Throughout the Early Years Foundation stage children’s learning is developed through taking part in a wide variety of fun, play-based activities. Some of these activities are carefully planned and directed by teachers while at other times children follow their interests, plan, and create their own activities with teachers observing, encouraging and extending their play. Through well-planned, play activities in a structured environment children are provided with rewarding and enjoyable experiences in which they explore, investigate, discover and create, and secure the foundations for their future learning.
Activities take place each day both indoors and outdoors, using different areas and resources in order to provide a wide range of learning experiences across 6 areas of Learning and Development.
These six areas are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication, Language and Literacy
- Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
- Knowledge and Understanding of the World
- Creative Development
- Physical Development
Children’s learning is monitored using the Early Years Foundation Stage developmental stages. Teachers observe children closely and use the information to plan activities which will challenge, engage and help each child to progress towards the next steps in their development. Learning is based around short themes such as ‘Dinosaurs’, ‘Princesses’, ‘Insects’ or ‘Fire Engines’. These themes are chosen in response to the children’s interests.
In the final year of the Foundation Stage (Reception) children work towards achieving sets of Early Learning Goals in all six areas of Learning and Development. By the end of Reception children are expected to have achieved most of these goals.
Early Years classes and age groups
Ducks group- minimum age is 18 months. Children turn 2 years old during the school year
Frogs/Dragonflies groups – children will turn 3 years old during the school year.
Nursery - children will turn 4 years old during the school year.
Reception - children will turn 5 years old during the school year.