Early Years (3-5 Years Old)

EYFS Core Values

Our children’s happiness is at the heart of all we do.  We know if they are happy they are learning!

Family is important to us.  The school family is one part of that but, we believe, partnering with parents to educate their children is the key to success.

Traditional values underlie everything.  ‘Consideration Always’ is our School motto and we believe showing kindness to others develops a strong and caring community.

Our Early Years Environment

Our nurturing Early Years environment enables our children to develop to be confident, thriving and autonomous learners; the first step of their Sion journey.

Early Years consists of Nursery  (3-4 year olds) and Reception (4-5 year olds), each with their own room, yet benefiting from shared areas and access to whole school facilities.

The outside space offers fantastic opportunities for children to work as a team manage risks, develop social and communication skills, problem solving and independence -all vital life skills.

Our Early Years environment extends beyond the school gate, making the most of our town centre location and our Beach School curriculum.

Our School Day

Our Nursery is open 52 weeks a year from 7.30am until 6pm. Sessions are available for either a full day or a half day.

For our Reception children, the day begins at 8.30am and ends at 3.15pm. Before the school day, children may arrive at 8am (Salisbury Road Entrance) for Morning Club and at the end of the day, there is a range of after school clubs or children can remain in our Afternoon Club until 5pm.

Our Curriculum

We follow the Early Years Framework which is a broad curriculum focusing on seven areas of learning.

The Prime Areas

• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development

Specific Areas

• Expressive Arts and Design
• Understanding of the World
• Mathematical Development
• Literacy

We know our children well and we understand how they learn.  Our environment enables children to initiate their own learning.  Our aim is to give them individual support and the spaces they need to be active learners, who can create and think critically and can play and explore.  Our careful observations of the children enable us to reflect on how we can move them on in their learning and this is demonstrated in the personalised education plans or ‘Next Steps, we regularly share with parents.

Enrichment

We relish the opportunity for the children to be immersed in the local environment: regular trips include the beach, library, markets, museums, parks and local shops.

We also like to invite visitors, including our parents, to share with us what they do at work.

Open Door

We greet our children and parents at the door at the beginning and end of each day.  Communication is key to us understanding your children and their needs. We believe this open, friendly approach reflects our passion for collaborative learning; developing our links with home helps us get to know the whole child not just the one we see at school. This is absolutely pivotal to your child’s happiness and success.

Each week, both Nursery and Reception parents receive a news sheet which contains highlights of the children’s learning.  Our aim is that the ‘news’ will instigate conversations about the children’s learning; experiences at school can be valued at home.

Nursery and Reception children invite their parents to join them in celebrating their learning at the end of every term.  In these Curriculum Celebrations children are encouraged to take responsibility for talking parents  through their work and the displays themselves, taking pride and ownership in all that they have achieved.

We offer parents consultations, regular ‘Next Steps,’ which not only identify targets in the seven areas of the curriculum but also enable us to share with you what we have observed about the way your children learn.  We also produce a report in the Summer Term.