Early Years

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of six areas of Learning and Development. All areas of Learning and Development are connected to one another and are equally important.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) covers 3 areas of development:
Dispositions and Attitudes (D&A) – this looks at aspects of a child’s confidence, ability to manage their own personal hygiene and their clothing, their levels of motivation, interest and their concentration and attention skills and their involvement and perseverance in both self chosen and adult directed activities. 
Social Development (SD) – covers aspects of their relationships with adults and peers, their ability to understand rules and codes of behavior, including sharing and taking turns, their understanding, awareness and respect of difference, in terms of culture and beliefs, but also needs, ideas and opinions.
Emotional Development (ED) – is concerned with all aspects of self: self awareness; self identity; self control; self confidence and self esteem combined with the ability to express feelings, views and needs appropriately. It also covers respect and understanding of their own way of life, their beliefs and views and also of other people’s culture, views and beliefs. It also looks at their understanding of the consequences of their own words and actions and basic understanding of right and wrong.

Communication, Language and Literacy (CLL) covers 4 areas of development:

Language for Communication and Thinking (LCT) – this looks at speaking and listening – listening confidently in a range of contexts, and then using language to communicate with others, to clarify and sequence thinking, to negotiate, in role play and in conversation, understanding their ‘audience’ and giving the information required using appropriate vocabulary.
Linking Sounds to Letters (LSL) – phonics and ability to apply the knowledge to read and spell.
Reading (R) – this includes ‘decoding’ and understanding print together with a knowledge of how stories and information texts work and also retelling and using story language.
Writing (W) – moves through ‘mark making’ towards applying reading and phonic skills and letter formation and punctuation towards an understanding of the use of different written forms to communicate meaning in writing.

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy (PSRN) covers 3 aspects of mathematics, all of which include the application of mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems:
Numbers as Labels for Counting  (NLC) – counting, recognising and ordering numerals and understanding the meaning of numbers.
Calculating (C) – looks at the development of an awareness of the relationship between numbers and amounts, adding together and taking away and comparison of numbers.
Shape, Space and Measure (SSM) – develops ideas about 2D and 3D shapes and their properties, about size and amounts, patterns and positional language and the development of appropriate vocabulary to describe all of these.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World (KUW) covers a variety of aspects: exploration and investigation of objects, materials, their properties, patterns and change and similarities and differences and how things work; designing and making looks at the construction process, tools and techniques used to assemble materials safely and creatively; ICT is about information technology and programmable toys supporting their learning; time looks at how children find out about past and present events, relevant to their own lives and families; place is about becoming aware of the natural world and their local area and knowing what they like and dislike; communities explores how children begin to know about their own and other people’s cultures to understand and celebrate those similarities and differences.

Physical Development (PD) is made up of Movement and Space, Health and Bodily Awareness and Using Equipment and Materials.

Creative Development (CD) looks at Being Creative – Responding to Experiences, Expressing and Communicating Ideas which is about how children respond to what they see, hear, smell, touch or feel and how as a result they express and communicate their own ideas, thoughts and feelings; Exploring Media and Materials covers children’s independent and guided exploration of a wide range of media and materials; Creating Music and Dance looks at guided and independent exploration of sound, music and movement; Developing Imagination and Imaginative Play is how children are supported to develop and build their imagination through stories, role plays, imaginative play, dance, music, design and art.

Skills for school

Overview

To make reading easier, we have used ‘she’ for all children.

When your child is starting school you will want her to be able to make the best use of her time there. Here are some things you can do to help before actually starting school.

Remember that all children develop at different rates and will start school with varying levels of skills and achievements.

Don’t be alarmed if your child seems to be ‘behind’ others, just keep encouraging and helping with some of the things suggested here.

To get the best out of time in school, your child needs to have developed certain skills. These will help your child to:

• feel happy with a range of different people
• be confident about working or playing as part of a group
• learn to read, to write and to handle numbers.

In order to be happy with a range of different people your child has to have a certain level of self confidence. She needs to know that she is valued and an important person. Being able to complete certain tasks alone will help your child to feel good about herself.

Being independent

Try saying things like “I’m sure you can put this T-shirt on yourself”. Then say “Well done, I knew you could”. Let your child see that you believe in her, that you have confidence in her abilities and then praise all attempts. Refer to these new skills when you can. When you next see Gran, tell her all about what she can now do, in front of your child. Don’t try this method when she is unwell or tired. Do try it when she is in a positive mood and make sure you set a task that you really do know she can achieve. She must be able to succeed.

Use this approach to encourage independent skills such as

• getting dressed and undressed by herself
• going to the toilet and hand washing afterwards
• using a knife and fork
• eating food in a socially acceptable manner
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Being part of a group

Many activities in school are carried out in groups. Some will be the whole class, but most will be in groups of four to six children sharing an activity, and one adult. Your child needs to have experience of being part of a group. If she goes to nursery or playgroup this is usually a skill she will have developed there. However, some children are used to the undivided attention of an adult. This cannot always happen in school where there are 29 other children. If you feel this may be difficult for your child you will need to plan some experiences for her.

• Play a game as a family, and don’t let her win every time. She needs to know that others can win and how to react. She needs to see how you react when someone else wins, so that she learns how to enjoy someone else’s success.
• Play games where she has to take her turn. Made sure that she is not always first to go or the first to choose. Life includes times when we cannot have our own way and this is a lesson best learned early. Counter this with times when she gets to choose and times when she has first go. Make sure she helps to tidy toys and games away. Use these ideas to develop social skills such as

responding to adults and children politely, in actions and in words taking turns when playing with other children tidying away when she has completed and activity or at the end of the day.

Preparing for school

School is also to do with learning in an academic sense. There are certain skills which she must have first if she is to be able to take a full part in this.

Writing

Before your child starts using pencils and pens to write, she needs lots of opportunities to develop the skills required to do so (called fine motor skills). Give her opportunities to ‘write’ with her fingers in the sand and on different surfaces, to feel and trace the shapes of letters that have been cut out of different materials (for example, sandpaper).

Have a name label on her bedroom door. You can make one on a piece of paper or a scrap of wood, using felt tip pens or some leftover paint. Write it in small (lower case) letters with a capital only for the first letter. Children ‘read’ the pattern of a word at first and block capital writing makes every word into a rectangle.

Write her name on drawings before hanging them up, so that she sees her name. Let her trace over it or try it on her own. If she has a long name encourage her to learn it a little at a time. Felt tips flow more smoothly than others and are good one to use to start with. Check how she is holding the pen – she should be holding it correctly – it can be difficult to change bad habits later.

Provide paper and colouring equipment and encourage your child to use them. Boys often need more encouragement than girls. Try making up stories as you share the drawing. For example, “Here’s a tall, thin man. Oh look, he’s got a little brown dog with him. Can you draw a ball for the little dog to fetch?” and so on.

Concentrating on a task and finishing it

Praise her for completing tasks, such as a jigsaw or a colouring book picture. If she stops before she finishes, and it won’t take long to actually finish it, encourage her to complete it, helping yourself if necessary. Try not to put her under too much pressure however.

Following instructions

When you ask her to do something, only give one instruction at a time. When she can follow it perfectly, give her two instructions at a time, and so on. Remember that children are all at different stages of development – even those whose birthdays may be close together – and what is easy for some may still be too difficult for others. Keep encouraging your child and praise her when she succeeds.

Listening

Children need to be good listeners in school, as they will need to listen to their teachers for extended amounts of time.
When you are speaking to her, make sure that she is looking at you. Giving ‘eye contact’ is a powerful social skill. We all need to do it. Watch people when you are out. Good listeners keep looking at the speaker. When you are speaking ask your child to look at you. Hold her gaze by looking back at her. Give her positive signals and a warm smile.
Building up her listening stamina as you share stories. Set a good example and she will copy you.

How to help your child make a good start

Overview

Remember what it is like to start a new job or move to a new area. Some things can be quite worrying and others can seem quite exciting. That is probably something like the feelings in your child’s mind as she approaches starting school. The following information is a reminder of the things that can become worries for your children, so that you can deal with them before this happens and help your child to make a confident and enjoyable start to school.

“Will they know who I am?”

Explain that the EYFS staff are expecting her and looking forward to seeing her in September. Her name will be on a card for her to ‘self register’ in the morning and her name will be next to a coat hook, on her book bag, on her Learning Journal and on a special drawer or tray. Make sure she can recognise her name and can respond to adults in a polite way.

“Where will you be?”

If your child is used to pre-school this may not cause much concern. However, it is still worth reassuring your child about what other members of the family will be doing whilst she is at school.

Reassure her that you will be coming back to collect her at the agreed time and show her, and talk about, where you will be waiting.

Before your child starts school you will complete the form with your contact details. Explain what you are doing. Let her know that the school knows where you are and can phone you if necessary. Don’t overplay this however, as you don’t want her to link school with feeling ill or having accidents. You just want her to feel that you are not out of reach.

At the end of the day

Ask her how she has been and if she has had fun. If you ask what she has done, you are most likely to be told “I can’t remember” or “I played”. Respond positively to any concerns she has and make sure she has understood what has happened or what the adults meant when they said something.

“What happens if I want to go to the toilet?”

Remind her where the toilets are (and look at her “photo booklet”) and explain that she needs to ask so that the teachers know where she is. Make sure she knows how to wash her hands afterwards.

Make sure she can see to her own personal hygiene. Remind her that if she gets into difficulties, has an accident or is unwell, then she should ask for help. Remind her of the need for personal privacy. If anyone does anything that makes her feel uncomfortable, then she should tell an adult.

“Can you come to school too?”

Be firm about this. School is a special place for her and the other children. Explain how you will come in with her and make sure all of her things are safely stored away. You will make sure the adults know she is there and then you will be leaving. Don’t drag out this time of parting. Hand her over to staff in a positive way. Let her see that you are not worried about leaving her there, to help her feel this is a place where she will be safe. The staff are experienced in handling children who find this a difficult moment and she will have things to distract her and she will soon be settled. The school will always contact you if they need to, so during the day remember you are probably worrying more about your child than she is – she will be thoroughly enjoying herself!

If she does get distressed the staff have ways to help you and your child overcome this. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and take the school’s advice. They have seen this and dealt with it before.

“What will I do when I stay for lunch?”

If school lunch is the option you prefer, remind your child about choosing something hot to eat which she will place on the tray. Make sure she can use a knife and fork and tell her how to ask for help.

If you prefer to give your child a packed lunch, make sure she knows exactly what her lunchbox looks like and that it has her name on it (there are usually several of the same design and colour). Go through the food that is in it and check she can open things. A box or foil wrapping is much easier to open than cling film. Practise having lunch together using their school lunchbox at home. Remind her that there are Midday Meal Supervisors who will help her.

“What is a PD bag for?”

Explain about playing with bats and balls, dancing and using large equipment in the school hall. Show her the special clothes for this and how she will keep them in this special bag which she will keep on her peg. Talk about the need to get changed for these activities as she will get hot. Compare her with a famous sportsperson wearing a strip or special clothes. Makes sure she can manage to put on and take off her plimsolls or trainers independently.

Coat hooks

Her name and photograph will show her which hook or peg is for her. Make sure she can use the tag inside her coat and that her PD bag has a simple drawstring so that it doesn’t fill all the space on her hook and make her coat fall off.

Uniform

Let your child practise wearing her new uniform, becoming familiar with how it goes on and fastens up. If she has a new coat, help her get used to what it looks like – at the end of a tiring school day, many forget and look for an old, familiar one. Mark all her clothes clearly with her name and show her where the names are and check them occasionally for any fading.

To sum up

By helping your child know what to expect, you will help her enjoy the new experience. Be positive about this new and exciting step in her life and enjoy it with your child.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

This term we have based our learning around a theme called “Let’s Pretend” and we have been thinking about traditional tales and their characters.

We were lucky enough to have Magic Box Theatre visit us to show us their version of “The Three Little Pigs” using glove, stick and shadow puppets and songs and rhymes. We wanted to make our own puppets to retell stories and we dressed up to pretend to be some of the characters we had learned about.

We wanted to try to make a house of bricks too but found we needed to make the sand quite wet to use as ‘mortar’ for our wooden blocks.

At the beginning of February we learned about Chinese New Year and how children celebrate. We made small dragons with concertina bodies and gold scary faces and then made a large one, with a hand painted body, which we took around the school, accompanied by percussion instruments, to scare bad luck away and then wished everyone happy new year. We all tried some Chinese food too – but we found using chopsticks rather tricky.

Next Term we will be learning about “Growing - Plants and Flowers” and in Term 5 we will visit a farm to learn more about “Animals” and “Changes”.

We change our books on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (or more often if we want to) and we hand in our Home Reading Record Cards on Mondays and collect them back on Tuesday mornings.

Ruby Class has a PD (Physical Development) session in the school hall on Tuesdays, when we need to change into our PD clothes, and Sapphire Class does the same on Wednesday mornings. We do need to make sure that any earrings have been taken out on those days, but since we like to do lots of climbing, running and energetic play outside everyday it is safer if we do not wear earrings to school at all, if possible.

We all love to play outside using our wonderful new Outdoor Area, whatever the weather, and we have found it much easier to have fun if we have ‘wellies’ and wet weather suits in school and spare clothes to change into, if necessary.

Reception – September 2011

Uniform and clothing list

• outdoor coat (warm in cold weather, waterproof all year) with a hood
• white T-shirt or polo shirt (with or without school emblem)
• grey trousers/skirt, black jogging bottoms or grey shorts
• blue gingham summer dress (optional)
• “Cage Green” maroon sweatshirt or cardigan (boys and girls)
• Wellington boots
• All-in-one all weather suit (available from the school office @ £9)
• Spare change of clothes (including knickers/pants and socks)
• “Cage Green” maroon reversible fleece/waterproof jacket (optional)

PD (Physical Development) Kit in a drawstring bag

• Blue/black shorts
• Trainers/plimsolls
• T-shirt in House Team colour   Red- Ightham
• Blue- Chiddingstone
• Green – Hever
• Penshurst – Yellow

Details of your child’s House Team will be available at the Parents’ Evening 

• Water bottle
• Book Bag – provided by the PTA in the colour of your child’s House Team

We encourage a developing independence in the children. Their clothes are their responsibility and they will have a bag, peg and drawer to keep things safe.

 

AMETHYST CLASS:

Working together to make a 'pumpkin head' - one of our harvest songs.
Using 2D shapes to make picturers with a partner..
Amethyst girls sharing a book together.	Enjoying water play in our Outdoor Area.	There are opportunitities for drawing and writing outside the classroom too..
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