Reception- Saplings

Welcome to Saplings! 

Our Reception year group is called Saplings and is made up of two classes: Acorns and Conkers.

                                                                   

Conkers Class is taught by Miss Fallesen.

Acorns Class is taught by Mrs Dowthwaite Monday to Thursday and Mrs Pampin Thursday PM and Friday. 

Our learning is centred around high-quality books that the children really immerse themselves in, with all our learning jobs linked to the story. We love to build, bake, make, create, read, and write—all inspired by the books we share together.

 

We are so lucky to have an amazing base and an outdoor classroom that we use throughout the day, in all weathers—rain, shine, and everything in between!

We are so lucky to have the most amazing forest on the school grounds and we absolutely love our Forest School sessions, where the children explore, climb, build, make fires, and enjoy lots of tasty cooked treats.

We have the most incredible support staff in reception and we are so lucky to have Mrs Willis, Mrs Derham, Mrs Allen and Mrs Miller in the base with us.

Curriculum

In Saplings, we adhere to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework. The curriculum encompasses seven areas of learning, categorised into the Prime Areas—Communication and Language, Personal Development, and Physical Development—and the Specific Areas—Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts and Design. We deliver a creative and purposeful curriculum that promotes child‑led exploration and independent learning. This approach enables us to provide a breadth of high‑quality learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors, designed to extend children’s knowledge and support the consolidation of key skills. Our spacious outdoor classroom further enhances this provision, offering rich opportunities for sensory engagement and exploration across all areas of learning.

A typical school day includes daily phonics and mathematics sessions, teacher‑led group activities in reading, writing, and maths, and extensive opportunities for child‑initiated play, through which children can apply, refine, and demonstrate the skills they are developing.

 

Extra info:

PE days: Monday and Friday

Book changing day: Friday

 

How to get hold of us:

Each class has access to a class email account that they check 3 times a week. 

You can email them using the following addresses: 

conkers@sandfordprimary.dorset.sch.uk 

and 

acorns@sandfordprimary.dorset.sch.uk