Starting School at Bitterne
Welcome to Reception at Bitterne - Where curiosity begins, confidence grows and every child belongs.
Starting school is a very special milestone. At Bitterne, we want our children to begin their school journey feeling happy, safe and excited to learn.
Our Reception environment is carefully designed to help children explore, talk, create, read, write, investigate and play. Alongside this, our adults provide high-quality teaching that develops the strong foundations children need for future success.
Above all, we get to know every child and help them to flourish.
Learning in Reception
📖 Reading & Phonics
Daily Pip and Pap phonics, stories and a love of reading.
✏️ Writing & Communication
Drawing Club, Disco Writing, rich vocabulary and purposeful opportunities to talk and write.
🔢 Mathematics
Daily maths and Mastering Number build secure understanding of number.
🌳 Exploring & Creating
Carefully planned indoor and outdoor provision develops curiosity, creativity, physical development and independence.
❤️ Growing & Belonging
Relationships, routines and high expectations help children become confident, independent and ready to learn.
Our Reception curriculum combines carefully planned direct teaching with purposeful learning through continuous provision. Skilled adults interact with children throughout the day, introducing vocabulary, asking questions, modelling new learning and helping children take their next steps.
Our Environment
Strong Foundations for Every Child
Children begin school with different experiences, strengths and starting points. We get to know each child carefully and are ambitious about what every child can achieve.
We place particular importance on communication and language, early reading, writing and mathematics. Children's progress is monitored carefully so that those who need additional practice or support receive it quickly.
Our approach is simple: we want children to keep up, rather than wait for gaps to grow.
Strong relationships between children and adults are central to our provision. Our adults know when to model, question, explain, practise alongside a child or give them the independence to explore for themselves.
LINK TO PHONICS AND EARLY READING AND SEND AND INCLUSION
Always Improving
We are proud of the significant development of our Reception provision since our February 2025 Ofsted inspection.
Since then, we have strengthened leadership and teaching, developed our indoor and outdoor learning environments, refined our curriculum and strengthened children's foundations in communication, reading, writing and mathematics.
These improvements are making a difference.
Come and See Us
A website can only tell you so much. The best way to understand Reception at Bitterne is to come and see it.
Meet our team, explore our learning environment and see what starting school at Bitterne could look like for your child.