Welcome to Reception at The Prince of Wales School 2026/27!

 Welcome to Reception at The Prince of Wales School (2026/27)!

We are absolutely delighted to welcome our new families and children! This is such an exciting chapter in your child’s learning journey, and we are so looking forward to their first day this Thursday.

This blog will be your primary hub for news, updates, and photos throughout the year.

Explore Our Updated Classroom

Since our Parent Information Session in July, the Reception classroom has had a wonderful makeover! To help your child feel confident and settled on Friday:

Take a moment to look through the classroom pictures together so your child becomes familiar with the new setup.

Social Story:

If your family uses social stories, please click here to view and share our Transition Story ahead of Thursday.

My First Day

Essential First-Week Logistics & Routines

The School Day Timings

• 8:45 AM — Doors Open: Arriving promptly at 8:45 AM allows children to take part in our early Linked Provision activities for a calm, purposeful start.

• 9:00 AM — Doors close and Registration (if running late you will need to drop off via the office)

• 3:30 PM — Home Time: Please collect promptly, as little ones can get anxious if their adult isn't there right away.

Separation Anxiety Tip: Drop-offs can bring a few tears early on—this is completely normal! Children almost always settle quickly once inside. If your child has a tricky morning, we are always happy to give you a quick phone call to put your mind at ease.

First Day Bags & Toys

• First Day Bags: Children can bring their special decorated bags on Thursday. We can't wait to see what treasures they bring to share with us!

Toys from Home (besides the one in their transition bags)

We kindly ask that children do not bring toys from home. This helps avoid confusion, as well as the risk of something special being lost or broken.

It can be tricky for children to tell the difference between school resources and toys brought from home, and we’d be so sad if something special were to get lost or damaged. To avoid this, we ask that toys from home are kept safely there. Thank you for your support - it really helps children make a confident and independent start to school.

I know many of you will have questions about the day-to-day routines, especially in these first few weeks. I’ve answered the most common ones below, but please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to know more.

Snack & Drink Station

Timing: Open from 10:00–10:30 AM daily, fully supported by an adult.

What to Send: We provide daily fruit, but you may send healthy fruit/vegetable/cracker snacks from home. Please no crisps, chocolate, or high-sugar fruit rolls.

Drinks & Milk: Water bottles will be refilled throughout the day with scheduled calm water breaks. Children under 5 receive free school milk (or via the office if over 5).

Wellies & Spare Uniform

Wellies: Please send one labelled pair of welly boots to stay at school for outdoor learning and water play.

Spare Clothes: Send a full labelled set of spare uniform for the inevitable sand, mud, water, or little accidents (please label socks and pants too!).

Labelling: Label everything (jumpers, bottles, lunchboxes!). Unclaimed items will be placed on a table or in a box outside at the end of each day.

Lunchtimes & PE

Lunch: Early in the term, Reception eats a little earlier with full support from our team. Free school dinners are encouraged, but if you are unsure how much they will eat, feel free to send a back-up packed lunch.

PE Kits: PE starts after the first few weeks once children are settled. On PE days, children come to school wearing their kit (weather-appropriate jogging bottoms and trainers are great for cooler days). I will keep you updated on when we start formal PE lessons.

Our Approach & Expectations

Our play-based, child-led environment gradually introduces structured routines at a comfortable pace. This year, we’ll be diving into exciting learning adventures with Drawing Club, Power Maths, and Read Write Inc.

To help your child feel secure, it’s great to practice these Key Classroom Expectations at home:

Listening Ears: Practice sitting down and focusing for brief instructions.

Tidying Up: Encouraging children to clear away one activity before starting another.

Self-Help Skills: Practicing putting on coats, zipping up jackets, and opening lunch items independently.

Kind Hands & Sharing: Using gentle words and taking turns with toys.

Stay Connected

We update this blog every weekend with key news and photos. Looking through the blog with your child is a fantastic way to prompt conversations about what they did during the week!

First Day Icebreaker Question!

Before Friday, grab your child, read this post together, and drop a comment below letting us know: What is one thing your child is most excited to try or see in Reception?

Have a wonderful rest of your week - we can't wait to start this journey together on Thursday!

Warmest regards,

Miss Godden and The Reception Team

Making Music, Maths, and Memories

 Hello Reception Families and Friends!

As we head towards the end of the school year, you might think things would be winding down in Reception, but our busy learners have other ideas! The last two weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of laughter, creativity, and milestone moments. It is incredibly rewarding to see how much the children have grown, and they have been working harder than ever to showcase all the fantastic skills they’ve mastered this year and demonstrate how Yr1 ready they truly are!

Here is a look at what our amazing reception class has been up to during this action-packed fortnight.

Creative Arts & Expressive Design

Rocking the Boomwhackers 

The children have been learning to play the song Golden using Boomwhackers. They did an amazing job tracking the rhythm and working together to make music.

Frida Kahlo Masterpieces 

We have officially finished our animal collages inspired by the artist Frida Kahlo. The children showed wonderful fine motor control and self-expression, choosing textures and colors to bring their creatures to life.

Bringing Drawings to Life 

Merging art with technology, the children turned their own character drawings into digital animations! Watching their creations move on screen brought absolute magic to the classroom.

Here are the original drawings:

And here is what we created!

The Ultimate Foam Party!

 We continued the fun by throwing a surprise foam party for Mr. Spracklen! The sensory joy, giggles, and pure excitement were unmatched. It was a fantastic way to build community and shared memories.

Communication, Language & Literacy

Programming "Robot" Miss Godden! 

Miss Godden transformed into a robot who needed to learn how to make a sandwich! The catch? She could only follow direct instructions that included specific nouns, prepositions, and adverbs. The children had to think critically and communicate very clearly (e.g., "Carefully spread the butter on the upside of the bread"). If they weren't precise, Robot Miss Godden made a right mess!

Maths: Mastering Number Bonds to 10. 

We’ve been strengthening our mathematical thinking by practicing our number bonds to 10. Using Numicon shapes, the children have been visualising how different numbers fit together to make the perfect 10. 

Physical Development & Outdoor Fun

S'mores at Forest School 

Nothing beats outdoor learning! At Forest School, we practiced our safety skills around the fire camp and rewarded ourselves by making delicious, gooey s'mores.

The Mighty Parachute Mushroom! 

We’ve had huge amounts of fun playing team games with the giant parachute. The biggest milestone? We are finally tall enough to make a proper class mushroom! The teamwork, timing, and coordination required to lift the parachute and trap the air underneath was brilliant to see.

And huge thank you for all of your adaptability over the last week. We have had everything from continued extreme heat, unexpected changes in timetables and trips, class sickness, art exhibitions and so much more and you have all been so wonderful at supporting your children through the madness of the end of the year as the children have worked so hard to manage it all! They should all be so proud of themselves! 

Thank you for your continued support. We can't wait to celebrate the end of Reception over the next two days!

Hope you've had a lovely weekend,

Miss Godden and The Reception Team