Pre-Prep Welcome

Staff List

Nursery
Mrs Julie Triska (Deputy Nursery Manager) jnt@barrowhills.org
Miss Clara Wright cmw@barrowhills.org
Mrs Joanne Hostler jho@barrowhills.org
Mrs Samantha Coopper sgc@barrowhills.org

Kindy
Mrs Vicky Taylor (Nursery Manager) vta@barrowhills.org
Mrs Caroline Withers (Room Lead) caw@barrowhills.org
Mrs Ellie Warner ewa@barrowhills.org

Reception
Mrs Lucy Rogers (Class teacher) lvr@barrowhills.org
Mrs Jacqueline Reed (Teaching Assistant) jre@barrowhills.org

Year 1
Mrs Livvy Crisell (Class teacher) ljc@barrowhills.org
Mrs Rachel M Harris (Class teacher) rmh@barrowhills.org
Mrs Sarah Platt (Teaching Assistant) srp@barrowhills.org
Mrs Nikki Wilson (Forest School Leader) nwb@barrowhills.org

Year 2
Mrs Sally Livingston (Class teacher part-time) svl@barrowhills.org
Mrs Shona Ferris (Teaching Assistant) saf@barrowhills.org

Senior Team
Mrs Lesley Barnett (Head of Pre-Prep, Class teacher part-time) lab@barrowhills.org
Mr Paul Crisell (Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Head) pdc@barrowhills.org
Mr John Towers (Head) Heads PA jls@barrowhills.org or jft@barrowhills.org

Learning – The Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standard for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five years old, covering children at Barrow Hills in Nursery, Kindy and Reception.

Within the EYFS there are seven key areas of learning. Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.

These are the prime areas:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication and language
• Physical development

Children are also supported in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.
The specific areas are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

These areas of learning are taught through the children’s interests; and include a mix of adult-led and child-initiated learning.

A timetable will be given out early in the term. If there are any changes another one will be issued later in the term.

Key Person
Across Early Years, your child will have been assigned a ‘Key Person’ – a member of staff who will liaise with you in terms of your child’s welfare and settling in. In Reception Class this is the Class Teacher. In addition to your child’s key person, other members of the Early Years team will also contribute to your child’s learning journey on Tapestry.

Tapestry
Whilst in Early Years, we record half termly observations of your child’s learning journey on Tapestry – a secure online learning journey. Please add your own entries for your child’s achievements outside school: for example, learning to ride a balance bike, recognising numbers in the environment and so on. If you have any problems with logging on, please contact itsupport@barrowhills.org.

Show and Tell
The children have an opportunity for ‘Show and Tell’ during the week. It is a very important feature of the week, giving children the opportunity to talk in front of their peers and answer questions. It is enormously beneficial in many ways but particularly for speaking and listening skills. In Kindy, ‘show and tell’ is linked to the sound of the week; in Reception, small items (ideally linked to our topic or of other educational value) that fit in the children’s trays are most appreciated. Please do not bring in toys from home.

Maths and Literacy
In maths in the Early Years there is a focus on number and numerical patterns. The children learn through very practical, hands-on and fun activities.

In literacy, we follow the ‘Read, Write Inc’ programme, to provide continuity for children’s progression into Year 1 and beyond. In Kindy, children start to learn a sound a week; in Reception, children learn a sound a day with consolidation . There is useful information for parents and video on how to say the sounds online at https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/.

The children also have library sessions in our Pre-Prep Library, to encourage their love of books.

Learning – Year 1

A timetable will be given out early in the school year.

Spellings will be sent home on a Monday in a homework folder. The children will have a week to learn them ready for a quiz the following Monday. We also have a subscription to Ed Shed which pupils can enjoy to help them learn their weekly spellings.

We will hear your child read regularly. Please make sure reading books are brought into school every day in their bookbag as read books can then be changed. Your child will read in some form every day in most lessons.

All children will be given a handwriting sheet on a Wednesday. We aim to start cursive handwriting from the beginning of Year 1.

In the summer term, Year 1 pupils receive a Learning Journal in which they are given a weekly task to complete at home. This will be based on an area of learning they have covered at school that week.

The children have a full and varied curriculum, including maths, English, science, RE, PSHE, art, music, ICT, Forest School, PE and games. Year 1 children are taught by subject specialist teachers in French, music, Forest School, IT and sport. They enjoy a range of topics throughout the year, examples include the Victorians, Islands and Coastlines and the Titanic.

The children have an opportunity for ‘Show and Tell’ during the week. It is an important feature of the week, giving children the opportunity to talk in front of their peers and answer questions.

English
The children follow the Read Write Inc. scheme for English, working in ability groups with varied weekly activities.

Maths
We follow the ‘White Rose’ scheme which focuses on developing maths skills and problem-solving skills. At the heart of White Rose Maths is the maths mastery approach, which focuses on depth rather than acceleration, ensuring that key concepts are fully grasped before moving on. The main learning objectives are followed from the National Curriculum which are broken down into teaching blocks across each term.

Learning – Year 2

A timetable will be given out early in the school year.

Spellings are sent home on a Monday. The children will have a week to learn them ready for a quiz the following Monday. Please help your child to learn their spellings and also use this activity as an opportunity to practise their cursive handwriting. We also have a subscription to Ed Shed which pupils can enjoy to help them learn their weekly spellings.

We will hear your child read during the week and encourage daily reading at home. Please ensure your child brings their book into school every day in their bookbag. Reading books will be changed regularly and the children are encouraged to take ownership of this. In addition to this your child will read in some form every day in most lessons.

Homework will be set once a week. This will alternate between maths and English. Children are also encouraged to practise their times tables using the ‘Times Tables Rock Stars’ programme which they will be introduced to by their teachers.

The children have a full and varied curriculum, including maths, English, science, PSHE, RE, music, art, humanities, ICT, Forest School, PE and games. Year 2 pupils are taught by subject specialist teachers in French, music, Forest School, IT and sport. They explore a range of topics throughout the year, examples include, Explorers, Around the World, London and the Ancient Egyptians.

The children have an opportunity for ‘Show and Tell’ during the week. This should be of educational value, perhaps in connection to a topic that is being explored that term or is of particular interest. It is a very important feature of the week, giving children the opportunity to talk in front of their peers and answer questions.

English
The English National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 is followed with much of the writing tasks linked to the topic work. In addition, Year 2 pupils have weekly grammar & punctuation lessons and comprehension activities to develop pupils’ ability to read for meaning and use a range of strategies to engage with the text. We continue to support the children with their phonics using Read Write Inc.

Maths
We follow the ‘White Rose’ scheme which focuses on developing maths skills and problem-solving skills. At the heart of White Rose Maths is the maths mastery approach, which focuses on depth rather than acceleration, ensuring that key concepts are fully grasped before moving on. The main learning objectives are followed from the National Curriculum which are broken down into teaching blocks across each term.