A ‘Sound’ Start at RAPS

As well as making new friends and exploring the school, the RAPS little ones are embracing fun learning, creative activities and exploring a love of sounds and words as part of their literacy adventure.

Parental support is key to encouraging and supporting classroom initiatives and in a message to families on the year group blog on the RAPS website, the Early Years team had this message.

“In Reception we have been working really hard on learning our sounds using our phonics scheme Read Write Inc (RWI). The children are already showing fantastic effort and enthusiasm during these sessions.

“Each day, your child will bring home a sheet to practise the sound they have learnt in school. Please take a few minutes to go through this together – it should only take around five minutes. This is a lovely way to build your child’s love of learning and give them plenty of praise for their awesome effort.”

Assistant Head and Early Years Leader Louise Chidwick-Day added: “Our new pupils have already begun to have daily phonics lessons, and through the Read, Write Inc programme they’ve learnt individual sounds, how to blend these sounds together and how to form letters correctly.

“They also enjoyed their first lessons with the school’s specialist art teacher Mrs Smith in the art studio, experienced music in the dedicated music room and focussed on ball skills and spatial awareness in their PE lessons with Team Theme coaches.

“I am extremely proud of how well the children have begun their school journey with us. The parents and carers have been instrumental in making it such a success - they have been supportive of our transition process and in building the children’s independence. It has been delightful to see the children arriving each morning in such a calm and happy way. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”

Their early days at RAPS have been informative, fun and busy with a packed programme that included playing in the mud kitchen, creating dinosaur swamps in small world play, zooming around on bikes in the outdoor area, exploring and building with small world creations.

The Early Years teachers added: “During choosing time, the children have been busy building, creating, role-playing and investigating – all with big smiles and lots of excitement.

“Play is such an important part of early learning. Through play, children develop their language, social skills and imagination, as well as building confidence and independence. It also helps them to practise problem-solving, learn to work together and try out new ideas in a fun and safe way.”