Joining our Tiggers room may also be the first time some children have been separated from their main carer, and we wish to try and make it as easy as possible for both adults and children. Going to school can be an enormous change for a child and if they have been able to attend our pre-school, which gives good quality care as well as education, the transition to school will be that much easier.
We have a tried and tested ‘settling in’ process, which can be tailored to suit your child’s individual needs if necessary. We want your child’s first experience of Sunbeams to be positive and fun.
A Learning Space
Following on from our
Piglets room, children move into the Tiggers room where we offer dedicated spaces for co-operative and imaginative play, mark-making, construction, creative areas including roleplay, explorative messy play, small world, mathematical and literacy areas, as well as free-flow access to our wonderful outdoor studio and garden, where all areas of the curriculum are catered for.
Fascinated Learners
All children are fascinated by the world around them and soak up learning at an extraordinary rate. To be able to harness this enjoyment and facilitate it we incorporate ‘child led’ learning where we plan activities around these fascinations, therefore optimising their greatest learning opportunities. This simply means that we recognise children will learn best when they are interested in the subject. We listen and observe the children and then input the appropriate learning and knowledge into the things that interest them the most.
We have discovered that using the children’s fascinations as a basis for our planning of activities has meant that topics can go on for much longer and this encourages more children to be involved. It truly is wonderful to see.
EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage
As we are an Ofsted registered setting, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This enables us to guide children to achieve their full potential and gain a zest for learning which will continue with them throughout their school years.
Within the Every Child Matters outcomes we will endeavour to encourage children to
- Be healthy
- Be safe
- Enjoy and achieve
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve Economic Well-being
The EYFS lays out play based learning and care within a framework of four themes – A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Development. The ways in which children engage with their environment are called the characteristics of learning and there are prime and specific areas of learning which we use together to help us plan, assess and observe children’s development and progress.
we also focus on School Readiness
Alongside promoting learning achievements, we also focus on School Readiness where we prepare your child for their next journey in to Reception class at school. There are 7 skills that will support children at school, co-operating, listening and understanding, sharing, dealing independently with care needs, speaking clearly in sentences, having co-ordination and showing curiosity and enthusiasm. These are all qualities that we embed in our teaching on a daily basis and can see the positive effect it has on the children in our care.
At Sunbeams we tailor each and every child’s learning to their individual needs and abilities, ensuring they are pushed when needed and gain extra support when struggling. We start with the building blocks of learning and give them the best start in their learning to continue into formal education with good self-esteem, confidence and a curiosity to want to learn more.
Sharing With Parents
We pride ourselves on having very good relationships with parents, inviting you into the setting, taking part in our termly Parent Forums and being able to discuss together any issues or concerns that there may be. We are here to listen to you, support you and be a source of advice should you feel you need it.
We keep you up to date
We keep you up to date with your child’s learning and development through our app based tool, Evidence 4 Learning. We use iPads to document your child’s progress with photos and annotation. This is then uploaded using the Teacher Cloud, which we update every half term for you to securely download or print. It also gives you the opportunity to comment on your child’s achievements and let us know what you are doing at home. It is always lovely to hear what the children get up to when they are not with us!
Twice a year we hold a parents evening, inviting you into the setting to talk about your child’s development.
We also update the information on the boards outside each classrooms door to illustrate the what activities the children have been doing that day, this gives you the chance to initiate a conversation with your child rather than just asking, “What have you done today?”
