Welcome to Holmesdale Reception!
Reception at Holmesdale is a thrilling, language rich and stimulating environment where your child can discover, learn, and play. Our warm and friendly staff have an excellent understanding of how children learn and develop, and staff use their knowledge to plan a broad and balanced curriculum that is inclusive, allows all children make progress and become independent learners.
We begin the exciting journey by forming strong relationships with each child, celebrating their uniqueness, and ensuring that they feel safe and secure and can thrive. We believe that children learn best through play as play offers fun opportunities for children to engage, explore, experiment, and challenge themselves. Throughout the day our children have free flow access between well-resourced classrooms and our outdoor environment, complete with a large, covered sandpit, mud kitchen and stage.
In Reception, children experience a balance of carefully planned play and guided learning and direct teaching. Learning is planned around children's interests and the knowledge and skills they need to develop. At Holmesdale we are fortunate to enjoy amazing outdoor spaces and children regularly enjoy Woodland explorer sessions, the school pond, hall, library and taking part in whole school initiatives.
Below are the seven areas of learning as set out from the Statutory Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework which we follow.
Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships, and thriving.
These are the prime areas:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development
Four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to the Holmesdale community.