkosaurus

The Thinkosaurus helps us to think about our learning, have ideas and make connections.