Reception New Intake 2026

Information for starting school in September

Reception 2026–2027

A very warm and heartfelt welcome to you and your child to Victoria Primary Academy. Whether you already have children here or you are joining our school family for the first time, we are truly excited to begin this journey with you. We feel privileged to be part of your child’s early steps in their primary education, and we look forward to building a strong and supportive partnership with you.

You will soon receive a link inviting you to join our communication systems—ParentMail and ClassDojo. These will help us stay connected and ensure you’re always in the loop, so please look out for them.

 Dates for Your Diary

We have some exciting events coming up, and we’d love for you to join us. More information about each one will be shared very soon, but here are the key dates to pop in your diary:

• Welcome Pizza Party – Tuesday 16th June.
• Stay and Play Sessions – Thursday 11th June and Thursday 25^th June.
• Summer fair – Wednesday 24^th June
• Transition Day – Monday 6th July.
• Home visits – W/C 31^st August.

September

In September, we will be welcoming two Reception classes, each with 30 wonderful children. Before placing children into their classes, we take a little time to really get to know them — their personalities, their interests, and the friends they feel comfortable with.

Because of this, children will not be allocated to their final class until the end of their first week. This helps us make sure they begin their school journey feeling happy, settled, and surrounded by familiar faces.

What Children Need in Reception

To help your child feel comfortable and ready for each school day, we kindly ask that they bring:

• A named water bottle to keep them refreshed throughout the day.
• A school bookbag — every child joining us will receive a free one from school.
• School uniform (unless it’s their PE day, when children can come dressed in their PE kit). Details about our uniform can be found on the parents / uniform page of our website.
• Weather‑appropriate items such as a coat, sun hat, gloves, or scarf. In Reception we enjoy learning outdoors in all kinds of weather. We will provide wellies and overalls for outdoor play, so there’s no need to bring these from home.

Please make sure everything is clearly named so we can quickly return items to the right child — it really does make a big difference!

Frequently asked questions

What phonics programme do you follow at Victoria? Here at Victoria, we follow Ruth Miskin’s Read write Inc programme to teach the children how to read and write. Read Write Inc. Phonics teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly, and compose their ideas step-by-step.

How can I contact my child’s teacher? At Victoria we use Class Dojo’s. Every child / parent has an account and parents are able to send message directly to their class teacher. Teachers can then reply via message or phone call. Also, there are always members of staff on the gate at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day that you can speak to if you need to.

How will I know how my child is getting on? Twice a year you will be invited to attend a parent’s consultation with your child’s teacher. This meeting will be to discuss how your child is getting on, their areas of strength and any areas of development and any concerns you may have. At the end of the academic year, you will receive a written school report from your child’s teacher. Remember, if at any point throughout the year, you have a concern or you need to speak to a member of staff, our door is always open.

Can I park on the school site? Unfortunately, parents are unable to drive or park on the school site.

Is there a bike shelter on the school site which my child can use? The school does have a bike shelter that the children are able to use to secure their bikes or scooters to if they wish to ride to school.

Do you have a school council? We feel it is very important that the children’s voices are heard here at Victoria and we do have a school council. Each class vote for their school councillor. The school councillors attend regular meetings where they discuss lots of different things including upcoming events and school changes.

 Useful website links

Starting primary school - BBC Parents' Toolkit - BBC Bitesize

Starting School – Your child’s journey to school starts at home

Language development activities for young children aged 4-5

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