Do children starting Reception need to be able to do this/ (academic)

[upwardsandonwards33]

My dd's nursery really does not push reading, writing at all. It's mostly about the play. I don't mind this really but friends who have children in different nurseries but going to the same Reception class as dd, say that their children are able to read CVC words. They aren't lying - I know their children.

Should a child be able to at least do the following by Sept entry into Reception:

• recognise and say simple sounds- all the basic A-Z sounds.
• form correctly lower case letters
• form correctly numbers 0-9
• hold pencil correctly

DD is bright but does not want to do much with me so I am not pushing it too much but I could do five mins a day if it is a help.

I am aware that once in a class of 30, the teacher may not necessarily give too much individual attention so am willing to do my bit.

There is a link here to a website that has school readiness information. www.pacey.org.uk/working-in-childcare/spotlight-on/being-school-ready/ It is important to remember that each child develops at their own pace and the bands of development that children are assessed against are also wide. Some children will know their sounds, some will not. The reception teacher will assess this and differentiate accordingly. School nurseries have a teacher and will follow the school policy in teaching phonics to the children who are ready, hence some children will be reading and writing. I am sue this is the same in other settings.

Fruit cider
You need to give him opportunities to do those things for himself
It doesn't matter if he does it wrong
It's just a matter of practice
In my nursery we do pe lessons and the children have a pe kit. It's not the pe that's the important bit, it's giving the children the opportunity to get dressed and undressed. At first we have to give lots of suppprt but by this time of the year they've can all do it by themselves, even the little boy that couldn't pull his own trousers up after a wee this time last year

As a pp said the expectation by the end of reception is that children can read and write but there will be some children who do not reach this because they are still not ready. The best thing you can do for your child is read to them and make it fun!

How do you build vocab, problem solving?

Vocab - say you are playing at throwing a ball, ask what colour is it? will it bounce? can you roll it as well as throw it?

Problem solving - OK we are going to make a cake what do we need, can you think? Do we need a knife and fork? OK so what do we need?

Reception teacher here. She really doesn't need to be able to do those things unless she's showing an interest. Peer comments can play on your mind but the things you list are what will be covered in Reception (with more of a phonics emphasis). Things that are really helpful to do are;

Independent toilet and wiping (this can cause anxieties otherwise)
Being able to get dressed/undressed for PE and better being able to keep clothes together in a pile.
Zipping up coat, doing shoes on right feet.
Washing hands well
Being able to feel confident at lunchtime with cutlery or at handling lunch box (v common for the lunch box to be tricky to open) and crisp bags/straws/wrappers etc.
Being able to look after her bag and things and pack up at the end of the day.
Name recognition.

After years of reception teaching I now have my own toddler. The impulse to teach him to read is strong! But I'm going to try and focus on the above things and let the others unfold by his lead or in reception Year. We send our children to school so early in the UK, too early.

In my nursery we let the children climb the trees as part of their school readiness development
They learn problem solving, risk awareness, confidence as well as developing their physical skills and coordination

Former yR teacher of many years.

The best things parents/carers can do to prep their child for school...

Develop their attention and listening skills. Getting a child just to sit quietly for up to 5 mins a day whilst you read or talk to them.

Talk to your child to build their vocab and problem.solving skills.

Play with your child often.

Help them.with their social skills (turn taking, waiting for a short time etc)

Self care skills _ can your child dress themselves in simple clothing? Put their own coat on? Open simple wrappers? Use a child size knife and fork? Pour water into a open beaker from a small jug? Wipe their own bottom?

Being able to.manage some of the self care skills is far more important than the academic stuff at this stage. Any good year R teacher can teach that, but it is harder to teach 30 four year olds the self care skills they need because these are mastered at different rates depending on the child.

In The EYFS and YR children spend a lot of the day outside in all weathers, so a warm and waterproof coat and wellies are needed.

Please remember to label.all items of clothing and shoes with your child's name. The headache that uniform and book/bags that are not named causes to the child, parent and teacher is unbelievable.

Play dough, arts and crafts etc are great for hand strength and fine motor skills. If you can't face doing them at home, find a local children's centre, or toddler group that has messy play.

no......that is what they teach in reception!

sorry, i realised thst wasn't very helpful given i noticed after posting page 2 with all the useful comments!
My ds knew letters and could write his name but nothing else. Ther ewas a huge range starting reception but the teachers cope with it. Having said that, the parents of those kids who were way ahead in terms of reading and writing kept complaining their children were bored in reception. DS changed school ( multiple reasons) after two terms so i'm not sure about that cohort, but at his current school now at end of yr1 the gap between most of them has closed considerably.

Letter sounds, counting, etc, etc should come in YR.

Although my DS attended the school based nursery for 5 terms (Autumn born) before moving into YR.

He was able to say all Phase 2 L&S, count up to and beyond 20, write his name and read and write numbers up to 10.

But as a teacher at a school with no nursery and in a low deprivation area, the focus is mainly on social and communication skills. MOST do not know their letter sounds, cannot write their name and can just about count to 10.

About 85% manage to hit their end of year expectations.

I wouldn't compare your child to other children. i have seen high flyers from FS suddenly plateau when they get to Y1/2 and the average Joes becoming the high flyers.

In our FS we want children who can:

1. Toilet themselves
2. Dress themselves
3. Sit still and focus their attention for 10 minutes at a time.
4. Hold a pencil properly - mark making (scribbles etc)
5. Say please and thank you.
6. Separate from main carer without screaming
7. Speak clearly in sentences
8. Share - although we all know this is a learning curve for many!
9. Carry a lunch tray, open lunchbox

10. Do up coat.

There are more, but these help us begin the basics of their academic learning experiences!

Of course, some children will struggle with what is on this list but the FS is there to enable children to learn these things during the year.