WHAT IS THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE?

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) begins from birth for any children who attend a nursery, pre-school, or are cared for by a childminder. As they join our Early Years, they continue to be part of the EYFS until the end of the Reception year.

THE FOUNDATION STAGE CURRICULUM

• Personal, Social and emotional development
• Physical Development
• Communication and Language
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

The curriculum content is presented in a way that is appropriate to how very young children learn. It includes adult-directed and child selected activities and is closely monitored to ensure that your child takes advantage of the broad curriculum that is offered to them. We aim to ensure that your child has access to a positive, motivating and secure environment in which to develop their skills.

The Foundation Stage area provides stimulating, exciting and well-organised resources for your child to use and explore at their own pace. The resources are easily accessible and presented in areas, which are referred to as Continuous Provision areas.

The following Continuous Provision areas are provided:

• Role Play
• Water
• Reading Area
• Malleable/Creative
• Construction
• Writing
• Mathematics
• Small world
• Outdoor play
• Café

Play is an effective and valuable approach to learning and children put a great deal of effort into it. They often become absorbed and display high levels of concentration. Through their exploration, experimentation and discovery, various concepts are developed and formed. The curriculum is therefore planned and adapted to fit the needs, interests and learning styles of the children.

WAYS OF HELPING YOUR CHILD TO BECOME MORE INDEPENDENT  

1. Dress and undress, coping with clothes that may have become inside out.
2. Practise fastening buckles, buttons and zips.
3. Begin to use the toilet properly, be able to wipe their bottom and flush the toilet.
4. Wash and dry hands properly. Practising good hygiene.
5. Help tidy up toys after playing.
6. Recognise their full name.
7. Begin to use a knife, fork and spoon to be able to eat their school dinner.
8. Practise using manners daily, saying Please, Thank You, Excuse me.

Your child’s first task is to become independent. A class teacher may have 28 children all wanting help with dressing and undressing at the same time. This is not just a problem at P.E times, but every playtime and lunchtime.

Please bear this in mind when choosing items of clothing for your child. Always look for simple fastening, especially shoes (e.g. Velcro rather than laces).

There are so many things you can do to prepare young children for pre-school. Many things you will have been doing automatically from birth, but the next few pages give details of activities, which pre-school children particularly enjoy.

BOOKS

From a very early age, children enjoy having books – to look at themselves and to have stories read from.

• Use books with lots of pictures and discuss them – try not to just read the text and then move on to the next page. This helps your child with understanding.
• Many books produced nowadays introduce a further dimension to the idea of storytelling requiring the listener to participate (i.e. lifting flaps, pulling tabs etc.) Children particularly enjoy this activity.
• Encourage children to respect books, always turning pages carefully etc.
• Read to your child as often as possible.
• Show them how to handle books correctly.
• Join the local library.
• Look at lots of different prints/lettering within the environment.

LANGUAGE

So many opportunities arise when it is possible to extend a child’s vocabulary and understanding of our language, not only on special outings but also in the home where daily routines are carried out.

• Discuss interesting words and sounds.
• Re-tell and teach nursery rhymes and poems to your child so that he or she begins to hear words that sound the same (rhyme)
• Use television SELECTIVELY with your child and discuss programmes afterwards.

Your child may want to learn to write his/her name before they come to school. If you want to teach him/her please use small letters, not capitals (except at the beginning of the name of course e.g. Rebecca, John). Children must be shown the correct letter formation from the very beginning otherwise bad habits form.

Please see attached handwriting policy and letter formation sheet, this is the letter formation we use in school.

PHONICS

After your child has settled into pre-school, we will begin to focus on the teaching of Phase 1 phonics.

At Chantlers, we teach synthetic phonics using the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme, when ready.

NUMBER

Most parents begin preparing their children to be receptive to the concepts of number without realising it. They point out things, which are the same and therefore go together (sorting), for example, a pair of socks or two red flowers and things that match such as a cup and saucer or knife and fork. These concepts must be understood before any formal number of work can be introduced. Counting is great fun for young children but they must grasp the idea of ‘one number for one item’.

When shopping, discuss the fact that money is used to buy things but don’t worry about the value of coins at this stage. Perhaps you could save empty packets and playshops, or save used stamps and envelopes to play at Post Offices.

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES

Children adore making things however simple the task may seem to an adult.

• Provide your child with things such as paints, crayons, pens, felt-tips, chalk, pencils, and large sheets of paper, card and glue. Use these opportunities to discuss colours, shapes and patterns.
• Teach your child how to use and be sensible with scissors. E.g. how to hold the scissors when passing them to someone else.
• Show him/her how to hold a pencil.
• Experiment with clay, plasticine, sand and water. Talk about concepts such as more/less/few, empty/full, heavy/light etc.

SCIENCE

• Many daily activities can be the start of a discussion concerning scientific concepts e.g. baking, making jelly, growing plants (cress, carrot tops etc.) Talk about different seasons, the weather, animals, day/night – the list is endless!