Our curriculum

A Note from Miss Halstead

 

A very warm welcome to the new school year — whether this September marks the continuation of your child’s journey at St Mary’s, or you are just joining our special little family! I hope the past six weeks have been filled with fun, memory-making, and hopefully a bit of rest, so that your little ones arrive ready and raring to go. I’m incredibly excited to see everyone and catch up on all the wonderful things you’ve been doing.

I’ll be on the door to greet you and your children each morning and Monday–Wednesday afternoons, ready to help in any way I can. If you ever need my support, or the support of any member of the St Mary’s team beyond these times, please refer to our Communication Policy to guide you in the best next steps.

 

Autumn Term Curriculum

 

In our first few weeks, our focus will be on settling in, making new friends, and learning our school rules. Gradually, we’ll build up to our full daily routine and begin our lessons.

This half term’s overarching theme is inspired by We’re Going to Find the Monster by Malorie Blackman. Through this story, we’ll explore topics such as families, differences, and relationships, and we’ll celebrate Black History Month in October.

 

Literacy

  • Pre-School: Retelling the story using pictures as prompts, drawing, or making marks about the events.

  • Reception: Drawing pictures to show the main events and adding simple labels using their learned sounds.

 

Phonics & Guided Reading

  • Pre-School: Listening carefully to sounds in the environment.

  • Reception: Learning to read and write the sounds s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k and the tricky word the. I’ll let you know when we’re learning each sound so you can support your child at home.

 

Maths

  • Pre-School: Learning about objects and shapes, subitising up to 3, and moving and labelling amounts up to 3.

  • Reception: Matching, sorting, and comparing objects and amounts; comparing size, mass, and capacity; and creating simple patterns.

 

RE

On Monday mornings, we’ll explore Creation and Covenant. We’ll look at God’s wonderful world, discover things that make us say “Wow!”, connect them to the creation story, and learn about Baptism.

 

PE & Outdoor Learning

On Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, the children will develop their fundamental movement skills — moving, throwing, and catching a ball. Outdoor adventure lessons will help us work as a team to move around, under, and over obstacles.

 

Art & Science

Also on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons:

  • Art: Making marvellous marks with a variety of materials and working towards self-portraits.

  • Science: Learning about our bodies, senses, healthy habits, and life cycles.

 

Computing, PSHE & Music

On Thursday and Friday afternoons with Mrs Lee:

  • Computing: Understanding the importance of keeping things safe and exploring early algorithms through The Grand Old Duke of York.

  • PSHE: Celebrating ourselves as unique and valuable individuals.

  • Music: Exploring sounds using voices, bodies, instruments, and nature.

 

Although it sounds like a very busy week (and it is!), much of this learning happens through play, supported by thoughtful planning, engaging resources, and interactions in our beautiful classroom environment.

 

Rainbow Challenges

Each week I’ll share your child’s Rainbow Challenges so you know what they’ll be exploring in school. Their progress will be shared with you via Evidence Me.

 

New for this year, we’ll also send home an optional challenge linked to what they’re learning in class. This will give your child a chance to showcase their skills at home — and you can share your wonderful work with us through Evidence Me.

This timetable is just to give you an idea of the adult inputs your child will experience on which days!  Some days will of course differ from this plan... after all is that not part of the magic of working with children?