Reception Summer 2026 Curriculum Overview

Our topics this term will be ‘Amazing Animals’ and ‘On the Move!’.

In Summer 1, we will begin a new topic called ‘Amazing animals’. In this unit, we will be learning all about different habitats and the animals that live in them. We will start under the sea with the dolphins and jellyfish. We will then travel to the African savannah to see how the wildlife there is different to that in the UK. Finally, we will explore closer to home in our woodland area and find out about the minibeasts that are all around us. Our Drawing Club texts will include Billy’s Bucket by Kes Gray and Yucky Worms by Vivian French,

In Summer 2, we will  begin a new topic called ‘On the Move!’ In this unit, we will be learning about different modes of transport, exploring transport  around the world and how it has  changed over time. In the last few weeks  of the term, we will  begin  preparing the children for their own move up to Year 1. The children will spend time exploring their new classrooms, meeting staff, reminiscing on their time in reception and looking forward to their exciting new experiences ahead.

Alongside adult-led teaching and small group tasks, the children will continue to have two sessions during the day when they can choose the areas they want to explore. They will have access to a variety of provision and resources, which will change regularly to reflect our learning and the children’s interests. There are multiple areas including arts and craft, writing, a home corner, maths and puzzles, sand and water, sensory play and construction. Adults are present to support the children in their play and learning.

Reminders:

As the weather gets hotter, it is even more important that your child brings in a water bottle each day. Please also make sure that they have a high-factor sun cream applied each morning before school and bring in a sun hat.

In Summer 1, PE is on Tuesdays. Children will change at school. PE kits can remain in school until half-term. Please make sure all the children’s uniform is named as they can get a bit muddled when the children are changing!

In Early Years, children will be spending lots of time outdoors in all weathers. Please provide children with a pair of named wellies to keep in school and send them in with a waterproof jacket. They will need wellies to access our mud kitchen and water area outside too.

Library books will be changed every Friday.

Reading books and reading records need to be in school every day. Reading books will be collected in on Thursdays to be changed and re-issued to you on Friday.

Any questions – please, please ask!

Subject

Teaching and Learning

Parental Involvement

Physical Development

To continue to develop the foundations of a strong handwriting style.

To use tools safely, effectively and competently.

To refine and further develop a range of ball skills.

To understand and follow instructions and play by rules.

In Summer 2, children will take part in swimming lessons and will learn about water safety and develop confidence moving in the water.

Continue to provide opportunities for children to strengthen their hand muscles at home: threading, cutting, weaving, playdough, kneading bread, rolling biscuit dough etc.

Where possible, give children opportunities to move their bodies in different ways, such as dancing together, balancing and jumping at the park, and playing ball games.

Communication and Language

To develop more sustained focus when listening to stories.

To make up their own stories which include a beginning, middle and end and consider the characters, settings and a problem that arises.

To take part in extended, turn-taking conversations.

Moving on to Year 1 - to talk about their Reception experience and their wishes/worries about moving on.

Continue to model questions and have conversations about their experiences at school. Begin to think back on their time in reception and how they have changed.

Encourage your child to respond to questions in full sentences.

Continue to read stories together at home and act them out. Bring the stories to life and encourage the children to talk as though they are living the story.

Read at least 4 times a week at home to help children practice their segmenting and blending skills. Model how to use prosody (expression) when reading and get them to try.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We follow the Kapow PHSE scheme and will be teaching the following units:

Family and Friends 

In this unit, children will learn how we all have different beliefs and celebrations, what characteristics make a good friend, and how we need to listen to one another. 

My Wellbeing 

In this unit, children will learn how to look after their wellbeing through exercise, meditation, a balanced diet and care for themselves. 

We will also be supporting children to prepare for changes as they head towards Year 1, recognising and verbalising their feelings around these changes.

We will also look back on their year in Reception and encourage them to feel proud of their achievements and progress whilst in Reception, and share happy memories

Talk to your child about their friendships and relationships with family members. Model thinking about the needs of others before your own and praise your child when they show recognition of how someone else is feeling and why that is important.

Talk about how your child has changed over the past year/s. Go through old photographs with them, their paintings and drawings or writing and talk about the progress they have made and what they have learnt this year.

Maths

To develop their counting skills, counting larger sets as well as counting actions and sounds.

To explore a range of representations of numbers, including the 10-frame, and seeing how doubles can be arranged in a 10-frame.

To compare quantities and numbers, including sets of objects which have different attributes.

To continue  to develop a sense of  magnitude, e.g., knowing that 8 is quite a lot more than 2, but 4 is only a little bit more than 2

To begin  to generalise about ‘one more than’ and ‘one less than’ numbers within 10.

Play board games with your child, such as snakes and ladders. Children will recognise the number of dots on the dice and be able to practice 1:1 counting as they move their counters.

When sharing toys or sweets, talk about being fair or equal when you have the same number. Use the language of odd, even, more than, less than and fewer than. Talk about who has more or fewer in real life situations.

Notice numbers when you are out and about: door numbers, bus numbers, prices.

Use the names of 3D shapes when talking about everyday objects.

Literacy including phonics

Phonics

To read phonetically matched books with increased fluency and with an awareness of prosody and punctuation.

To begin to read words on sight.

To read words ending in suffixes: –ing, –ed /t/, –ed /id/ /ed/, –ed /d/ –er, –est.

Handwriting  

To use a range of small tools competently and confidently, including a strong tripod grip.

To develop the foundations of a handwriting style which is fast, accurate and efficient.

To form lower case and some capital letters correctly, using Little Wandle mantras.

Sentence construction and grammatical accuracy 

To sequence and predict events in stories.

To write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others, using taught graphemes.

To continue to develop confidence in segmenting and writing phonetically plausible attempts at words.

To begin to use finger spaces, capital letters and full stops.

To write Phase 2 and 3 tricky words, and some phase 4: said, so, have, like, some, come, love, do, were, here, little, says, there, when, what, one, out, today.

Speech

To be able to continue a rhyming chain e.g. log, dog, frog, cog.

To retell a story with actions and / or picture prompts.

To explain the main events of a story.

To listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events & responding to what they hear with relevant comments, questions and reactions.

To make predictions.

Please listen to your child read at least 4 times per week. Children who read regularly at home make the most progress, not just in reading, but right across the curriculum. Please ask if us if you need any support, we are happy to help.

Use the Little Wandle website to access resources and videos to help you pronounce the phonemes (sounds) we are learning:

Little Wandle Parent Resources

Provide your children with pens, chalk, pencils to encourage mark making and writing.

Help children to practice writing letters with the correct formation.

Writing ideas – shopping lists, birthday lists, labelling things around the house, writing about their day/weekend/and event, writing about their own drawings.

Understanding the World

Our environment and the natural world

To understand that different animals live in different habitats.

To learn about contrasting environments around the world

To look after our local environment – building minibeast houses.

To learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly.

To explore the natural world around them.

To understand why minibeasts are important for our environment.

To search for, observe and identify UK minibeasts.

To understand the need to respect and care for our environment and living things.

Seasonal Changes – Summer: 

To explore schools’ grounds and observing seasonal changes in the summer Observing seasonal weather changes in the summer.

To learn how to keep safe in the sun.

Aspirations Week 

To understand the different roles that people have in our community.

Look at maps of the world or Google Earth. Talk about where the UK is, where the cold areas are and the warmer areas nearer the equator. If you have family living abroad or are going on holiday, show them where it is on a map. Begin to think about how the two places are similar or different.

Look for minibeasts when out for a family walk.

Notice seasonal changes outside i.e., lighter in the evenings, we are wearing lighter clothes now, the flowers are blooming, and trees are growing their leaves.

Talk about time using terms such as ‘in the past’, ‘yesterday’, ‘in the future’, ‘next month’ etc.

Have a go at drawing maps together, maybe a map of your local area, or your child's favourite story or encourage your child's imagination and create a treasure hunt map together.

Expressive Arts and Design

To use malleable materials to make a sculpture.

To make observational drawings of animals, plants and themselves.

To design and make a healthy dish.

To use different mediums to create their art work.

Junk modelling, build models of rockets. using construction equipment

Where possible, provide opportunities for children to create at home. Provide old newspapers and magazines for children to tear up or cut and stick into collages.

Use old boxes and recycling to make models together.

Involve children in making food together. Allow them to help prepare food before cooking or make fruit salads and baked goods together.