Welcome to Reception

• RP - Mrs Shah
• RP LSA - Mrs Sidhu
• RB - Mrs Sahota
• RB LSA - Mrs Kaur

Our Aspiration for every learner

At Guru Nanak Sikh Academy we recognise the crucial role that Early Years education has in providing the building blocks for a successful love for learning. It is our intent to offer a curriculum which is: memorable, inclusive, creative and taught by staff who value every child as an individual. Our aim is for our children to leave Reception having acquired the skills of being a skilful communicator with an inquisitive mind and a desire to learn along with important life skills such as perseverance, independence and cooperation. We set out to ensure our curriculum centres around the needs and interests of our children with learning through play at the core. Our curriculum is flexible to follow the needs of our children, but also challenging and progressive. Children in our Early Years follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which consists of seven areas of learning. To enable our children to make great progress towards the Early Learning goals we have a rigorous assessment process and acknowledge each child’s starting point. It is our intent to ensure that all children receive the teaching of early reading through systematic, synthetic phonics to learn to read words and simple sentences accurately by the end of Reception. 

How we support our pupils to acquire this learning

At Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, we prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of songs, nursery rhymes, stories and providing time for quality interactions between  adults and between peers. Our  staff ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and gather words at pace in order  to become confident communicators. Our curriculum provides a play-based learning environment which we centre around first-hand experiences and combine these with teacher-focused tasks. The curriculum is taught through topics which are enriched with classroom enhancements, trips and visitors. Topics are supported by quality key texts chosen through the Power of Reading scheme.  We know our children well and ensure areas of support are quickly identified to ensure support and progress. We plan for opportunities both indoors and outdoors and make use of our local area to develop our children’s understanding of the world.

Our children have access to planned, focussed activities as well as self-initiated and free flow activities. Children are encouraged to become early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics through the Little Wandle Programme.  We work hard to  create strong partnerships between home and school. We keep our parents well-informed through regular workshops and have weekly opportunities for them to learn alongside their child based on the priority that term.  Parents enjoy using Tapestry to engage in their child's learning and share experiences from home.  As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed in relation to their progress towards the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). These judgements  are made on the basis of accumulative observations and in-depth knowledge of the children acquired through ongoing assessments. These ongoing  assessments are used to inform planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all children throughout the year.

How we measure our achievements 

As a result of our curriculum our children will grow to be confident, competent lifelong learners and good citizens. They will have a greater understanding of the world around them and be able to articulate their thoughts and ideas confidently. The children at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy will experience a smooth transition from Reception into Year 1 as we are aware of how our curriculum can provide the building blocks for the skills being taught through the National Curriculum. We know that by the end of the EYFS  at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy our children will have developed the essential knowledge and skills required for everyday life and lifelong learning. We believe the children at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy will be happy inquisitive and successful learners who want to achieve their full potential.