This week The Plaza are continuing our carousel of activities linked to our topic, Fairytales.  Reception have been learning how to write numbers using the correct formation. Please could you practice this with your child at home with adult support to ensure correct number formation.   

Year 1 have been representing two digit numbers into tens and ones.   

The children continue to enjoy all of the outside learning areas and have been enjoying some messy play! 

In Read Write Inc., Reception children have been learning Set 1 sounds, m a s d t .  Year 1 are continuing to learn their sounds, read phonetically and are practicing their reading with fluency and accuracy.  

Reading books can be exchanged on a Friday providing the previous book has been returned. Due to the way we manage the book exchange please can ensure all books are in a book bag labelled with a child’s name.   

  The children enjoyed out talk with PC Dan from South Wales Police about Stranger Danger linked to our story Little Red Riding Hood and the importance of staying safe.  

2. Important information for next week: 

Read Write Inc Workshops will be taking place on Monday 19th October 2026 at 9.15am and 2.30pm.  You will have received an email to book for the Read Write Inc workshop and it would be great to see lots of you attending.  We are looking forward to welcoming to you to this event to help you support your child at home. There are two Read Write Inc Workshops over the day, if you are unsure which session to attend, please ask your child’s class teacher.  

3. How you can help at home: 

Please can all children continue to practice identifying and writing their name. It would also be beneficial to practice pencil grip and fine motor activities.   

In addition, can all children's belongings be labelled, specifically snack pots, water bottles, and PE clothing.  

Many thanks, 

The Plaza Team. 

Reception

This week, our Reception children have continued exploring our Fairytale topic and have started to become familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Through play, exploration and adult-led activities, the children have enjoyed making wolf masks, sorting and comparing different foods, exploring materials that could be used to make a cloak for Little Red Riding Hood, and using positional and directional language as they explore maps and routes.

The children have also been developing their early writing skills by making cards and messages for characters from the story. Outdoors, they have been noticing the changing season and using natural and autumnal materials in their play, investigations and creative work.

Year 1

Our Year 1 children have also been using Little Red Riding Hood as a stimulus for their learning, with activities providing opportunities to develop and apply their skills at an appropriate Year 1 level. Children have been learning to retell the story, develop their writing through cards and messages to the characters, investigate and describe the properties of materials, and use maps and directional language to describe and follow routes.

In maths, Year 1 have continued developing their understanding of number and place value, including recognising tens and ones and exploring one more, one less, ten more and ten less.

Across both Reception and Year 1, children continue to take part in Read Write Inc. phonics sessions matched to their current reading and phonics stage. 

2. Important information and dates

Home reading books

From Monday 28 September, children working at Read Write Inc. Red level and above will begin bringing home reading books matched to their current stage. Please make sure your child brings their book bag into school from Monday. Books will then be changed on Fridays.

For children who are at an earlier stage of Read Write Inc., we will explain the appropriate home-reading arrangements separately. 

Read Write Inc. Parent Workshops – Monday 19 October

We will be holding Read Write Inc. workshops for parents on Monday 19 October. These sessions will help parents understand how Read Write Inc. is taught in school and some of the strategies you can use to support your child’s reading at home. We will send further information, including workshop times, shortly. 

Other dates

• Wednesday 30 September, 2:00pm – Macmillan Coffee Afternoon
• Friday 2 October – Visit from PC Dan, including age-appropriate learning about staying safe and Stranger Danger
• Tuesday 6 and Thursday 8 October – Parents’ Evenings, providing an opportunity to talk individually with your child’s class teacher. 

3. Plaza Open Day – thank you!

A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our Plaza Open Day tours today. It was lovely to welcome so many of you into the classrooms and give you the opportunity to see the children learning in their everyday environment.

We have been incredibly proud of how well the children have settled and of the hard work, care and commitment of our Plaza staff. Thank you too for all the positive comments, questions and constructive feedback you have shared with us. We really appreciate your support as we continue to develop the Plaza together and make it the very best it can be for our children.

For anyone who would like to revisit the information shared ahead of the Open Day, we have attached the Plaza Open Day and Updates for Parents information again below. It includes information about how children are supported and challenged, Read Write Inc., maths, what happens next in the development of the Plaza and ways to share questions or feedback. 

4. How you can help at home

Reception

Please continue helping your child to:

• recognise their first and last name;
• practise putting on their own coat, including pulling their sleeves through correctly;
• talk about the sounds they are learning through Read Write Inc.;
• develop independence with their belongings.

If you are out on an autumn walk, we would also love children to bring in interesting autumnal natural objects such as leaves, conkers, acorns or pinecones for us to explore and use in our learning.

Year 1

We are continuing to develop our understanding of number and place value. You can support this at home by asking questions such as:

• How many tens does ___ have?
• How many ones does ___ have?
• What is one more/one less than ___?
• What is ten more/ten less than ___?

Please also continue helping children develop their independence with coats and belongings and practise their Read Write Inc. sounds and reading at home.

For everyone: please make sure that all belongings are clearly labelled, particularly snack pots, water bottles, jumpers and PE clothing.

This week, The Plaza have been exploring the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and we have written the names of the main characters. We really enjoyed our fairy tale day and the children love dressing up, making crowns, wands and fairy bread. In addition, we are continuing to embed our new Romilly together rules: Safe, Ready and Respectful and are exploring what these mean for our children. It has been lovely to see the children settle in The Plaza and come into school with a smile on their face. 

2. Important information for next week: 

Friday 25th September we are looking forward to welcoming you to The Plaza.   

3. How you can help at home: 

Please can all children continue to practice identifying their name. Putting on their coats, and in particular making sure their sleeves are pulled out correctly. In addition, can all children's belonging be labelled, specifically snack pots, water bottles, and PE clothing. Finally, if you are out and about on a woodland walk, please feel free to being in any autumnal objects. 

Many thanks, 

The Plaza Team. 

This week, The Plaza have been exploring The Jim Field and Rachel Bright books. These books focus on developing confidence and self esteem, teamwork, resilience and accepting help from others. We have also been completing activities linked to friendship and developing bonds amongst our new class mates. In addition, we have launched our new Romilly together rules: Safe, Ready and Respectful and are exploring what these mean for our children.

2. Important information for next week:

Monday 14^th September we are launching our new topic, Fairy Tales. On this date, we would like the children to dress up as a fairy tale character.  Please make sure your child is wearing sensible footwear as we hope to visit the wood area for story time. Children may also bring wellies in a bag if they wish.  We are also looking at collecting natural resources, so any donations of sticks, shells, pine cones, and leave would be appreciated

3. How you can help at home:

Please can all children practice identifying their name. Putting on their coats, and in particular making sure their sleeves are pulled out correctly. In addition, can all children's belonging be labelled, specifically snack pots, water bottles, and PE clothing. Finally, we are looking at collecting natural resources, so any donations of sticks, shells, pine cones, and leaves would be greatly appreciated.

4. Phonics in the Plaza

Children have continued to enjoy daily Read Write Inc. phonics sessions, revisiting their Speed Sounds, red words and blending skills. Staff are currently completing individual assessments with every child. These assessments help us identify exactly what each child already knows and what they need to learn next.

From the week beginning 21 September, children will be taught in carefully matched phonics groups based on their current knowledge and skills, rather than simply their age or home class. This will ensure that every child receives focused teaching at the right level and is appropriately supported and challenged to make progress.

Many thanks