Early Years Foundation Stage

On this page you will find out all about the exciting learning opportunities Reception have in store as the year goes by. You can also find key dates for your diary and access important documents such as our long term plan, newsletters, homework and other announcements.

Please click on an image for a brief introduction to the teachers

Miss McMullen

EYFS Teacher & Leader of Learning

I am Miss McMullen and I teach in Plum Class this academic year and am currently the EYFS Leader of Learning at our school. I have taught EYFS for many years but have also taught both Year 1 and Year 2, as well as previously being the KS1 Leader of Learning.

I started at Alexander McLeod in 2015 but started teaching in 2011. I have a passion for the Early Years and my Teaching Degree specialised in the Early Years Foundation Stage. I am honoured to be a child’s first ever teacher and love that I can introduce the children to skills they will use for the rest of their lives.

If you have any questions or concerns about Reception or EYFS over all you will find me in my classroom at the end of each school day.

Mrs Csicsek

EYFS Teacher & History Lead

I am a highly experienced teacher who has taught across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. I am passionate about providing high-quality learning experiences and have high expectations of all pupils.

Alongside my teaching role, I currently lead History across the school. I am passionate about developing pupils’ understanding of the past and ensuring that History is engaging, meaningful and accessible to all learners. I have worked with the Local Authority-led History Hub and have supported the development of other teachers by delivering training sessions for early career and newly qualified teachers. I enjoy sharing good practice and supporting colleagues to develop their confidence and expertise.

Mr Dickinson

EYFS Teacher & Geography/Computing Lead

My name is Mr Dickinson and I have been teaching for many, many years and have a wealth of experience in different settings. In that time, I have taught every stage from reception up to year 13. Having settled at Alex McLeod for 7 years, I have taken on responsibility for both geography and computing. Outside of school, I am a father of three children and love to spend time exploring London and walking in the countryside with them. I also love to write and I’ve even released books on Amazon

Our Curriculum

Reception is a very important year for our children as it marks the beginning of their learning journey in a school setting. Children in EYFS learn through child-initiated play in both the classroom and outdoor area through cross curricular learning. High quality resources and activities will be provided for your child to help them achieve the objectives on the curriculum through play as well as some adult-led activities. Each day children will be allowed to freely explore the indoor and outdoor areas and be offered daily challenges within these areas.

Within the EYFS framework, there are seven areas of development that shape our curriculum alongside the characteristics of learning. The areas of learning are broken down into prime and specific areas. The prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. They are:

Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

The specific areas then help the child to strengthen and apply the prime areas. The specific areas are:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

The characteristics of learning focus on engagement, motivation and critical thinking. They are:

Playing and exploring – engagement

Finding out and exploring
Playing with what they know
Being willing to have a go

Active learning – motivation

Being involved and concentrating
Keeping trying
Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

Creating and thinking critically – thinking

Having their own ideas
Making links
Choosing to do things

Our Learning

During this year we will deliver our curriculum through exciting topics that will be led by the children’s interests and focus on embedding the different areas of learning. The cross curricular approach offers a creative way of developing knowledge, understanding and practical skills through a mixture of the different areas of learning.

Throughout the year the children will be exposed to a language rich curriculum in which they will be read a number of high quality texts and will get the opportunity to learn about rhyme, story structure, characters and role play- thus developing a love of reading. We will also have daily phonic sessions, story times and your child will read regularly with an adult.

We aim to ensure that children develop a deep understanding of all areas of the curriculum and produce fantastic outcomes each week through art, drama, speaking and listening, writing and mathematics.

Educational Visits

Throughout the year, educational visits in Reception are used to support learning, engage children in new topics and spark their natural curiosity. Pupils naturally learn (and remember) a lot from first-hand experiences, with trips also contributing to their personal and social development, such as their understanding of risk management and teaching them valuable life skills. By supporting children in identifying risks on trips, they are then able to better manage their own safety.

End of Year Assessments

Our curriculum has the seven areas of learning and each area is broken down further into Early Learning Goals. Each Early Learning Goal gives specific examples of what children can do within that area of learning. Reception children will receive an end of year profile in which they will receive an ‘emerging, expected or exceeding’ judgement at the end of the year for each of the 17 Early Learning Goals. This is based on the age-related expectations as set out in Development Matters.