At Chislet Church of England Primary School we believe that the Early Years are vital in setting the essential foundations for children’s life, learning and success.

Our aim is to provide warm, happy, safe and stimulating environments where all children are encouraged to develop lively minds, active, skilful bodies, confidence, independence and caring attitudes towards others and the environment. Emotional well-being and warm, caring relationships in which children can flourish are given our highest priority and are at the heart of all that we do.

Our staff are highly qualified and skilled at facilitating a wide range of enjoyable and stimulating activities and environments, through which children can learn about and build social skills, explore and experience the world around them, develop their own innate creativity and curiosity and gain new skills and understanding. Our staff pride themselves on knowing each and every child extremely well so that they can cater for their individual needs and carefully plan for playful, practical and purposeful learning opportunities.

We provide for play of many different types, both indoors and out, in open-ended, child-initiated and structured activities. This ensures that our Early Years children move on to the next stage in their learning journey with social awareness, confidence and a readiness to learn.

 

Life in Class 1

When a child enters reception, they go into Class 1, the first and smallest class in the school. With a maximum of 15 children and a good child to staff ratio, we are able to support, nurture and help develop the individual child, using their interests to enhance our curriculum and provide opportunities.

At the start of Term 1, all our children in reception receive a home visit. This gives us the opportunity to meet in an environment that is familiar to them, to chat and play and check that everyone is ready to start.

We then have a staggered entry, with the children coming part-time (mornings only) for a few days. This gradually gets lengthened so that by the third week of term everyone will be in school for a full day. 

Learning Through Play

Child Initiated Activities, often called Learning Through Play, is entirely initiated and directed by the child. The adult’s role is to observe and interact if the opportunity arises to extend learning, following the child’s interests. Children learn best when it's something a child is attracted to.  This could be a child's choice to play in a certain environment or space, with a certain toy or piece of equipment. They might want to include rubber spiders in their kitchen play area, or read in the sandpit. The possibilities are endless, and it's about them mixing things up however they like - within reason!  Adults will be responsive to the things that the child does or says, in order to keep their attention focused for an extended period of time.  The adult will plan next steps in learning and may add new resources or activities to provide opportunities for the child to deepen their learning and consolidate their skills.

Learning Through Play is a crucial part of children’s development, where children learn to make sense of the world around them. Play is one of the essential ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and skills, a fun and meaningful way to learn. It enables children to learn at their own level and pace while making connections. When they play, children develop their cognitive, physical and communication skills.

Parents as Partners

In order to achieve the highest standards for our children and for them to be happy and flourish in our care, we have to garner the support of the most important people in a child’s life – their parents and carers! Parents are a very important asset to any school and are vital to their child’s success. We know, both from experience and from research, that, where parents and carers are actively engaged in participating positively and confidently in their children’s learning and healthy development, the outcomes for children will be at their best.

We, at Chislet, are committed to establishing an effective working relationship with all of our families. We have an open-door policy, regular parent forums and offer a wide range of opportunities for parents to engage in their child’s learning and journey through school.

We offer parents the opportunity to see their child’s learning experiences in school through their Learning Log. This is their personalised record of their experiences and achievements throughout the year presented in a learning journey style.   Additionally, we use Class Dojo to allow frequent, informal communication between home and school as well as give parents updates about our day in school, known as our Class Story.  

The Foundation Stage Curriculum

Children in Reception follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. This is the same curriculum your child will have followed at their pre-school or nursery. The curriculum is separated into seven areas of learning (three Prime areas and four Specific areas).

Whilst the seven areas are separate, many are interwoven when it comes to teaching, for example, communication and language development can take place in every area. 

Teachers are also careful to ensure the 'three characteristics of effective teaching and learning' are planned for and evident across the setting:

1. Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things and 'have a go'
2. Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
3. Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

Throughout the Reception year, children are also taught about our school values (Faith, Care, Praise, Trust) and learn how these apply to their learning attitude as well as their relationships with both others and themselves. 

Assessment of the EYFS Curriculum

Throughout the Reception year children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). The ELGs set out the required standard children are expected to achieve by the time they leave Reception. The Reception team make on-going assessments of each child by observing them in their learning environment and working alongside them. Tests are not given in Reception class but 'checks' will often be used, for example, to see if your child can read certain words or count fluently.

 

Keeping You Informed of Your Child's Progress

There are three main points in the year when we will communicate with you about your child's progress.

• Term 2 - parent / teacher meeting to discuss how your child has settled and our initial impressions of their achievement

• Term 4 - parent / teacher meeting to discuss your child's progress and achievement

• Term 6 - written report detailing your child's achievements against the Early Learning Goals. For each Aspect your child will be judged as either: Emerging (working below the ELG) or Expected (working in line with the ELG)

You are welcome to come and discuss any questions you may have about your child's learning or progress at any point in the year - simply contact the school to make an appointment. 

You can find more about our EYFS on the Class 1 page.