Reception: What Every Child Needs
Starting school at the age of four is an exciting step for little people.
Whether your child has been in a nursery full-time or a pre-school part-time, their needs when they start Reception are unique, and all the elements that make them happy, confident and ready to learn will be individual to them. There are, however, some things that we can confidently predict every four-year-old will need for a happy and successful start to school life – and Reception at Reigate St Mary’s is built around these.
Relationships
We know that strong, positive relationships with adults and peers make children feel secure and loved and this is essential for a happy and successful school life. Our Reception class sizes are small to enable this. Our caring teachers are able to form those all-important strong bonds quickly allowing the children room and confidence to be themselves.
Play
Play is the work of childhood. Play is how young children learn, and play gives them the freedom and the autonomy to make their own choices and decisions and allows them to collaborate effectively with their peers. It is also great fun and when children are enjoying themselves, they are learning. We want our children to have a lifelong love of learning and we harness this through joyful play at every opportunity.
Time
When your child starts Reception, they will need time. They will need their teachers to have time to notice when they’re having an off day or a tricky moment with a friend. To stop and to listen to their story about the walk to school, to get down on their hands and knees and see what they’re seeing. Time to wait for your child to finish their sentence, to do up their buttons, explain their idea; time to allow them to craft their own way of learning. We have excellent adult to child ratios and plenty of planning time factored into each week to make sure our teachers do have time. Time to allow children to be children, and not to rush them onto the next thing because the timetable requires it.
Stimulation
Your child’s neurons are firing at an astonishing rate and the more variety we can give them at this age, the better. Neural connections that don’t develop in the first five years of life may never develop at all. So, instead of being in one room with one adult; our Reception classes are moving around, to music, to Computing, off to the swimming pool or the sports hall, or Miss Maria is coming to them for Spanish. It helps them to experience the widest possible range of opportunities so their agile little minds remain open to all the possibilities around them as they grow.
Recognition
Not every child shoots their hand up immediately; some children are naturally outgoing and others are more reserved. Some love big boisterous games and others prefer quieter, more focussed activities. We meet every child where they are and build the days and the weeks around them, rather than expecting them to fit in with our schedule.
Outdoor Space & Fresh Air
Your child will feel free outside, to run off steam, to explore nature, to learn without realising that they’re learning. We want to capture this and so we make sure that outside is a key part of each day for our Reception children. Whether they are getting muddy at Forest School, sandy in the playground or a little bit wet by the pond, the children are encouraged to feel, smell, wiggle or squeeze – turning everyday learning into exciting adventures.
And finally what will you as parents need when your child starts school? Much like your child, you’ll need a friendly, supportive community in which to make friends for life. Like your child, you will need a teacher who has time to talk to you, to answer your questions, listen to your concerns, to give you feedback. You’ll need access to our expertise and our experience, and not only once a year at a hurried parents’ evening. Oh and you’ll need to organise your family diaries around open classrooms, performances, ‘how to’ parent information evenings, grandparents’ breakfasts, picnics, sports events, ‘watching weeks’ for after-school clubs, and many more.
If you would like to find out more about joining Reception in September 2025, do contact Admissions Registrar, Jenny Myddleton, for more information.
Sam Selkirk
Head of Lower School