top of page

Early Years at Blackmoor Infants and Kindergarten

The Early Years Foundation Stage comprises of Baby Room 0-2's, Toddler Room 2-3's, Kindergarten 3+ Class (Breakfast, Morning, Afternoon and After School Sessions) and three Reception Classes.

 

We believe that your child's first years in life are extremely important and we strive to develop their potential through a stimulating, multi-sensory, broad and balanced curriculum. In this stage your child will learn through play, as we nurture and develop the skills they need to become a life long learner. Your child is given many opportunities to: talk, observe, plan, question, test, reflect and respond. They are encouraged to do so independently, with their class mates, or with adults.

 

We foster strong partnerships with parents, as we believe good links with home have a powerful influence on your child's development. We know that children feel more confident and positive about their learning when we work together, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation. We look forward to developing this partnership with you and trust you will feel happy to communicate with us about your child at any time.

 

We will be posting lots of information about what's happening in school. We'll have planning to show all the fun things your child gets up to, with lots of photos so that they don't have to remember all the details to tell you themselves!

Early Years - Curriculum 

At Blackmoor Park Infant School and Kindergarten we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. This document sets out the curriculum expectations for children from 0-5 years. It is designed to ensure that “children learn and develop well, they are kept healthy and safe and have the knowledge and skills they need to start school.” (DfE 2014)

 

This framework is divided into 3 sections:

 

  • Characteristics of Learning

  • 3 prime areas of learning

  • 4 specific areas of learning

 

Characteristics of effective Learning:

 

Playing and exploring, which is about finding out and exploring, playing with what they know and being willing to ‘have a go’.

 

Active Learning, which is about being involved and concentrating, persevering and enjoying achieving, what they set out to do.

 

Creating and thinking critically, which is about having their own ideas, making links and choosing ways to do things.

 

Prime Areas of Learning and Development:

 

Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations. 

 

Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food. 

 

Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. 

 

Specific Areas of Learning and Development:

 

Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest. 

 

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures. 

 

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. 

 

Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology. 

 

The curriculum we follow will ensure that over the course of each week children will access all areas of learning. Our plans for learning are based on the needs and interests of the children in our class and around seasonal events. The class weekly newsletter provides details of planned experiences and activities along with ideas for things to do at home. The website and foyer display screen will be regularly updated with photos to illustrate the learning opportunities experiences the children have experienced at nursery.

bottom of page