Reception

Welcome to Reception

Hello and welcome to Reception at Sunshine Academy.

We’re so excited to have you and your little one join our Academy. Our classroom is full of laughter, creativity, and new discoveries. Every day is an adventure where children learn through play, imagination, and exploration.

Our Reception is for children aged 4–5 years and offers a safe, caring, and stimulating environment that helps them build confidence and curiosity as they continue their learning journey into Reception.

Our Approach

At Sunshine Academy, we believe every child is unique, valued, and capable of achieving great things. Our Reception classrooms provide a warm, nurturing, and stimulating environment where children feel happy, safe, and excited to learn.

Throughout the year, we build on the excellent foundations established in Nursery, supporting children to become increasingly independent, resilient, and confident learners. We encourage every child to:

Develop independence and take responsibility for their own learning
Build positive friendships and work collaboratively with others
Explore, investigate, and develop a curiosity about the world around them
Learn through a balance of purposeful play, practical experiences, and adult-led teaching

Developing children's personal, social, and emotional wellbeing remains at the heart of everything we do. We help children to become kind, respectful, and confident individuals who can manage their emotions, solve problems, and build positive relationships with others.

Our ambitious Early Years curriculum inspires children to develop a love of learning while ensuring they make excellent progress across all areas of development. By the end of Reception, our aim is for every child to be confident, resilient, and well prepared for a successful transition into Year One.

Meet out Team

Our Reception team is made up of dedicated, caring professionals who are passionate about supporting every child to flourish. Together, we create a warm, welcoming environment where children feel safe, valued, and inspired to learn every day.

Miss Dolman – Class 4 Teacher
Mrs Pugh – Class 5 Teacher
Mrs Ansell – Teaching Assistant
Miss Law – Teaching Assistant

By working closely together, we ensure every child receives the care, encouragement, and support they need to develop confidence, independence, and a lifelong love of learning.

What We Get Up To!

In Reception, every day is filled with exciting opportunities to learn, discover, and grow. Our carefully planned environment encourages children to explore, investigate, and develop new skills through a balance of child-initiated play and purposeful adult-led learning.

Our learning experiences are designed to support all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and include:

Early reading, phonics, writing and communication activities
Practical maths through exploration, games and problem-solving
Storytelling, role play, singing, music and movement
Creative art, painting, drawing, design and imaginative play
Outdoor learning, physical development and exploration of the natural world
Construction, investigation and STEM-based activities
Cooking, sensory experiences and hands-on learning opportunities

We believe children learn best when they are actively engaged and inspired by their own interests. Our skilled staff carefully build on children's curiosity, creating meaningful learning experiences that develop confidence and independence.

A Love of Reading

At Sunshine Academy, we believe that a love of reading opens the door to a lifetime of learning. In Reception, books, stories and language are at the heart of everything we do.

Children enjoy sharing a wide range of high-quality stories, traditional tales, non-fiction texts, rhymes and poems every day. Through these experiences, they develop their vocabulary, imagination, comprehension and communication skills while fostering a genuine enjoyment of reading.

Alongside daily story time, children begin their early reading journey through our systematic phonics programme, developing the knowledge and confidence to read with increasing fluency and understanding.

We know that children make the greatest progress when school and home work together. Sharing books at home, talking about stories and reading regularly with your child are some of the most valuable ways you can support their learning and nurture a lifelong love of reading.

General Information

Session Times

Morning 8.30am - 11.30am

Lunch 11.30am - 12.15pm

Afternoon 12.15pm-3.15pm

Please arrive on time so your child can settle in happily and get the most from their day.

Uniform

The Sunshine Academy uniform includes:

Yellow polo top
Black/grey trousers / skirt/ pinafore dress
Navy blue sweatshirt/ cardigan - logo optional
Black/grey shorts / Blue and white/yellow and white checked school dress (Summer)
Sensible black shoes

Outdoor play happens in all weathers, so please make sure your child brings:

A warm coat in cold weather
A sun hat in the summer
Wellies for wet or muddy days

White t-shirt
Black shorts/joggers
Black pumps

PE day for Reception is Monday - If you child wears earrings, please can they be removed on this day

Please write your child’s name in each item of clothing so that we can return any lost items.

What to Bring

Please make sure your child brings:

A named water bottle (water only, please)
A book bag to carry their reading book and any notes
Spare clothes (just in case of messy play or accidents)
A big smile and a readiness to learn!

Food and Nutrition

Snack time

Your child is entitled to free milk up to the age of 5 and will receive this every day. If your child does not like milk or is allergic to milk please let the teacher know and we can provide a drink of water.

The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) provides a free piece of fruit or vegetable to every 3 to 7 year-old who attends school. We understand that children should eat a variety of fruit and vegetables to access different vitamins and nutrients.

We encourage healthy eating and ensure your child is given a daily choice of fruit.

Sunshine Academy has a duty of care to ensure they meet the statutory Early Years Nutrition guidance for 0-5 year olds from 1^st September 2025 which outlines healthy snacks, drinks and lunches for children in schools.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-nutrition

Lunch

Children will eat their hot dinner or packed lunch in the dinner hall. Please remember all Reception children are eligible to ‘Free School Meals’ and we actively encourage you to access this option. The school meals are cooked on the premises and gives us the opportunity to encourage children to use cutlery correctly and choose a healthy balanced meal. A copy of lunch menus are available upon request and can be accessed on the academy website here.

Settling In

Starting Reception is a significant milestone, and we are committed to making the transition a happy and positive experience for every child and their family.

We work closely with parents and carers to ensure children settle quickly, feel secure, and develop confidence in their new environment. Our carefully planned transition programme supports children as they become familiar with their classroom, routines, staff and new friends. While we provide a short, supportive settling-in period, we encourage children to begin attending full time as soon as possible so they can benefit from the rich learning opportunities available each day.

We believe that strong partnerships between home and school are essential to every child's success. Our Reception team is always available to offer advice, answer questions and celebrate your child's achievements. By working together, we can ensure your child enjoys a successful start to their school journey and reaches their full potential.

Absences

If your child is unable to attend school, please contact the school office as soon as possible on the morning of their absence to let us know the reason.

Telephone: 01922 710174

Prompt communication helps us to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our children and enables us to maintain accurate attendance records.