Child starting reception (at Hitherfield) in 2015...

[TinkerBellaFlora]

Hi,

I have a child starting Hitherfield in September. We've just received an info pack and was a bit taken about the amount of time spent doing independent activities / free flow (all of the classroom time apart from 15 mins phonics, 15 mins story/song time and a couple of short 'carpet sessions').

I do think Hitherfield feels like a lovely school, where (I hope!) my child will be happy, but I just wanted to check:

i) is it normal that so much time is spent doing independent activities / in free flow. This was something we discussed during the show rounds etc but I hadn't appreciated the extent to which it would fill the day and so would really appreciate hearing how this tallies with other parents' experiences at other primary schools; and

ii) specifically, how does anyone with children at Hitherfield feel that their children have progressed during the early years (in particular, how have their reading, writing, maths etc skills developed)?

Any thoughts / experiences anyone has would be really helpful.

Many thanks!

Hello, I have a daughter who will start reception in Sept and a boy going into Year 2.

I think it is fairly normal and encouraged to be pretty free flow in reception. The teachers create learning opportunities within the children's chosen activities but I think they'll also increase the more formal learning as the year goes on. That's certainly how it worked for my son.

The nursery is almost completely free flow and they've still taught her to write her name and she is starting to sound out and read simple words.

It's a fantastic school - if you're on FB then search and join Hitherfield PTA, it's great for questions like this! Looking forward to meeting you!