“As
Reception Curriculum Newsletter –
Summer 2026
soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
Luke 21:30-31
Our topic this term is called: To the Ends of the Earth. The children will hear the story of the Ascension, and the story of Pentecost. We will discuss who the Holy Spirit is and the difference the Holy Spirit makes in people’s lives. They will learn about the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Apostles and then the early Church. They will make connections between the Good News of Jesus and the apostles’ mission when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The children will understand that the Parish Church is a special place and that our parish is a family and a community.
In the summer term, our RSHE lessons focus on the theme of "Love". The children will come to understand that as we are made in the image of God, we are designed to love God and love one another too. They will be taught in a very simple way the concept of the Trinity, where God is three-in-one and that being made in His image, means being called to be loved and love others. They will learn what a community is, and that God calls us to live in community with one another. The children will begin to understand that they belong to various communities, such as home, school, parish, the wider local area, nation and the global community. They will have the opportunity to consider what harms and improves the world they live in.
The children's communication and language throughout the term will continue to develop in various ways such as during our carpet time, interactions with adults and each other. They will continue to develop their listening skills and they will still be answering questions about their learning, whether it is during literacy, RE or maths, but they will be giving more detail and extending their sentences. On the carpet, they will be speaking to their partners more, to discuss their ideas before sharing them with the whole class. This is to enable them to not only listen but to start responding with their own relevant questions and comments. They will be asked to reason their answers more and be expected to speak in well-formed sentences and with increasing detail as well as using past, present and future tenses in conversations. They will be responding to how, why and where questions in their learning and reading.
In the summer term, we will continue to support the children as they become more independent learners, build resilience and develop their ability to persevere. They will begin to learn that other children might think and respond in different ways to them and therefore, see themselves as unique and individual. We want them to be able to talk about their own abilities positively and be confident enough to challenge themselves and try new activities, whilst enjoying the process. They will also be continuing to learn about their own emotions, identifying and moderating their feelings and in doing so, be able to be sensitive to others' needs and feelings.
The children will continue to have access to a range of fine and gross motor activities this term. There will be access to a range of equipment that they can use confidently and safely within a group or on their own. With the better weather, they will be able to utilise the clamber tree and small climbing frame, building their skills. They will have ample opportunity to develop their pencil and scissors control, in both their child initiated play and adult directed tasks. This term, there will be a particular focus on developing the fluidity of the children's handwriting so that they are building speed and the letter shapes are being formed correctly. This will support them as they move towards using a pre-cursive style when they move on to Year One.
This term, our focus texts will include ‘Tad’, ‘Errol’s Garden’, ‘Lulu Loves Flowers’, ‘The Night Pirates’, ‘Meet the Oceans’, and ‘Sea’. The children will have lots of opportunities to sequence stories, recalling the main points and retelling them in their own words. The children will learn about the difference between the types of texts, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. They will have the opportunity to write for a range of different purposes, composing and rehearsing what they would like to say before they write down their sentence or a simple narrative. This term, they will also be extending their knowledge of punctuation and finding out why it is so important when we read and write.
The children will continue to develop their aural awareness of sounds through a range of listening games and activities. ln the first half of the term, we will review our learning in Phase 3. We will then move on to Phase 4, learning about short vowels with adjacent consonants, such as "st", "br" and "cl". There will be a focus on longer words and compound words, as well as words ending in suffixes: -ing, -ed, t, -ed, -est. The children will be given lots of opportunities to apply their phonic knowledge through a range of reading and writing activities.
This term, the children will have the opportunity to explore numbers beyond 10 using a range of resources such as ten frames and part whole models. They will investigate counting patterns beyond 10, to develop their understanding that bigger numbers are made up of tens and ones. The children will use real objects to see that the quantity of a group can be changed by adding more. We will consolidate the number skills that the children have been learning this year such as counting objects, subitising and ordering numbers. The children will also have opportunities to explore 2D and 3D shapes, ensuring that they have a strong understanding of the basic properties of the basic shapes. They will learn about different ways of measuring, such as height, weight and capacity. They will learn about standard and non-standard measurements and the equipment we can use to measure.
This term, the children will be learning about growth and life cycles. We will be planting in our own outside area, as well as in the new school community planters on the field. The children will have the chance to observe seasonal changes as we move from Spring to Summer. Our trip to Woolley Firs will provide many opportunities for discussion about these changes. ln the second half of the term, we will have a focus on the sea, finding out about sea creatures, investigating how coastal places compare to Staines as well as learning about the seaside in the past and discuss what is the same and what are the differences.
This term, our focus skill is painting. The children will be learning about the artist David Hockney. They will be introduced to a selection of his paintings and find out about how he created them. The children will produce their own paintings in the style of the artist. We want the children to have the opportunity to develop their skills of sketching and colour mixing. The children will also study Hokusai's paintings of nature and learn how to use artistic language to express their opinions on famous art works.
