Supporting Your Child’s Learning

Parents and families play a vital role in helping children develop the strong foundations they need for a happy and successful start to school. We do not expect children to arrive at Reception already able to do everything independently. Instead, we encourage families to develop the everyday skills, confidence and independence that will help children feel ready to learn and ready for school life.

Before starting Reception, it is helpful for children to have opportunities to practise:

• Putting on and taking off their coat and having a go at fastening it.

• Dressing and undressing independently, including managing their PE kit.

• Using the toilet independently and washing and drying their hands.

• Using cutlery and opening simple food and drink containers.

• Tidying away toys and belongings and taking responsibility for their own things.

• Following simple instructions and listening to others.

• Talking about their feelings, needs and experiences and asking for help when needed.

• Taking turns, sharing and playing cooperatively with others.

• Developing confidence to try something new, make mistakes and have another go.

• Using pencils, crayons, scissors and other tools safely and appropriately.

• Recognising their own name and beginning to write it.

• Developing an interest in books, stories, sounds, numbers and the world around them.

Most importantly, we encourage children to develop curiosity, confidence, independence and a love of learning. These everyday experiences provide important foundations for the learning that will take place throughout Reception.

Supporting Learning at Home

There are many simple and enjoyable ways to support your child's learning at home. Everyday experiences provide valuable opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills children need for school and beyond.

Reading and Communication

• Share fiction and non-fiction books regularly and talk about the characters, settings, events and information.

• Ask questions such as who, what, where, when, why and how?

• Encourage children to retell familiar stories in their own words.

• Sing songs, nursery rhymes and play rhyming games together.

• Talk with your child about what they have seen, done and experienced, introducing new vocabulary.

• Encourage children to listen carefully and follow simple instructions.

• Read stories to your child at bedtime.

Mathematics in Everyday Life

• Count everyday objects such as toys, steps, plates or socks.

• Compare quantities using language such as more, less, fewer and the same.

• Look for numbers and shapes in the environment, such as house numbers, clocks, signs and packaging.

• Explore patterns through everyday activities, dressing, building and nature.

• Involve children in cooking, shopping and household tasks, encouraging them to measure, count and compare.

Early Reading and Writing

• Look for letters and familiar words in the environment, such as signs, labels and packaging.

• Encourage children to recognise their own name.

• Provide opportunities for meaningful mark-making, such as writing shopping lists, birthday cards, labels or messages.

• When your child is ready, encourage them to use the sounds they know to begin writing simple words.

• Most importantly, continue to share books and develop a love of reading.

• Play games such as 'I Spy' to provide opportunities for children to listen to initial sounds and match them to objects around them, e.g. s for sun, d for dog. 

Learning Through Play and Everyday Experiences

Play is not simply playing with toys. Children learn through exploring, investigating and interacting with the world around them. Play can happen anywhere — building a den with sticks, collecting leaves and stones, making patterns with natural objects, helping to bake, pretending to run a shop, digging in the garden, creating cardboard boxes or simply building a sandcastle on the beach. These everyday experiences develop children's curiosity, creativity, communication, problem-solving, independence and understanding of the world, providing strong foundations for future learning.

Parents as Partners

At Brookfield, we believe that children achieve the most when home and school work together. Parents know their children best, and by sharing knowledge, experiences and understanding, we can provide consistent support that helps every child to develop confidence, independence and a love of learning.

This is why we provide parent workshops each half term, focusing on key areas of your child’s learning and development, including phonics, reading, writing, mathematics and other aspects of our curriculum. These sessions provide families with an opportunity to understand how we teach, see the approaches and resources your child uses in school, and gain practical ideas for supporting learning at home.

We value these opportunities to work alongside families and ensure that parents feel informed, confident and involved in their child's learning journey. We also provide regular opportunities for parents to engage with learning through book looks, class assemblies, ERIC (Everybody Reads In Class), school events, Mystery Reader, visits and shared experiences.

Further information about our Parent Workshops can be found on our Parent Workshops page.

By working together and building strong relationships between home and school, we can ensure that every child receives the consistent encouragement, support and opportunities they need to develop and build strong foundations for their future learning.

Here are some useful websites to support your child' learning at home: