Welcome to our Early Years Foundation Stage Class Page!

Here you will discover all the exciting fun we have learning! We hope you enjoy finding out all about us.

We are very proud of our EYFS department and really enjoy coming to school. We have three classes called Dormice, Badgers and Moles. Our Dormice class is for Nursery and Reception aged children and is taught by Mrs Craigs. Our Badgers Class is for Reception children and is taught by Mrs Garner and the Moles Class also has Reception aged children and is taught by Mrs Coomber and Mrs Clarke. Ably supporting us are Mrs Elvin, Mrs Shinn, Miss Parrot, Mrs Taylor, Mrs Janney and Mrs Ross, not forgetting the latest edition to our team, our Guinea Pig. A strength of our team is the positive relationships we build up between children, families and staff.

Our play-based curriculum is built on the seven areas of learning. The characteristics of effective teaching and learning make sure that we learn in a ‘hands on’, investigative and busy way, to help us reach our full potential and aim to achieve the early learning goals by the end of Reception.

‘In the Moment’ planning underpins the learning for the youngest children, where our practitioners go to wherever a child is learning, then listens, watches and waits. During this time, our adults will plan how, or if, to respond, observing the child carefully to look for the ‘teachable moment’ to see how best to support the child and move their learning on, there and then. This ensures that the child is developing through their own interests and choice of play and at a level appropriate just for them.

When ready, we then move on to an Objective Led Planning approach to support the child’s learning journey. Objectives from the EYFS curriculum are added to planning as the next steps. Working this way challenges, targets and supports children’s individual needs. With clear objectives in our heads and an understanding of where each child is in their learning journey, staff engage with a child or group of children introducing the objective as naturally as possible. If the child is engaged and learning is meaningful, then staff will not push the objective and will note the learning they see whilst looking for opportunities to promote appropriate extension. Observations and assessments then help to inform the next steps for each child’s learning.

Our environments are crucial to our learning and we are very lucky to have four inside spaces to learn in as well as a fabulous Outside Classroom that includes a mini stage, mud kitchen, climbing frame and a wooded area, where we explore, imagine, create and take risks whilst playing with activities such as messy play, reading, mark making and designing, making our own music and dance as well as highly entertaining role play!

Dive in and see what we have been up to… you won’t be able to resist joining in with us!