Parent Information for
Pre-Reception to Year 2
www.felsted.org
Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Click to
Jump to a Section 3. The School Day (drop off & pick up times, wraparound care and clubs)
Quick Links
6. Co-Curricular
9. Leagues
7. Academic Enrichment - Home Learning
9. Felsted Food
Felsted Uniform Breakfast & After School Clubs
4. The Curriculum
7. Sharing Your Child’s Learning - Tapestry
10. Who’s Who
5. Phonics & Reading
8. Positive Behaviour
15. Contact Us
Felsted Food
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Uniform Please see the school website for the complete uniform list and our on-site Tailor’s Shop contact details and opening times: Visit the Felsted uniform page
The School Day We run a Breakfast Club from 7:30am - 8am as an optional extra.
The school day finishes at 3pm for Pre-Reception from the Early Years entrance at the back of Stewart House.
The gate opens at 8:00am: Pre-Reception – Meet the teacher at the Early Years entrance at the back of Stewart House. Reception - Parents walk their child to their classroom door. Years 1 & 2 – Say ‘Goodbye’ at the front gate, and children walk to their classrooms independently.
The school day finishes at 3:20pm for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Reception parents walk around the back of the building to the classroom outside door. Year 1 parents walk around to the playground by the Early Years entrance at the back of Stewart House. Year 2 parents wait outside the front gate where the children will be brought out by the teachers.
We encourage children to do ‘Kiss & Drop’ when they are ready (this is where the children hop out of the car outside Stewart House and walk to their classroom independently).
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After school clubs sign out at the front gate at their given end time. Woodlanders ring the gate buzzer and wait outside by Toad Hall.
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
The Curriculum Our curriculum is shaped around children’s interests, helping them feel engaged and involved in their learning while encouraging them to show their understanding of the world in creative and meaningful ways. Through opportunities to write, count, imagine, role play and construct, children are supported to develop a wide range of skills across all areas of learning.
Videos link to Instagram
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First hand experiences such as immersive drama, role play, visits and in-school experiences, alongside familiar stories, help to spark curiosity and inspire themes that connect learning together in purposeful ways.
Autumn
Each termly theme, is centred around a ‘Big Question’ which encourages children to think creatively, explore ideas and develop their own understanding through a process we call ‘Possibility Thinking’. Our themes include:
Spring
Summer
EYFS Pre-Reception
Why do you love me so much? / Why do leaves go crispy? View video
Can I celebrate?
Are we there yet?
Are eggs alive? View video
Did dragons exist?
Why do ladybirds have spots?
EYFS Reception
Where do I live? / Why do squirrels hide their nuts?
What happens when I fall asleep?
What should I pack for my holiday? View video
Why are carrots orange?
Will you read me a story?
Who lives in a rockpool? View video
KS1 Year 1
Superheroes Who are the real-life heroes around us & how do they help?
Dinosaurs What was life like when dinosaurs roamed the earth? View video
Space What is out there in space? View video
KS1 Year 2
Victorians What was life like for a child in the past? View video
Structures How have people built things to protect us, help us travel & make life better? View video
Coastlines & Small Islands How are the human & physical geography of these areas shaped by the sea?
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www.felsted.org
Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Phonics & Reading As a Monster Phonics Champion School, Felsted provides a highenergy, multisensory approach to literacy. By using 10 colorful characters to represent different sounds, the program helps children bridge the gap between spoken phonemes and written graphemes.
Monster Phonics Method Engagement: Seven monsters represent long vowel sounds, while others tackle silent letters and tricky digraphs. Daily Lessons: High-quality, interactive sessions focused on core terminology like blending (reading) and segmenting (spelling). Strategic Reading: Once pupils can blend, they practice with decodable books tailored to their specific level.
3 Step Reading Process
Quick Glossary
In school, children read their assigned books in groups, three times a week, targeting three specific skills:
Phoneme & Grapheme The sound & the written letter.
1. Decoding: Breaking down and sounding out words. 2. Expression: Developing a natural reading voice. 3. Comprehension: Ensuring a deep understanding of the story.
Digraph / Trigraph Two / three letters forming a single sound (e.g. ‘sh’ or ‘igh’). Split Digraph Two letters that work together but are separated (e.g. the a-e in cake).
The Goal Through repeated reading and character-based learning, children build the fluency and confidence needed for automatic word recognition.
Support at Home Use the links below to view our short videos on Instagram, offering simple ways to support your child at home: Phonics Support
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High Frequency Words
Segmenting
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
www.felsted.org
Co-Curricular Our youngest Felstedians benefit from a creative curriculum that extends well beyond academic learning. Alongside core skills, as part of the school day, children take part in a broad range of creative, linguistic, musical and physical activities. This includes swimming, forest school and languages.
Instagram Video: Forest School
Breakfast & After School Clubs
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For Pre-Reception and Reception, as many of these opportunities are built into the school day to ensure our youngest children can fully benefit from them without additional after school commitments. Children in Year 1 and Year 2 can join a variety of co-curricular activities at the end of the school day as an optional extra, including LAMDA, Football, Karate, Dance, Judo, Tennis, Gymnastics and Golf. All Pre-Prep children (PreReception to Year 2) can also attend Woodlanders, our afterschool care provision. Booking is available for half sessions from 3.20pm – 4.30pm or from the end of an activity until 5.30pm, or a full session from 3.20pm – 5.30pm.
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
www.felsted.org
Academic Enrichment Home Learning Home learning is designed to be age appropriate and flexible, prioritising your child's need for rest and personal play. If they are not ready for structured tasks, please focus on reading together. Key Components of Home Learning: Communication: Engaging in focused, distraction free conversations to build language and recount daily events. Literacy: Daily reading practice (including phonics cards) and bedtime stories. Academic Reinforcement: Consolidating school maths lessons and practicing weekly spellings (for Years 1 and 2). Practical Challenges: Theme based tasks or essential life skills, such as learning to use zippers or putting on an art apron.
Sharing Your Child’s Learning Tapestry The school uses a learning journal app called Tapestry to record and share your child’s progress. Parents can view observations, learning notes and photos that explain what their child has been learning. Families can also upload their own observations, photos and comments to contribute to the journal. Download the Tapestry app:
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www.felsted.org
Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Dojo Points
Class Animal
Manners Cup
Gold Sticker
To help promote desirable behaviour and social interactions, the children are awarded virtual ‘Dojo’ points. .
Every class has a Class Animal which is awarded each week to a child to take home for the weekend to be returned the following week.
Each week, a class is awarded the Manners Cup for a collective effort to be respectful to others. .
Gold stickers for exceptional effort in both academic and learning behaviour. .
Learn Award Certificate
Badges
Creativity Star
Fantastic Felstedian Tea Party Invitation
Learn Award certificates are presented for outstanding achievements and working attitudes.
Marvellous Manners: for being polite and courteous. Wonderful Walking: for remembering to walk sensibly inside the building or when needed to. Kindness Star: for consistent kindness. Playground Friend: for being a great friend to others at playtime.
Creativity Star: for creative thinking, arts, singing, drama, imagination, building and so much more!
Positive Behaviour Felsted School cultivates a positive environment through a mix of clear expectations and consistent role modeling by staff members, who focus on helping children recognise the consequences of their actions while using age appropriate methods to restore respect and develop selfregulation when issues arise. Throughout this process, the school maintains a close partnership with parents to ensure the support provided at school aligns with the environment at home. Our rewards include: Dojo Points, Class Animal, Manners Cup and Gold Sticker. Every week we hold our ‘Award’ assembly where a number of different awards are presented to the children. These include: Learn Award certificates, badges, Creativity Star and a ‘Fantastic Felstedian’ tea party invitation.
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Teachers nominate a ‘Fantastic Felstedian’ for demonstrating our Felsted values: Welcoming, Respectful, Adventurous, Fun, Inspirational. A surprise invitation is sent home in the post to a tea party with Mrs Atkins.
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
www.felsted.org
Leagues When your child joins Felsted, they also join a Prep School League which they support throughout their time at the Prep School. Family members always join the same league so this becomes a family aspect of school. The leagues are: Lord Riche, Cromwell, Gaselee, Grignon and Smythies.
Food Our school catering team prepares all snacks and lunches on site, with termly menus found on the link below. All dietary requirements are accommodated for and our catering team are available to discuss any specific needs your may have. Pre-Prep pupils have healthy varied snacks twice a day, with a hot lunch served daily alongside fruit and salad. Every meal is a chance to guide the children to learn to use cutlery and practice their best table manners, celebrating independence with plenty of encouragement.
Felsted Food: view the menu
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www.felsted.org
Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Meet the #FelstedFamily These faces will become very familiar to you while your child is with us in Felsted Pre-Prep! As experts in Early Years education, our staff know how important it is to take the time to really get to know every one of our children, and their families too.
Mrs Norris
Mr Fincher
Prep Head
Deputy Head, Prep
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ns M rs A tk i
Mrs Péchard
In partnership with you, they will make sure that Pre-Prep is a happy experience, full of excitement, wonder, delight - and plenty of smiles!
Head of Pre-Prep
Senior Head
Miss Thomas
Teacher
er M r s M il l
Teaching Assistant
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Mrs Norton
Teacher
ws acher Mrs Matthe Te Jump to a Section
zi M rs L ore n
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Buckingham Teacher
Pre-Prep Mrs Cain Deputy Head
Mrs Groves
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Mrs Mangham Ass istant
an M is s C a r m
Teacher
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Mrs Hill
Teaching Assistant
M rs K e nny
Teacher
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ord M r s P ic k f
Mrs Herban
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Phillips
Teacher
Mrs Buckley ATessacishitang nt
Mrs Pedder
Teaching Assistant
-Prep
Pre m a h e r Admin o B M rs
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
Mrs Morris
Pre-Prep Medical Assistant
Teaching h As t r o w r e t t u sistant B s Mr
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M ary
Mrs Bird
Pre-Prep m Tea Domestic
Teaching Assistant
Mrs Clarke
Music Teacher
Desig
ted Mrs O’Brien Safeguna arding Lead
Mrs Clifford-SmithSENCO
y M r s B a il e
Teacher
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
r Mrs Hardiston-Taylo Teacher
Miss Field
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Dance Teacher
le t p a t S s M
Mrs Norris Woodlanders
on
Finance & Breakfast Club
Mrs WatkinsonWoodlanders
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Parent Information for Pre-Reception to Year 2
How to Contact Us We love to see moments from home on Tapestry, please do continue to share them! For any queries, contact your child’s teacher via email or the school office for urgent matters: Braintree Road Felsted Essex CM6 3JL Main Tel: +44 (0) 1371 822616 Email: shoffice@felsted.org
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