Pre-Prep Welcome

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, children are assigned a Key Person. This is the child’s Class Teacher in Kindy and Reception. In our Early Years Foundation Stage, we believe that children settle best when they have a key person to relate to, who knows them and their parents well, and who can meet their individual needs. 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

In Early Years, Tapestry is your child’s online Learning Journal and we will use it to update you on the learning that your child is doing in school at the end of each half term. Each week you will receive a ‘memo’ with what we have been focussing on, or what we are going to be looking at the following week. In Kindy you will find weekly memos regarding our book and sound of the week, as well as half-termly reports detailing your child’s progress. Tapestry is a great way of engaging your child in a conversation about their learning at school. It is also a wonderful means of two way communication so feel free to post your own observations. We enjoy seeing what activities and learning the children are doing outside of school. 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/.

A phonics workshop is held for parents of Reception pupils during the first half of the autumn term when you are invited to learn more about the scheme we use across the Pre-Prep and how you can support your child at home.

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

Learning – Year 1 and Year 2

Timetables are issued early in autumn term. While consideration is given to the National Curriculum, we deliver a robust curriculum which is engaging, age appropriate and intriguing for our pupils. Our extensive woodland and grounds also provides us with limitless opportunities to enhance this provision. The children’s full and varied curriculum, includes maths, English, science, PSHE, RE, music, art, humanities, ICT, forest school, PE, swimming and games. Pupils are taught by subject specialist teachers in French, music, forest school, IT, art, sport and drama (Year 2). They explore a range of topics throughout the year, enjoy trips, visitors and themed dress up days!

English is taught through the following subjects; daily reading, phonics, creative writing, comprehension, spelling, grammar, speaking and listening. The children follow the Read Write Inc. scheme for phonics, working in very small attainment groups at their own individual levels. The lessons are well paced, with plenty of repetition, sight words and activities. English writing tasks are varied and are often related to the children’s topic work.

In maths, we focus on developing maths skills and problem-solving skills. At the heart of this 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.

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.

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, where appropriate. We also have a subscription to Ed Shed which pupils can enjoy to help them learn their weekly spellings.

In Year 1 pupils will bring home 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.

In Year 2, homework 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 an opportunity for ‘Show and Tell’ during the week in Year 1. 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 popular feature of the week, giving children the opportunity to talk in front of their peers and answer questions. Pupils in Year 2 are also welcome to bring in something for ‘Show and Tell’ on Friday, if it is of educational value or related to our current topics.

Pre-Prep Additional Uniform Information

For children in Pre-Prep it is helpful to have hooks on the joggers so that they hang easily on the pegs. Children always require a waterproof coat in school, even during warmer weather. Wellington boots and waterproof trousers are also essential at all times, for both breaks and Forest School sessions, and need to be kept at school from the beginning of each half term. A long sleeved top and long trousers are a requirement for Forest School, even in warmer weather. If things get particularly muddy, these will be sent home to be washed, but please can they be returned to school as soon as possible. Having jogging bottoms with children’s spare clothes is useful for wearing outside during play time.

On the days when sports kit is worn into school, children can wear their trainers to and from school. They usually wear their wellies in the garden at break times.

If children attend a club at school which requires a change of clothes or equipment, these should be brought on the day of the club in a small bag and taken home after the club that day.

Back to Handbook