Starting School – Reception Admissions
Starting school is a significant milestone in every child’s life. At Dorothy Barley Infant School, our Early Years experience is happy, active and exciting. Our Early Years practitioners are passionate and dedicated to supporting every child’s development as they take their first steps on their educational journey.
Our bespoke Reception Curriculum is carefully crafted to ensure solid foundations that will prepare them for their future learning and successes and ensure a smooth transition into Key Stage One.
If you would like to visit the school, please book a school tour by contacting the school office.
Reception Prospectus
Reception Application Process
Children start Reception in the September after their 4th birthday. You need to apply for a Reception year school place if your child is born between 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021. They will start in Reception from September 2025.
All applications must be made directly through. Please contact the LBBD Admissions Team for further information.
To apply online for a Reception school place visit www.eadmissions.org.uk by the closing date.
Reception Admissions Criteria
If there are more applications than there are places available, we will use criteria, in priority order, for deciding which applications to accept. Please refer to our Admissions Policy for further information.
Getting Ready to Start School
Starting Reception is an exciting time in your child’s life. The following tips can help you to prepare them for this milestone.
- Spend time talking to your child about their new school, teachers and friends. Encourage them to look forward to this new stage of their life.
- Encourage your child to take care of their own toileting needs and to go to the toilet by themselves, flush the toilet and then wash their hands. It is very important that your child can do this by themselves before they start school, as staff are not able to fully support toileting needs.
- Encourage your child to dress and undress him/herself, especially coats and footwear. Buy coats and footwear with easy fastenings e.g. Velcro. Please do not buy school shoes with laces, unless your child can tie them by his/herself.
- Practise changing from school uniform to PE kit regularly, as your child will be expected to do this independently from the autumn term.
- Practise using small tools including knives and forks. Show your child how to use a knife and fork to eat their lunch by themselves.
- Expect your child to help to put away his/her toys. Encourage your child to share their toys with other children.
- Practise speaking and listening skills through stories, games and general conversation. These skills will be vital when your child joins their Reception class.
- Share a book together every day. Encourage your child to talk about the pictures or retell the story to you and encourage them to handle books with care. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and we foster a love of reading and stories.
- Encourage your child to recognise their name, name a range of colours and count things whenever you can. Children at this age also enjoy making marks, this should be encouraged as it is the first step towards writing. Talk to your child about the marks they make.
