Welcome to MRPA’s Early Years Department
Mrs Joanne Taylor, Principal
Meet the Early Years Busy Bee Team!
Mrs Emma Brennan Mrs Lisa Frost, EYFS Leader & SendCo Teacher Bumble Bees
Miss Danni Thompson Mrs Kayleigh Sheridan
Mrs Sam Wagstaff
Mrs Paula Hobin
Teacher Honey Bees
Teacher Clover Bees Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant
Mrs Mary Higginbotham Teaching Assistant
Mrs Kelsey Fenton Teaching Assistant
The Foundation Stage Curriculum
The curriculum is split into 7 areas.
Specific Areas
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design
Prime Areas of Learning
• Personal, social and emotional development.
• Physical Development
• Communication and language
Baseline & Assessment within Early Years (EYFS)
Children are assessed on entry to school to ensure that they achieve the very best progress from their starting points. To do this, teachers use the baseline judgements to plan fun and engaging activities (both indoor and outdoor) to suit each child’s learning and developmental needs.
Baseline
• All children in the United Kingdom are required to take an EYFS baseline screen (Reception aged children only).
• This is done through a series of fun and practical activities. All children, including those in Nursery, will engage in activities to assess their level of development on entry.
• The formal baseline is recorded on line and sent to the DFE.
• Remaining, school based baseline judgements will be reported to parents in the Autumn report.
Ongoing Assessment
Observational assessment through play recorded in
• Learning Journals
• Tapestry
• Working Walls
• Early Outcomes
The Busy Bee Early Years Department
All children develop at different rates and have different learning and developmental needs. In response to this, the children at Manchester Road are grouped as one holistic Early Years Department. The children from both Reception and Nursery will be grouped into the Key worker groups below.
Key Worker Groups
Your child’s key worker group will be determined following the home/setting visits and Stay and Play Sessions. The groupings are determined by a combination of factors including their developmental baseline, their age and who your child seems most comfortable with on their visits.
Clover Bees Honey Bees
Bumble Bees
What will my child’s first day look like?
• 8.45 am School gates open at where the children will line up in their key worker groups and be greeted by their teacher.
• 8.50am good morning circle time and registration.
• 9.30am continuous provision play opportunities
• 10.30am (approximate) snack time.
• 11am circle time – working on personal, social and emotional development.
• 11.45am lunch time or home time for morning only nursery children. Collection from main school office.
• 12.30pm afternoon registration and circle time. Working on personal social and emotional development.
• 1pm continuous provision play opportunities.
• 2pm circle time music and singing.
• 2.15 continuous provision play opportunities.
• 3pm circle time. Story time!
• 3.15pm Home time!
The weeks ahead
The EYFS timetable will change quickly throughout the Autumn Term. The more formal timetable can be found on our website and we strive to be working towards this by the end of Autumn half term. During the first few weeks we work on
• building relationships through play
• Spending time getting to know likes and dislikes
• Observing and assessing
• Building up attention and listening during whole group circle times (carpet sessions)
• Working on Personal, Social and Emotional Development. We do this through taught circle times using our PSHE Curriculum and the Zones of Regulation, encouraging turn taking and sharing during continuous provision.
• Modelling how to use equipment appropriately and with purpose within continuous provision.
Learning through play
Exploration is key to learning…
We aim for learning to be fun, engaging and strive for opportunities to deepen learning experiences.
Some might see mess but we see the many muscles, skills, language opportunities and much more that the children are developing within these careully planned play opportunities.
Uniform
All children in the Busy Bees Early Years Department are required to wear a uniform.
• a white shirt with collar (polo shirt for Nursery age)
• school tie
• grey trousers/skirt
• Navy blue cardigan/fleece or jumper
• Blue summer dress
• Grey or white socks
• Black shoes.
Celebrating Success!
• Learning Hero’s
Each week Learning Hero’s will be celebrated in assembly and receive a certificate to take home.
• Extraordinary Zone
Children will have the opportunity to earn a place in the Extraordinary Zone for showing any of the 4 Learning Powers. These are Resilience, Reciprocity, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness.
• 3 P’s – Pride, Positivity and Politeness.
Children can earn dojo’s & Gold Cards for demonstrating the 3 core school principles throughout the day.
• Attendance
Add reward here
How will I know how my child is doing?
• Learning Journal In these books will be adult led tasks focusing on different areas of the curriculum. This will show the range of learning the children participate in.
• Tapestry This is our online learning journal. Here we will record children’s independent learning during choosing time.
• Termly Reports Detail your child’s attainment, progress and enjoyment of the curriculum.
• Termly Parents Evenings Opportunities
key person/teacher.
• RewardSystems
How can I help prepare my child for Reception?
The DFE have identified key areas to help prepare children for ‘School Readiness’.
The following suggesttions have been adapted from Lancashire County Council’s School Readiness Campaign
Getting ready to start school - Lancashire County Council
It will help your child if they can begin to …
IndependenceSkills
• put on their coat, fasten it, take it off and hang it up
• wash and dry their hands by themselves
• go to the toilet by themselves
• use a knife and fork to feed themselves
• drink from a cup
Speakingandlistening
• It will help your child if they are able to:
• use words, objects or gestures to help them explain what they need to a grown up
• listen and follow instructions
• sit and listen for a short while, for example to a story
• tell you when they are hungry, tired or need the toilet
Interactingwithothers
• choose the toys they wish to play with and make up ideas of games to play or things to do
• watch what other children and doing and join in playing with them
• feel comfortable when you are not around and can communicate with other grown-ups and children
Transition Arrangements
At MRPA we know a comprehensive transition process supports happy and excited children starting school in September. Here are just some of the key transition opportunities being offered to EYFS pupils.
Action or Event
SEND teacher Handover
Stay and Play
Stay and Play
Date Who is involved?
3/7/23 Teachers in school
5/7/23
6/7/23
SEND meet the new teacher 12/7/23
Story Time In Reception
14/7/23
Home or setting visits Week beginning 17/7/23
End of Year Reports
Whole School Transition
Morning AM
Whole School Transition
Afternoon PM
Welcome to Early Years
Parents/Carers Meeting
17/7/23
18/7/23
19/7/23
19/7/23
New Early Years Parents and children
New Early Years Parents and children
Existing parents of children with EHCP’s and cycle 3 support plans
Year 1 teachers -Reception Pupils
New Early Years children and parents/current setting
End of year reports for existing EYFS pupils to go home to all parents/carers
All existing school children and teachers
All existing school children and teachers
Further updates can be found on the school website
Story Time in in Reception
Transition Videos and story books
21/7/23
26/7/23
All children new to EYFS in Sept 2023 and their new teachers
Year 1 teachers and Reception
Parents/carers continue to talk to children throughout July and August using the online resources about their new school class and teachers. https://mrpablogs.net/transition/
Please continue to visit the Transition page of the school website for any changes to this schedule.