Foundation - Mrs Kurnatowski
Welcome to our Foundation Class!
Here in the Foundation Stage we aim to develop a love of learning, perseverance to problem solving and all around confidence and skill in the areas of learning.
There are Seven Areas of learning and four Characteristics of Effective Learning which we teach through play and directed "carpet" times. We use Tapestry to create learning journeys we can share with parents alongside our scrapbooks which document the children's progress throughout the year.
Here in the Foundation Stage we aim to develop a love of learning, perseverance to problem solving and all around confidence and skill in the areas of learning.
There are Seven Areas of learning and four Characteristics of Effective Learning which we teach through play and directed "carpet" times. We use Tapestry to create learning journeys we can share with parents alongside our scrapbooks which document the children's progress throughout the year.
- PE is on a Wednesday please make sure a named PE kit is in school.
- Forest School is on Friday please make sure named boots are in school.
We are learning about...
School routines, our local environment and our families.
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Learning Through Play
In the foundation stage we learn through play. The play is planned using a combination of Objective Led Planning, Long and Medium Term planning and "In the moment" to meet individual needs, interests and to provide the children with the next steps they need in their learning. We encourage parents to let us know what the children are interested in before they start school in September so we can tailor make the classroom to the cohorts needs. As such our learning spaces are very flexible and include the outside area, school field, wildlife area and the local community.
Curriculum
As stated above the activities and play experiences we offer are child led but we use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Development Matters and Early Learning Goals to guide our objectives and ensure progression throughout the year. We closely follow the recommendations within the EYFS and have adopted many aspects of best practice from a range of settings, research based evidence and what we know about our children. Therefore we place a high importance on the prime aspects of development: Communication and Language, Personal Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development. The other areas of learning are balanced throughout the timetable and these include Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts. We like to offer our children chance to experience the world around them so include celebrations from the Christian calendar as well as from other religions around the world. The children also benefit from discrete PE lessons once a week taught by Mr Hanford, RE sessions taught by Mrs Mills and French sessions taught by Mrs O'Neill. Early on in the year we group the children into keyworker groups to ensure we can gain the most accurate picture of what each individual child needs next to further their learning each day.
Direct Teaching
Each day the children experience direct teaching sessions for Literacy, Mathematics, Phonics in addition to story times. These short blasts of input are followed by real play scenarios for the children to practise the skills they have just learnt. Other discrete sessions throughout the week include circle time, forest school, Makaton, awe and wonder, music, singing and yoga.
Literacy
Here we learn all about our wonderful world through stories and information books. We learn to rhyme, read, write, tell stories and develop our vocabularies. The skills we learn about during direct teaching we practise in lots of exciting and real play situations.
Mathematics
In our daily Maths sessions we always begin with counting forwards, backwards, in patterns and from any given number. We cover concepts such as more and less, adding and subtracting, numeral recognition, place value, doubles, halves, sharing numbers, grouping, writing numerals, ordering numbers, measuring, weighing and patterns. After the direct teach the children have the opportunity to apply the skills in various problem solving situations. We use the materials from The White Rose scheme to teach a mastery curriculum.
Phonics
Phonics is how we teach children to read and write. We teach the sounds of the letters (not the names) so that then children can build words and segment words they hear to write them down. We use the scheme Letters and Sounds to teach direct and discrete phonics sessions to the whole class.
Reading
At the beginning of the year children will take home an individual reading book so that parents can be involved in the joyous journey of their child learning to read and get some extra practise. These books will be changed once a week to ensure the children develop fluency in their reading. The children will be heard read individually in a high quality teaching reading session once a week. When ready children will take part in guided reading sessions with the class teacher which will focus on putting their phonics and literacy skills into practice. Guided reading also offers lots of opportunities to develop comprehension, vocabulary and language development in a group structure. Our reading books are based on and follow the phonics progression, meaning children can be successful and confident when tackling new books.
Assessment
We assess the children through observations which occur all day every day which lead us to alter and adapt our planning and play. We are able to take photos, make notes and collect evidence which shows progress through the Development Matters points towards, and maybe beyond, the Early Learning Goals. We collect evidence for each child in a Learning Journey which is made up of Tapestry and physical evidence in their books. We work closely and regularly with other local schools to moderate our judgements made against the Development Matters points and Early Learning Goals.
Tapestry
Our families enjoy seeing what their children are doing through our online learning journey, Tapestry. All adults in the class add pictures and videos demonstrating next steps in learning so parents can see what their children are learning about and how much fun we have learning! Parents are also encouraged to upload photos and videos of their children which we add into their Learning Journeys. It is a safe and secure area and only parents with children in our Foundation Stage class can see what their children are doing.
We will also be using Tapestry to send home learning tasks. Please make sure you check the account for updates.
In the foundation stage we learn through play. The play is planned using a combination of Objective Led Planning, Long and Medium Term planning and "In the moment" to meet individual needs, interests and to provide the children with the next steps they need in their learning. We encourage parents to let us know what the children are interested in before they start school in September so we can tailor make the classroom to the cohorts needs. As such our learning spaces are very flexible and include the outside area, school field, wildlife area and the local community.
Curriculum
As stated above the activities and play experiences we offer are child led but we use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Development Matters and Early Learning Goals to guide our objectives and ensure progression throughout the year. We closely follow the recommendations within the EYFS and have adopted many aspects of best practice from a range of settings, research based evidence and what we know about our children. Therefore we place a high importance on the prime aspects of development: Communication and Language, Personal Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development. The other areas of learning are balanced throughout the timetable and these include Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts. We like to offer our children chance to experience the world around them so include celebrations from the Christian calendar as well as from other religions around the world. The children also benefit from discrete PE lessons once a week taught by Mr Hanford, RE sessions taught by Mrs Mills and French sessions taught by Mrs O'Neill. Early on in the year we group the children into keyworker groups to ensure we can gain the most accurate picture of what each individual child needs next to further their learning each day.
Direct Teaching
Each day the children experience direct teaching sessions for Literacy, Mathematics, Phonics in addition to story times. These short blasts of input are followed by real play scenarios for the children to practise the skills they have just learnt. Other discrete sessions throughout the week include circle time, forest school, Makaton, awe and wonder, music, singing and yoga.
Literacy
Here we learn all about our wonderful world through stories and information books. We learn to rhyme, read, write, tell stories and develop our vocabularies. The skills we learn about during direct teaching we practise in lots of exciting and real play situations.
Mathematics
In our daily Maths sessions we always begin with counting forwards, backwards, in patterns and from any given number. We cover concepts such as more and less, adding and subtracting, numeral recognition, place value, doubles, halves, sharing numbers, grouping, writing numerals, ordering numbers, measuring, weighing and patterns. After the direct teach the children have the opportunity to apply the skills in various problem solving situations. We use the materials from The White Rose scheme to teach a mastery curriculum.
Phonics
Phonics is how we teach children to read and write. We teach the sounds of the letters (not the names) so that then children can build words and segment words they hear to write them down. We use the scheme Letters and Sounds to teach direct and discrete phonics sessions to the whole class.
Reading
At the beginning of the year children will take home an individual reading book so that parents can be involved in the joyous journey of their child learning to read and get some extra practise. These books will be changed once a week to ensure the children develop fluency in their reading. The children will be heard read individually in a high quality teaching reading session once a week. When ready children will take part in guided reading sessions with the class teacher which will focus on putting their phonics and literacy skills into practice. Guided reading also offers lots of opportunities to develop comprehension, vocabulary and language development in a group structure. Our reading books are based on and follow the phonics progression, meaning children can be successful and confident when tackling new books.
Assessment
We assess the children through observations which occur all day every day which lead us to alter and adapt our planning and play. We are able to take photos, make notes and collect evidence which shows progress through the Development Matters points towards, and maybe beyond, the Early Learning Goals. We collect evidence for each child in a Learning Journey which is made up of Tapestry and physical evidence in their books. We work closely and regularly with other local schools to moderate our judgements made against the Development Matters points and Early Learning Goals.
Tapestry
Our families enjoy seeing what their children are doing through our online learning journey, Tapestry. All adults in the class add pictures and videos demonstrating next steps in learning so parents can see what their children are learning about and how much fun we have learning! Parents are also encouraged to upload photos and videos of their children which we add into their Learning Journeys. It is a safe and secure area and only parents with children in our Foundation Stage class can see what their children are doing.
We will also be using Tapestry to send home learning tasks. Please make sure you check the account for updates.
