Is reception 100% play based

[Tal12]

Hi. I am applying for next year reception class for my child. I’ve seen 2 so far, is it the norm for reception to be completely play based learning?

I went to one yesterday and the reception class just seemed like total carnage - they run between 2 classes and mix with the 40 child nursery outside as and when they chose with basically no structure, all play. The teacher will come and pull children for random activities (individually) throughout the day. I just wondered, is this the norm ? They then introduce more structure in year 1. The other school seemed much more structured! Thank you!

sorry I posted this in education and didn’t get any responses so maybe here is better.

Ours has maths and English sessions each day. PE once a week.

Yes pretty much and that's how it should be for 4 and 5 years olds. What looked like carnage to you was probably just lots of children busy interacting with all sorts of activities and learning materials. They will have a structure to the day that includes combinations of free play, focussed circle time, one to ones etc. Also skills such as learning to get themselves ready independently for PE or home time is worked on at this stage.

Thanks so much for the replies. I am not used to seeing 60+ 4 years olds running around 😂 and feeling overwhelmed with choosing the right primary school. You’ve made me feel better. Thank you!

Yep pretty much normal.
overwhelming for some, but the teachers are experts at managing chaos!

Yup, at this point in the year we had a 10 minute maths input and a 10 minute phonics input daily and the rest was play based. There would be a writing and maths task every week to do as a 1:1 activity and a PE lesson once a week.

By Easter they'd be doing 20 minute inputs in maths, phonics and writing every day as well as guided reading, maths/writing task and PE once a week.

It's definitely how it should be. At that age they are still following the EYFS curriculum and learning through play, experience, experiments etc. A lot of what they learn is to do with their social skills and independence with self care, mark making - which is the precursor to writing etc. It is hectic! But it's all still actively learning. There used to be a phrase, no doubt now debunked, that you can only concentrate as long as your age in minutes. I always thought that was really appropriate for a room full of this age group! Things like phonics and reading and nods to more formal learning are introduced too. But this is typically little and often at the beginning.

Thank you so much for your replies. You’ve really made me feel much better! I’m new to all of this 😅 it feels like a massive decision to make!

It totally depends on the school. In Reception teaching input will be short, much work is done in small groups or individually. But it also varies hugely on the school - so go and visit to get a good idea of their ethos and how they will suit your child.

My DDs class is quite structured. They have phonics, maths and writing and reading daily. PE twice a week. French, music, art and forest school once a week.

Bear in mind it's still only the first half term. They'll be getting to know the children and wanting the children to enjoy settling in. The children will be building, creating and getting to know each other. More structured learning will be gently phased in bit by bit.

At my dc's old primary school they didn't even bother taking the reception class to assembly for the first few weeks as they'd just wriggle and create mischief.

Generally as the year goes on an increasing amount of time will spent doing more structured things but still with plenty of free play

Thank you. Very good point - it is still so early in the year so all very new to those children. They were all having a fabulous time! If a little manic 😅 I have a few more schools to visit so suppose I can make a better comparison once I’ve seen some more.

I wouldn't send my child to a school where reception didn't have a play based Reception!

Our school's reception is entirely play based - no maths, phonics etc, and no reading books until at least Year 2. We're in Wales though where the curriculum is different.

ah I see, thank you! I suppose in my mind I thought it may just be a bit more sitting down etc during parts of the day. However thinking about it that wouldn’t really suit many 4 year olds. I’ll have a read up of the EYFS for reception. Thanks all!

In England, the approach does vary by school but from what I've seen the big difference isn't in reception but in year 1. In some schools that will be sitting down in lessons all day, in others it will still have more of the play based learning.

With how busy reception seems, obviously that will vary depending on the size of the school and also if they have multiple classes whether they run it as one big free flow play area or not. There are many advantages to bigger schools, but for a shy child the big reception classes can be difficult.

At DD's school learning is very much through play, which is how they learn best at this age. They do have separate carpet time for numeracy and phonics, but the learning is then consolidated through further play based activities. I was a bit aghast when visiting schools last year for Sept 22 intake, but DD has just finished her first term at school and has already learnt so much.

If you want something more structured then you'd have to send them to private I'm afraid. My child's reception class is 14 or so children. They have 2-3 things timetabled in but the rest is everyday routine (assembly, breaktime, story on the carpet) and project work (eg autumn, let's all paint an orange leaf using a stick or whatever). There is absolutely no chaos, but of course that is partly due to the privilege of class size.

DD was in reception last year, they had phonics and numeracy sessions then 'learning choice' where they could pick from a few different activities indoors or outdoors eg painting, cars etc. Then some free flow play where they could run around.

They are at really different levels of readiness and some kids might never have been to a play group or childcare setting, might not speak much English, might have difficulties at home etc. Being able to sit still and listen for ten minutes is a tall order for lots of reception kids!

Thank you all for your comments I really appreciate it. I’ve seen 2 schools so far and 2 more to go - so will be good to compare. It is a big decision to make!

I looked at three schools for ds1. The first was a three form entry and completely play based. The second was play based but one form entry. The third was formal. I felt the three form play based would not suit ds1- the children were happy, and engaged but it was just too busy. The formal reception was awful. The children seemed unhappy, were told off for moving, and the couple who were 'playing' certainly did not look happy. In the one form entry school whilst it was play based there was a more calm and engaged feeling which I felt would suit ds1. I personally feel you go with what would suit your child.

Absolutely, it does definitely depend on their personality. thank you x

I did work experience in a reception class, I feel sure they did some written work and some play based. I guess it must depend on the school?

Don't just look at EY when choosing a school though. Visit the school and see the other year groups if you can. Get a real feel for the school as a whole.

The teacher here said it was play based all day, but she was new - maybe she was referring to the first term? I didn’t ask if it was this term only, I just felt overwhelmed by all the small people running around like crazy little things 🤣 they were all having a fab time though to be fair.