Early Years Foundation Stage Leader: Mrs. Whyman

God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good works. God had planned in advance those good works for us. He had planned for us to live our lives doing them.' (Ephesians 2:10)

Nursery - Reception Transition

To support the children and their families to have a smooth transition into our School we do the following:

We hold a 'stay and play' session in the Summer Term before children start school.

We welcome information on the children's likes and dislikes.

Open evening for parents in September - a chance for parents to see the setting.

Parent Information Evening in the Summer term for new families to meet our school leaders and staff.

Shared conversations with child minders and other nurseries.

Transition books to support change and new beginnings. 

Reception Transition

To support the children and their families to have a smooth transition into Year 1, we do the following:

Transition meetings between staff to share information each child's development against the ELG & CoEL to plan a responsive and appropriate curriculum. 

Transition booklets developed for those children who might need this.

Transition days planned throughout the summer term.

Opportunities for children to visit the Year 1 classroom throughout the school year.

Hold Welcome to Y1/ Meet the teacher meeting. This gives parents opportunity to meet staff, get to know routines and become familiar with school expectations.

Partnership with Parents/Carers

Working with parents is a key principle of our effective practice. By consulting with parents about children’s early experiences it supports practitioners plan for effective learning and helps support parents in continuing their children's learning development at home.

We do the following to effectively work with our families:

We have a clear system for ongoing dialogue based on two-way flow of communication, Class Dojo, See Saw and informal/formal conversations at the start and end of the day.

Topics,  themes, texts and new learning is shared on See Saw

Stay and Play session at the start of Reception.

Report to parents at two Parents Evening meetings to celebrate achievements and share new targets. 

Half termly curriculum updates are shared with parents informing them of new learning and new knowledge that the children will acquire during the next term. 

Parents are encouraged to add contributions to their child's See Saw from home events and home learning. 

Stay and learn sessions are planned each term with a focus on CL, PSED, Literacy, Mathematics, ​

Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. Parents are encouraged to see  how play facilitates learning. 

Parents are invited to our afternoon tea sessions where children bake and prepare an afternoon for their parents/carers.

Subject Leaders in the Early Years

Our Subject Leaders understand that The 7 Areas of Learning link to their subjects and that they are able to monitor and assess effectively using links to specific subject areas within the National Curriculum for KS1 and KS2.​

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Linked to our PSHE scheme.​

• Communication and Language: Linked to all subject areas but specifically to English (Speaking and Listening and Drama) ​

• Physical Development: Linked to PE and Science ​

• Literacy: Linked to English ​

• Maths: Linked to White Rose Maths and Science ​

• Past and Present: Linked to History ​

• People, Culture and Communities: Linked to RE, PSHE, History, Science and Geography ​

• The Natural World: Linked to Science and Geography​

• Creating with Materials: Linked to Music, Art and DT ​

• Being Imaginative and Expressive: Linked to Music, English, DT and Art​