About Foundation Stage

 Foundation Stage General Information.

The school's Nursery and Reception classes are set within secure units.

The Nursery  operates a flexible day. Parents can choose how their child takes their fifteen hours across the Nursery week, bridging morning and afternoon sessions by staying for lunch club in the Nursery. We also offer the 30 hour entitlement to those parents who are eligible. Parents can purchase additional Nursery hours, above their 15 (or 30) hours of free entitlement, subject to availability. Parents can also take advantage of before and after school clubs that run in school, and are available to all the children in the Foundation Stage Unit.

We believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential. A child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right, and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. 

The EYFS has four distinct principles

1. A Unique Child

In the Foundation Stage, we recognise that every child has different learning styles which are met through a range of differentiated, stimulating and challenging activities. We aim for children to enter Key Stage 1 as resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

2. Positive Relationships

During their time in Nursery and the Reception years, the children learn to be strong and independent. Through assemblies, play times, and a rich indoor and outdoor curriculum the children make strong friendships across the whole of the Foundation Stage.

3. Enabling Environments

Our spacious Nursery and two Reception classes have continuous areas of provision that support the seven areas of learning that make up the Foundation Stage curriculum. Children have access to stimulating and challenging indoor and outdoor play/tasks which support both child initiated and teacher directed activities. The Foundation Stage outdoor area is secure and children have access to a natural grassed area and a shuttered canopy for access to the outdoors during poor weather conditions. The children have access to the school hall where teachers deliver discrete Dance, Gym and Games sessions.  Reception children can borrow class library books each week for home reading for pleasure.

4. Learning & Development

Ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning and development process. All staff are involved in making systematic observations and assessments of each child’s achievements, interests and learning styles. These observations and assessments are then used to identify learning priorities which will be fed into future planning to ensure that activities are motivating learning experiences for every child across all seven areas of learning.

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-Regulation, Managing Self, Building Relationships): Across the Foundation Stage we provide the children with a wealth of experiences and support to help them develop a positive sense of themselves and others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn. We take a holistic approach to learning, supporting the development of children’s emotional well-being, ensuring that they have a deep understanding of themselves and are confident to try new experiences.

• Physical Development (Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills): Across the Foundation Stage, children are given opportunities to develop their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement through discrete P.E. lessons and access to bikes, trikes, scooters and a range of other outdoor resources. They learn about the importance of exercise and making healthy life choices. Children are taught to use a range of tools safely. 

• Communication and Language (Listening, Attention & Understanding, Speaking): Across the Foundation Stage, C&L incorporates stories, drama, role play and talking about their ideas with their friends. Emphasis is on the children leaving the Foundation Stage as competent communicators with good speaking and listening skills. 

• Literacy (Comprehension, Reading, Writing): Phonics sessions in Nursery will support the children’s listening ability, focusing on phase 1 phonics and discriminating between sounds as well as oral blending and segmenting. We follow the Essential Letters and Sounds scheme to teach phonics. In Reception, the children are taught the Phase 2 sounds and their corresponding letters. The children will learn to orally blend words, blend the letters in words in order to read them. For example, c-a-t = cat and they will learn to read simple sentences containing these words. They will also be taught to recognise Phase 3 digraphs (two letters that make a sound, such as sh, ai, ee) and trigraphs (three letters than make the sound such as igh) and read words and sentences containing these. They move into Phase 4 which covers CCVC (e.g. stop), CVCC (e.g. desk) and CCVCC (e.g. drink) words which contain adjacent consonants. At the end of Reception they will learn Phase 5 sounds too.
  In the Reception classes, children will work individually and in small groups, both independently and with teacher support, on differentiated tasks to develop reading and writing skills. 

• Mathematics (Number, Numerical Patterns): Across the Foundation Stage children are given indoor and outdoor opportunities to practise and develop their mathematical skills to become confident and competent in their use. Children demonstrate their skills through self initiated and directed activities.  In the Reception classes, children will work individually and in small groups, both independently and with teacher support, on practical maths tasks.

• Understanding the World (Past & Present, Culture & Communities, The Natural World): Across the Foundation Stage children are supported in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding to help them make sense of the world, through topic work. Their investigative skills are nurtured through opportunities to encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environment and in real-life situations. They are encouraged to take part in practical experiments and work with a variety of materials. Children are taught to use all of their senses to learn about the world around them. All Nursery and Reception children learn about their environment and how to care for it through visits to local parks and woodland, as they develop their co-operation and communication skills.

• Expressive Arts and Design (Creating with Materials, Being Imaginative & Expressive): Across the Foundation Stage, children are provided with opportunities to develop their curiosity and exploration skills. A range of stimulating and exciting activities encourage children to respond creatively to a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play situations.

Support Staff

Nursery

Teaching Assistants: Miss Pye

                                       Mrs Sykes and Mrs Waterworth run the Nursery lunch club sessions.

Reception

Teaching Assistants: Miss Sweeney, Mrs Fielding          

Foundation Stage children can attend our Breakfast and After School Clubs, known as The Lion Club. The charges and times for Breakfast Club are 7.30am to 8.45 am at a cost of £4.00 per day and the After School Club is 3.15pm to 5.45pm at a cost of £8.00 per day. School staff run these clubs.               

To find out more about the curriculum the school follows please view the following

Early years Framework

Please remember to also view the curriculum pages on this website, which are found in Classes.

For further guidance about children's learning in the foundation stage please click the following link : - Guidance to your child's learning and development in the foundation stage.