Frequently Asked Questions

How is the school day structured?

Our day starts at 8:55am and we get the children settled and ready for a quick 15-20 minutes whole class phonics session. After phonics, the children have ‘cool’ time (choose your own learning) where they can explore the environment. Lots of areas are set up weekly, linking to the children’s learning that week. During their ‘cool’ time the children can choose to move between inside and outside freely. Children also complete weekly focus work with adults in Reception during ‘cool’ time. We then tidy away for snack and milk. After this we have another 15-20 minutes whole class maths session. This is followed by more ‘cool’ time and some more focus maths activities. The children will then tidy up for a 12:00pm lunch time. The children eat their lunch in the hall and then go out on the playground for their lunch time play. At 1:00pm the children come back inside for afternoon activities and ‘cool’ time. We have different activities on different days of the week such as P.E and art. The children read their reading book to a member of staff weekly. The school day ends at 3:00pm where they will be picked up from the Reception entrance. 

What ratio of learning/playing time do the children get?

In Reception, we largely promote the importance of play and love to see our children exploring and investigating in our engaging environment. We hold daily phonics and maths carpet sessions that last around 15 minutes and children will complete focus activities with adults throughout the day. The children get lots of ‘COOL’ time (chose our own leaning time) where they are free to use both the indoor and outdoor environment to play and develop their social skills with peers.

How is reading/writing/maths taught?

In Reception, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum to ensure that our planning enables children to develop a wide range of early skills. For phonics, we follow the Letters and Sounds scheme and use Jolly Phonics actions. As mentioned, we provide daily whole carpet phonics sessions where we cover both reading and writing skills and children also work one to one with their class teacher to complete a literacy focus activity. We follow a scheme called Big Maths and, similarly to phonics, we deliver a daily maths carpet session, however, this is followed by a small group activity with the teacher rather than individual work.

Where will my child eat school dinner/what will they have?

The children will eat school dinners in the main hall. If your child has a packed lunch, they will also eat in the hall. The food we provide is fresh produce from local suppliers. For a full sample of our school menu please visit our school website.

Who will be working with my child?

Your child will either be in the Reception Red or Reception Blue class. Although your child will be working closely with their class teacher, our whole reception team, including our teaching assistants, carry out activities with children on a daily basis.

Do you have breakfast and after school club?

Yes. Our fantastic before and after school care ‘stars!’ is open to children from Yeadon Westfield Infant and Junior Schools, including Nursery. You can find more information about this on our website.

Will my child go outside?

Absolutely! During your child’s choose your own learning time the outdoor area is available to access whenever they wish. They can move between indoor and outdoor play depending on what they fancy.

How many children are in a class?

There are typically around 30 children in each class, however this can vary year to year. Our spacious Reception classrooms mean that the children have plenty of room to explore and learn.

What kind of physical activity is provided for my child?

Our school promotes physical activity as an important part of every child’s day to encourage healthy, active lifestyles. The whole school participates in our ‘daily mile’ every day whereby the children participate in a 15 minute social activity where they can walk, jog or run around the playground, improving their focus in the classroom. Reception also receive one hour of PE, so they are given lots of opportunity to move their bodies!

Is there anyone in the school that can offer support for families?

We are extremely lucky to have our own pastoral care officer in school who is available to contact with any issues or worries families may have.