EYFS/Reception

Starting school is an exciting milestone for every child, and at Ormiston Cliff Park Primary Academy (OCPPA), we are dedicated to ensuring that this first step in your child’s learning journey is happy, safe, and inspiring.
Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Reception provides a nurturing environment where children develop confidence, independence, and a lifelong love of learning. Through play, exploration, and creative teaching, we build the foundations for success in the years ahead.

Our Approach
In Reception, learning is centred around the EYFS Framework, which promotes development across seven key areas of learning:
• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design
Our curriculum is designed to balance structured teaching with child-led exploration, ensuring that each child is supported and challenged at their own pace.

Our Environment
We are proud of calm, welcoming and creative Reception classrooms and stimulating outdoor learning spaces. Children are encouraged to explore, investigate, and engage in meaningful play experiences that help them develop essential social and problem-solving skills.
Our staff create a calm and encouraging atmosphere where every child feels valued and confident to “have a go.”
Our Team
Reception is led by our experienced EYFS teaching team, who are passionate about early education and committed to supporting every child’s development and wellbeing. Working closely with families, we ensure a smooth transition from home or nursery into school life.
Working in Partnership with Parents
We believe that children thrive when school and home work together. We value strong communication with parents and carers through regular updates, open-door sessions, and opportunities to join us for special events and celebrations throughout the year.

Visit Us
We would love to show you our wonderful Reception environment and talk about how we can support your child’s start to school life.
For more information or to arrange a visit, please contact our school office:
01493 661523
[email protected]
We look forward to welcoming you and your child to Reception at Ormiston Cliff Park Primary Academy — where every child’s adventure in learning begins!

Our curriculum is planned following the guidance from the Department for Education ‘Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’, taking account of the children’s needs and interests.

Click here to download this document: EYFS_Statutory Framework

Curriculum Statement of Intent for EYFS 2025- 2026Download
Early-Reading-PresentationDownload
Reception Curriculum planDownload

Work for the Reception Year focuses on the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. The seven areas of learning which comprise the curriculum for children aged between 0 and 5 years are:

The prime strands:

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development

The specific strands:

  • Mathematics
  • Literacy
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive arts and design

Work towards the Early Learning Goals is planned in short themes based on the children’s interests and fascinations such as transport, people who help us and animals. The children are taught through a carefully balanced provision of adult-led and child Initiated playful learning sessions. Children have access to a range of carefully selected resources to enhance their learning, including free-flow access to the outdoor environment throughout the day, in all weathers. More structure is introduced towards the end of the year to help the children transfer to Year 1 successfully.

Careful planning ensures a broad and balanced range of work for the children based on good early years practice. Work dovetails into the early stages of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1, so that children can progress naturally to work within the first National Curriculum level when they are ready.

Opportunities are provided for the children to meet the expectations laid out in the document DfE_Development_Matters_in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This non-statutory guidance material supports practitioners in implementing the statutory requirements of the EYFS.

Investigators classes

These are our classes and their teachers and teaching assistants:

  • Mrs Spring’s Investigators, with TA Mrs Oldman
  • Mrs Carter’s Investigators, with TA Mrs Coles