This half term we will:

• Develop confidence and independence as we settle into Reception routines.

• Build positive relationships with adults and peers.

• Learn how to share, take turns and work collaboratively during play.

• Explore what makes us unique and celebrate our achievements.

• Develop a sense of belonging within our Reception family.

• Learn classroom expectations and routines.

• Recognise, name and talk about simple feelings and emotions.

• Develop resilience, perseverance and confidence when trying new activities.

Baseline Checkpoints

Self-Regulation

• Can focus attention in a group situation for a short period of time.

• Follow a series of instructions.

• Is able to talk about feelings in simple terms and give reasons if upset. 

Managing Self

• Confident to access the environment with minimal support.

• Follows the rules as part of the new routine.

• Reliably toilet trained and requires minimal support with personal care. 

Building Relationships

• Can play with other children as part of a game or activity, without adult support. 

• Can take turns and share sometimes with adult support. 

• Makes new friends in the class, and talks to adults to share news or as part of an activity.

This half term we will:

• Develop confidence when speaking with adults and other children.

• Learn and use new vocabulary linked to ourselves, families, bodies and senses.

• Take part in group discussions and conversations.

• Listen carefully to stories and respond to what we hear.

• Ask questions and share our ideas.

• Use language to describe what we notice during investigations.

• Listen to the ideas and experiences of others.

• Build vocabulary through high-quality stories, songs and rhymes.

Baseline Checkpoints

Listening, Attention and Understanding

• Follows a series of instructions. 

• Listens to stories and can recall the main events. 

• Contributes sensible comments to discussions and conversations.

Speaking

• Engages in conversation with adults and peers.

• Uses plurals and some tenses correctly.

• Can ask questions.

This half term we will:

• Explore what our bodies can do through movement and physical challenges.

• Develop balance, coordination and control when moving.

• Negotiate space safely when indoors and outdoors.

• Climb, balance, jump and move confidently in different ways.

• Develop fine motor control through drawing, painting, cutting and model-making activities.

• Use tools such as scissors, pencils, brushes and construction equipment safely.

• Learn how healthy choices help our bodies to grow and stay strong.

Baseline Checkpoints

Gross Motor Skills

• Has good coordination and balance when negotiating equipment and other people. 

• Is able to tackle parts of the climbing frame, e.g. low climbing wall, steps, ladder. 

• Uses trikes and scooters confidently. 

• Uses brooms to brush and spades to dig in sand and soil. 

Fine Motor Skills

• Can use scissors to make snips and cut lines, holding scissors in one hand. 

• Can copy some recognisable letter shapes from name. 

• Holds pencil in fingers rather than a whole hand grasp. 

• Shows a preference for a dominant hand. 

Compehension

This half term we will:

• Enjoy a wide range of stories linked to our learning.

• Listen carefully and talk about what has happened in stories.

• Retell familiar stories using props, role play and small world resources.

• Learn and use new vocabulary from stories and discussions.

• Talk about characters, events and experiences.

Writing 

This half term we will:

• Develop mark-making and early writing through meaningful play.

• Write for real purposes across our provision areas.

• Develop pencil control and letter formation.

• Use writing materials confidently during independent play.

• Develop the fine motor skills needed for writing through a range of practical activities including dough disco, finger rhymes, threading, tweezers, peg boards and lacing activities.

• Build strength and control in our hands and fingers through activities that encourage squeezing, stretching, rolling and manipulating different materials.

• Develop pencil control through mark-making, drawing, shading and tracing activities.

• Learn how to form letters correctly as part of our Read Write Inc. phonics lessons.

• Practise using a comfortable pencil grip and develop a preferred dominant hand.

• Develop control when moving a pencil from left to right across a page.

• Begin to understand that marks, drawings and writing can communicate meaning.

• Engage in meaningful mark-making opportunities across provision, including writing lists, labels, signs and messages during play.

• Use drawing, talk and early writing to represent our ideas, experiences and interests.

• Develop confidence and independence when choosing to write during child-initiated learning.

I Am A Clever Writer

As part of our I Am A Clever Writer journey, children will focus on developing the physical skills that underpin successful writing. Throughout Autumn 1 they will build finger strength, hand control and pencil skills through carefully planned activities before progressing towards more formal writing later in the year.

Children will explore:

• Finger and hand strengthening activities.

• Pencil control and left-to-right movement.

• Developing a comfortable pencil grip.

• Forming letters correctly.

• Using mark-making and drawing to communicate meaning.

Phonics - Read, Write, Inc.

This half term we will:

• Begin our Read Write Inc. phonics journey and establish the routines that will support children in becoming confident readers and writers.

• Learn to recognise and read a growing number of Set 1 sounds.

• Practise saying the sounds clearly and accurately.

• Learn how to form letters correctly through daily handwriting sessions.

• Take part in Fred Talk games, helping children hear and identify sounds in words.

• Begin blending sounds together to read simple words.

• Develop confidence in hearing sounds in words and using Fred Fingers to support spelling.

• Build strong foundations for future reading and writing through daily phonics lessons.

• During Autumn 1, children will be introduced to the following sounds:

• m, a, s, d, t

• i, n, p, g, o

• c, k, u, b

• f, e, l, h

• r, j, v, y, w

• z, x

Baseline Checkpoints

Comprehension

• Enjoys listening to stories and retell a simple story using story vocabulary using visual clues, e.g. talking through a familiar book. 

• Joins in with familiar rhymes and songs.

Word Reading

• Can discriminate between sounds. 

• Can keep a simple rhythm and match rhyming words. 

• Is able to recognise own name. 

• Can say the initial sound in a word. 

• Can orally blend some simple cvc words.

Writing

• Can write the initial sound in a word.  

• Uses some recognisable letter shapes when writing own name. 

• Can orally segment some simple cvc words.

This half term we will:

• Follow the NCETM Mastering Number programme, developing a deep understanding of number through practical experiences, exploration and mathematical talk.

• Develop our ability to subitise by recognising small quantities without needing to count them individually. Children will learn to identify quantities within 4 and recognise a range of different arrangements. 

• Explore numbers through a variety of representations, including dot patterns, fingers, objects, Numberblocks and real-life collections. 

• Build confidence when using number names and develop an understanding that counting helps us find out "how many" objects there are altogether.

• Learn that the last number counted tells us how many there are altogether, developing an understanding of cardinality. 

• Practise counting carefully using one-to-one correspondence, ensuring each object, action or sound is counted once and only once. 

• Count a range of things including objects, actions and sounds, helping us understand that mathematics is all around us. 

• Begin to understand that numbers can be made up of smaller numbers. Children will investigate how 2, 3 and 4 can be composed and represented in different ways. 

• Explore the relationship between parts and wholes by making collections and identifying groups within numbers.

• Begin to compare quantities using the language of more than and fewer than. 

• Develop mathematical language and reasoning skills by explaining what we notice, how we know and what patterns we can see.

Throughout our Mastering Number lessons we will:

• Use Numberblocks to help develop our understanding of number.

• Explore numbers through songs, rhymes, stories and games.

• Investigate number through practical activities using a wide range of equipment and real-life objects.

• Learn to recognise, represent and compare quantities in a range of different ways.

• Develop a secure foundation in number that will support future mathematical learning throughout Reception and beyond.

Key Mathematical Concepts

Throughout Autumn 1, children will explore:

• Subitising - recognising small quantities without counting.

• Counting and Cardinality - understanding that counting tells us how many objects there are altogether.

• Composition of Number - learning that numbers can be made of smaller parts.

• Comparison - using the language of more than and fewer than to compare quantities.

Baseline Checkpoints

Number

• Have a good understanding of numbers to 5.

• Knows that the amount stays the same however objects are arranged.

• Rote counts to 10.

• Subitises to 3. 

Numerical Patterns

• Compares amounts using the language of ‘more’. 

• Reads numerals to 5. 

• Matches to an amount.

• Orders numbers to 5. 

Shape, space and measure

• Uses some everyday language to talk about and compare size and shape. 

• Recognises a repeated pattern.

• Beginning to create own patterns and arrangements.

This half term we will:

• Learn about ourselves, our families and our community.

• Explore how we have changed since we were babies.

• Develop an understanding of the past and present.

• Explore our senses and use them to find out about the world.

• Observe, compare and describe what we notice.

• Carry out simple investigations and talk about our discoveries.

• Explore similarities and differences between ourselves and others.

Baseline Checkpoints

Past and Present

• Talks in detail about family, 

• Identifies relationships within the family.

• Recognises the difference between self now and as a baby.

People Culture and Communities

• Talks about the world around and the people and places that are familiar. 

Natural World

• Explores the natural world and talk about out the things that are noticed. 

• Recognises change and can describe what is happening.

This half term we will:

Creating with Materials

• Create self-portraits using a range of materials and techniques.

• Explore colour, texture and pattern through painting, drawing and collage.

• Use mirrors to observe and represent our features.

• Develop our skills when using paint, pencils, scissors, glue and a variety of creative materials.

• Create artwork inspired by our learning about ourselves, our bodies and our senses.

• Experiment with different materials and techniques to express our ideas.

• Create collaborative artwork celebrating our Reception family and what makes us unique.

Being Imaginative and Expressive

• Develop imaginative storylines through role play linked to homes, families and familiar experiences.

• Use small world resources to recreate experiences and tell stories.

• Explore movement, dance and action songs as part of our learning about our bodies.

• Join in with familiar songs, rhymes and musical activities.

• Use sensory experiences as inspiration for creative responses through music, movement and art.

• Retell familiar stories and act out events through role play and performance.

• Express ideas, thoughts and experiences through imaginative play with others.

Baseline Checkpoints

Creating with materials

• Uses a range of different techniques and variety of materials, e.g. paint, collage. 

• Can cut continuously with scissors to make lines or snips.

• Uses a paintbrush to form lines and circles.

• Uses drawing materials to create pictures with a range of lines and shapes.

Being imaginative and expressive

• Experiments with a range of percussion instruments. 

• Joins in with singing in a familiar group. 

• Accesses role play and small world resources, sometimes playing with others to develop storylines.