The first year of school is an important and exciting time for you and your child. We want you both to feel safe, secure and welcome as new members of our school family. This page provides key information about your child’s first steps in Reception, in order to make it a positive and enjoyable experience.

We Dream Big    We Aim High   We Reach Far

We Believe in the Endless Pursuit of Excellence

Specific Areas

Children attending Reception should have the following uniform:

• Polo Shirt: White polo shirt.
• Trousers / Skirt:  Plain black.
• Fleece: Navy blue sweatshirt with purple trimmings (Optional navy fleece with purple logo).
• For Summer: Tailored black shorts or a purple gingham summer dress.
• Footwear: Plain black and suitable for school.  No trainers or Ugg style boots are permitted.
• For Cooler months: A black outdoor coat. Socks and tights should be plain grey or black.
• Sports Kit: Navy blue T-shirt and shorts/ tracksuit bottoms; trainers or daps.

LABEL ALL YOUR CHILD’S CLOTHES PLEASE.

You can purchase uniform from Monkhouse Schoolwear Unit 1B, Plaza 21, Sanford Street, Swindon, SN1 1HE 

https://www.monkhouse.com/c/4460/Swindon-Academy-Uniform 

Universal Free School Meals are offered to all children in Reception and Years 1 & 2. Lunch choices are made by parents in advance on our ‘ParentPay’ or alternatively you can provide your child with a packed lunch, which should include healthy food such as a sandwich or wrap, fruit, raw vegetables, cheese and yogurt.

We do not allow sweets or fizzy drinks. For snack, we provide milk until the children are 5, which can be ordered. Water, fruit and vegetables are available to your child throughout the day.

We use ParentPay to pay for school dinners and trips as this is a convenient and secure way to pay. All parents will receive an activation letter with a nine-letter reference to enable them to setup their ParentPay account.

Sample School Menu

Our menu is rotated every three weeks, so the children get a range of healthy and delicious choices to try. When they start school you can alert us to any food allergies or preferences.

Gates open at 8.20am.

Children are welcomed by their teachers into classrooms at 8.25am.

At home time gates re-open at 3.25pm.

Children are collected at 3.30pm.

On Fridays we finish at 1.00pm.

Children have two PE sessions per week. Your child will have lots  of opportunities to improve their fine and gross motor skills with our specialist PE teacher, and learn about how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

In the next few months we will get to know your child, working together with you to make sure they have the best possible start to school life. If there is anything you are unsure about, please get in touch with us. We want you to be fully involved in what goes on in Reception and we want you to feel you are an important member of our school community.

ACPrimary@swindon-academy.org

01793 723677

In our Reception year, we have lots of adventures! We visit Stanton woods, and take a trip to a farm and the Steam Museum. We celebrate cultural days such as Chinese New Year, Eid and a hold a Christmas nativity!

Many parents ask us what they can do to get their child ready for starting in Reception.  Here are our suggestions:

• Help them develop their hand strength, such as being able to grip a pencil correctly 
• Reading with them: creating an interest in books, illustrations and nursery rhymes
• Work with them to enable them to recognise their own name and some numbers
• Practice sharing and talking in full sentences
• Teach them some independence with things like dressing, and using a knife and fork
• Toilet trained