Reception
We nurture our students through their early years in Reception to ensure that the start of their education journey is a positive, fulfilling and inclusive experience.
Reception places are available for September 2022.
To apply for a place at Oriel Academy, please see our admissions page or email office@oriel-aspirations.org for more information.
The video below captures how happy and successful your child will be at Oriel.
By focusing on learning through play, our Reception children are encouraged to learn independently and be driven by their own curiosities and creativity.
Our Reception also boasts a designated educational garden area that children use every day.
By the end of Reception, our children are curious, creative, courageous, and ready to start their educational journey in Key Stage 1.
To emphasise our learning through play philosophy, fun and excitement are built into learning.
This extends outside of the classroom through to the impressive outdoor space. Our Reception classes have their own educational quad area as well as an exploratory garden area. Oriel Academy also boasts a large purpose-built playground area and a sizeable sports field.
"Our outdoor space is key to learning in Reception. It gives children the chance to explore new ways of learning and develop their own curiosities. We’re lucky in Reception to have our own educational quad area as well as an exploratory garden area too."
Kristina Bikauskaite, Early Years Lead
Our Reception children follow the Government’s Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum combined with the Government’s Development Matters curriculum.
Every day, children take part in phonics, literacy and maths, and end the day with story time. Learning takes place both indoors and outdoors, allowing each child to learn in a way that best suits them.
The indoor and outdoor learning environments in Reception change fortnightly to reflect the book that the children are reading. The children have recently learning about ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Different areas of the classroom were set up to reflect the book, from a Maths station to a coding activity, and the children also followed the lifecycle of a real caterpillar to a butterfly.
Children enjoy using our static role-play area in Reception to mirror and experience real-life settings. Recently, children have been working in ‘Reception’s Shoe Shop’ and using equipment to measure each other for new shoes. Children love getting into character and exploring new curiosities!
"Our teachers and teaching assistants are passionate about what they do. The curriculum is carefully sequenced and enables us to provide broad, meaningful and ambitious learning!"
Kristina Bikauskaite, Early Years Lead