Ethos

Our pupils make rapid progress and achieve academic excellence in an environment of love and care. Our school is a strong family where expectations are high, values are positive and children are treasured. Our goal is to equip our pupils with the knowledge, skills and character to lead successful lives. We believe that anyone can learn anything and the growth mind-set underpins everything we do. We do not believe that some pupils are bright and that others are not. We believe in the limitless capacity for everyone to achieve great things. We believe that what we become and what we achieve comes from great teaching, hard work and fantastic support.

Our staff get to know the children as individuals and build positive meaningful relationships that last. We ensure that all of our children feel they belong. Their health and wellbeing are central to everything we do. We explicitly teach our pupils to live by positive shared values and to hold these deep in their hearts. We teach children from an early age about their rights which is rooted in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). We value and celebrate the rich diversity and inclusivity within our school community, promoting equality for all.

 

Curriculum

We provide pupils with a broad, balanced and diverse curriculum of the highest quality where representation is key. We have new state-of-the art buildings with a wide range of extensive facilities. Our pedagogical approach is rooted in the science of how children learn.

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is taught through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. We have a holistic and cross-curricular approach. The seven areas of learning and development which shape activities and experiences for children in EYFS are:

Prime areas: Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

Specific areas: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

A usual day in our setting, consists of whole class topic, phonics, maths and literacy carpet sessions, as well as one-to-one or group focus learning with an adult, and most importantly lot of opportunities of child-initiated learning through play throughout the day. We create a language rich environment and promote talk for learning at every opportunity.

Every week, children will focus on a high-quality engaging picture book, traditional tale or nursery rhyme which is further explored through role play and a variety of immersive activities. These activities allow pupils to develop and embed a range of skills from the prime and specific areas of learning. Children will also participate in weekly music and PE sessions which develop their fine and gross motor skills.

Assessments in Early Years are based on what our practitioners observe and what they know about the children through observations, daily interactions as well as co-playing. The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is a summary of each child’s attainment at the end of the Reception year based on what children have demonstrated they know, understand which are measured against the ‘Early Learning Goals’.

 

Reception: Zones of Learning

We have four learning zones which pupils explore throughout the day. The organisation of the area encourages pupils to take their learning beyond their own classroom. It enables pupils to build confidence and form friendships with others. Phonics, literacy and maths activities are represented in all zones so that pupils have further opportunities to practice and embed their skills.

The four learning zones are:

Focus Zone: a quieter environment where pupils explore a range of practical literacy, maths and ICT activities.

Discovery Zone: the largest indoor environment which encourages children to explore and pretend. This space includes the largest role-play corner, sand and water trays, a small world area and a construction zone.

Creative Zone: an environment where children are able to explore their creativity and create masterpieces by themselves or collaboratively with their peers. They learn to manipulate and use a range of materials for collage and junk modelling. Children also learn to explore colour and have opportunities to develop a wide range of painting and drawing skills.

Outdoor Zone: the outdoor learning classroom ignites pupil’s curiosity as it is richly resourced with exciting play materials and open-ended flexible resources that can be adapted and used in different ways, according to the needs and interests of individual children.

 

Parent Partnership

We believe that developing a positive respectful partnership with all parents and carers is crucial to ensuring all children have an outstanding Early Years’ experience. Before starting nursery or reception, you and your child will attend a ‘stay and play’ session, where the teachers will get to know your child as an individual. This helps the team to understand your child and informs staff when planning transition activities at the beginning of the academic year.

We communicate regularly with parents and use Tapestry as a tool to do this. EYFS teachers use the Tapestry app to send out weekly memos regarding learning for the week as well as key reminders. This means you are always aware on what is happening. Tapestry enables you to regularly see your child’s learning. In addition to this, parents and carers are encouraged to continue learning with their child at home, you can upload comments, videos and pictures to communicate the progress your child makes outside the classroom.