It has been absolutely wonderful to welcome the Early Years children back to school this term. It has been an absolute joy to see so many happy little faces and so much excitement and enthusiasm.
The new design of the EYFS department has been a great success. The children in Kindy and Nursery have enjoyed shared free flow and individual time in their classes. They have also benefited from playtime and free flow with the Reception children in their garden. The garden has been extended allowing the children to see and appreciate the beautiful grounds at Barrow Hills.
Reception children have enjoyed exploring their environment; outside they have had fun finding snails in the garden and examining them through magnifying glasses, prising conkers out of their shells with tweezers, ‘digging to Australia’ in the mud kitchen and going on a nature walk.
They have sung counting songs, sorted and counted dinosaurs and started learning their first sounds with our Read Write Inc phonics programme. The children have enjoyed experimenting with paint and various different-shaped blocks to print patterns on ‘hot air balloons’. They have used their imagination to make play dough into a wide range of different objects, from hissing snakes to blankets for horses.
They have a good grasp of technology, confidently using the large table screen in the classroom to practise number formation, colouring and puzzles and have used their critical thinking skills to create ‘runs’ from stands and guttering so they were able to race balls. They have also managed to find the time to enjoy a fun PE lesson and listen to a number of different stories. Phew!
A huge well done to all the Early Years children for settling in so quickly, they have been an absolute pleasure to have in school and all the staff are looking forward to a wonderful year.
