Welcome to

Beech Hill Primary School

Reception Induction

Booklet

Telephone number: 01582 429434

www.beechhillprimary.com

A VERY WARM WELCOME TO YOU ALL

We hope this is the start of a very happy time for you and your child as they start their

learning journey with us in Reception. Our relationship with you is a partnership, which we

hope will grow as we get to know each other, as we jointly strive for the very best for your

child.

Before your child starts Reception, we will need:

Your completed admission form.

Your child’s original birth certificate OR passport (we will take a copy and return it to you).

A completed consent form allowing us to take photographs, go on local

walks etc.

It is very important for us to have these documents before your

child’s start date.

If your child attended our Nursery, we will not need these.

T he Reception day

The school doors open at 8:40am

Children should be in the playground, ready to enter the building. Teachers will start the day with handwriting practice or phonics, from 8:40 am.

The school day starts at 8:50am

(This is when the register is taken.)

Lunchtime is from:

11:45am —12:30pm

School ends at 3:00pm

Children are expected to be dropped-off and collected on time.

Key information

When will I know my child's new class?

Due to Covid-19, your child will be temporarily allocated to a class.

Please be aware, that due to the current circumstances, we may need to change children

around during the autumn term. This will only be done if we believe it is in the best interests

of your child and to help us meet the needs of the Reception cohort.

Healthy snacks

Snack time is an important part of our the Reception timetable. Chil-

dren are taught to use their manners, form relationships with adults

and peers and develop their speaking and Maths skills too.

Healthy snacks are provided by the school. These will include fruit,

vegetables and milk. Please ensure that your child brings a full bottle

of water to school every day with their full name clearly labelled.

Lunches

Our school lunch is catered for by Mark Passerelli, our Catering Manager.

All school lunches for Reception, Year 1 and 2 are free. Children have a

wide selection of choices available, including a salad and fruit bar for the

children to choose from.

Our lunches are all halal and a vegetarian option is available as well.

If your child chooses to bring in a packed lunch, please ensure there is a healthy meal pro-

vided. Look on our website for more information about what a healthy

lunchbox should include!

If your child has any medical conditions, allergies or intolerances, we will

ensure your child wears an allergy badge for lunch, so that all staff are

aware of their needs.

We understand that for some children, lunches can be a difficult time. All class teachers will

help your child choose their lunches and give them time to settle down during their settling-

in period.

What will my child eat during the day?

Any information regarding medical conditions, allergies or intolerances is recorded on our school

admission form. Please inform the Reception team if there are any changes throughout the school

year.

Uniform in Reception

All children are expected to wear school uniform in Reception.

Jumpers with the school logo can be bought from Bushra Fashions, opposite the

school, on Dunstable Road.

Your child will also need the following:

Suitable outdoor clothing and sensible shoes.

Spare clothes in a bag.

No shoes with laces please.

ALL CLOTHING MUST BE NAMED.

What will my child do in Reception?

Our Reception timetable is different to what your child may have experienced in Nursery. Every

day, your child will have Literacy, Maths and Phonics. Throughout the week, they will also do some

reading in an adult-led group.

We also include other areas such as Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Expressive Arts

and Design; Understanding the World; and Physical Development. This is all part of our broad, well-

rounded curriculum designed to support and nurture your child to achieve to their full potential.

As we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, we also ensure children have ac-

cess to high-quality independent learning opportunities, both indoors and outdoors. We

encourage children to play and explore, engage with others, and think critically as they go about

their day.

In order to meet the early learning goals at the end of Reception, it is really important for your

child to come to school every day to help them achieve to the best of their ability. Here are some

examples of how your child will play and learn during their time in Reception:

Small group activities with teachers for Phonics,

Maths and other areas of the EYFS curriculum. Stories and rhymes to develop children’s

language.

Sand and water play Playing outside

Opportunities to develop number

skills

How can I support my child’s learning?

Keeping you informed

The Reception team are always carrying out observations of children’s learning. You will also

be kept informed of your child's progress through parent/carer consultation meetings and

reports. Additionally, throughout the year, we will give you ideas about how to support your

children’s learning at home.

As part of the EYFS statutory framework, all Reception children have an EYFS profile report

completed at the end of the year. This will inform you about whether your child has met the

early learning goals for Reception. You will have an opportunity to discuss this with your

child’s teacher too.

We really look forward to hearing from parents/carers about how children learn at home. In

particular, we find it interesting to see how children learn in their home language! Please do

feel free to send in photos and video clips to the class email addresses:

pear@beechhillprimary.com

plum@beechhillprimary.com

orange@beechhillprimary.com

lime@beechhillprimary.com

You can find out details of how this works in September.

WOW Wednesdays

We welcome parents/carers to join us for our ‘WOW Wednesdays’ on Wednesday mornings,

to find out how we teach your child, and to take some ideas to try out at home. We will let

you know a start date for these sessions as soon as the children have settled into Reception.

Please do keep these dates free, as both staff and children enjoy parents/carers visiting the

class to learn with us!

Home Learning

Reading

Your child will receive a reading book and a reading record. Children

will be expected to read their reading books on a daily basis for 5-10

minutes. Your child’s book will be changed every week, so please en-

sure your child brings in their book every day in a school book bag.

Learning logs

Every Friday, your child will take home a learning log. Each week they will get a learning ques-

tion or activity, key words to read and write and a rhyme of the week. We

encourage parents to read the rhymes for enjoyment with children. Learn-

ing logs are expected back every Tuesday.

Please allow your child to have a go at doing their own work. We love to see

how their writing and drawing progresses over the year.

Library books

Every fortnight, every child will visit our school library. We are very lucky to

have an extensive collection of children’s books. As a school that promotes ‘Reading for Pleas-

ure’, we encourage children to select a book of their choice to take home and enjoy with an

adult. Talk about the story afterwards and discuss the parts you and your child enjoyed, in ei-

ther English or your home language.

Staying healthy

PE

Reception children have PE once a week after Autumn half-

term. We are very lucky to have specialist PE coaches teach-

ing the children alongside our teachers.

During PE, children will be taught how to use their bodies safely by moving in different ways.

Children will get the opportunity to do gymnastics, climb gym equipment and play ball games.

Please ensure your child brings in a PE kit to change into every week. We encourage children to

dress ad undress independently, so please help your child by practising buttoning clothes and

getting dressed by themselves at home. (See the pictures below to see what PE kit your child

needs.)

As part of our EYFS curriculum, we also ensure children have access to the outdoors to devel-

op their gross-motor skills and to stay active during the day.

Teethbrushing programme

We have been working alongside the local oral health teams to promote

oral hygiene for the past few years. In order to help educate our chil-

dren about how to keep teeth clean, children brush their teeth together

every afternoon in their classes. All brushes and toothpaste are supplied by the school. Parents

and carers will have to sign a consent form before children are allowed to take part in the teeth-

brushing programme.

To support the teethbrushing programme, we expect parents to ensure children also brush their

teeth every morning and evening at home.

Attendance Rewards Our team have high expectations to help your child achieve to their full

potential. Therefore it is very important that your child comes to school

every day.

At Beech Hill, we recognise, celebrate and reward good attendance. Pupils with 97%+

attendance receive a certificate; those with 98%+ receive a small gift at the end of each

term.

Trophies for the class with the best attendance are given out weekly at our celebration

assemblies.

If you have any attendance-related concerns or want to discuss your child’s attendance, please contact the school office and ask to make an appointment with the Attendance Officer, Mrs. Fairweather.

Celebration Assemblies

Reception children join the school’s celebration assembly on Friday. This is where

pupils’ special achievements are celebrated with the rest of the school. Children re-

ceive a special certificate to take home and share with their families.

Reception classes get the chance to win a teddy bear to play with in school, if their class

wins the best attendance for the whole term!

Policies

The school policies can be found on the Beech Hill Primary School website. We would advise

you to read the following policies and inform the Reception if you have any concerns.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

Inclusion Policy

Visitors Code of Conduct

Behaviour and Anti-bullying Policy

Online Safety Policy

Safeguarding your child

In order to keep your child safe, we have a password system in place for

end of the day collection. During the transition period in September, we

will ask you to choose a password to ensure your child goes home with

the correct adult. We will ask you to give the member of staff the pass-

word when collecting your child.

If you are unable to pick up your child yourself, you may ask a friend or relative to collect

instead. Due to the young age of the children, you will need to inform the school beforehand

about this arrangement. Your allocated friend or relative will also need to know your pass-

word. Your child will NOT be allowed to leave the school if we have not received this

information.

THIS IS FOR YOUR CHILD’S SAFETY.

We look forward to having you and your child join our school. If you have any questions,

please feel free to contact the school, or book a visit to see what our Reception has to

offer your child.

For further support on starting Reception and school, please see our ‘Starting School’

leaflet.

Beech Hill Primary School,

Dunstable Road,

Luton, Bedfordshire

LU4 8BW

Telephone number: 01582 429434 Fax: 01582 467680

Email: admin@beechhillprimary.com www.beechhillprimary.com

Headteacher: Mr Chris Davidson

Admissions queries

If you have any questions about admissions, please contact the school office and ask to

speak to Mrs. Fairweather, our Attendance and Admissions Officer.

For any questions regarding teaching and learning in Reception, please contact either the

Assistant Headteacher, Mrs. Baughan, or the Early Years Lead, Mrs. Kapadi.

Contact details for the school are at the bottom of this page.