Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception, Ages 3-5)

The Foundation Stage is a distinct stage of education for children aged up to five years old. Within our setting, the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum consists of six key areas of learning that underlie our daily activities. These are:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

None of these areas of learning and development can be delivered in isolation from the others. They are equally important and depend on each other to support a rounded approach to child development. All the areas must be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

Four key themes are integral to our early years practice:

• Every child is unique
• Positive relationships allow strong and independent learners to be created
• Enabling learning environments support and extend children’s learning
• Children’s learning and development occur in different ways and at different rates

A copy of our full Foundation Stage Curriculum is available upon request from the Pre Prep Secretary.

Our Foundation Stage comprises one Nursery and four Reception classes. Each class teacher is fully supported by highly qualified teaching assistants. Our children learn through experiences that are planned collaboratively and always include weekly swimming, music, PE, dance and outdoor learning activities.

We also take the children on educational trips to places such as Wroxham Barns, the Dinosaur Park, Norwich Castle Museum, Norwich Playhouse, the Sainsbury Centre and Cromer seafront.

Special events to which all parents are invited include the class assemblies led by the children, the Christmas plays, the Carol Service at the local church and the special ‘Sports Afternoons’ held in the summer term.

As each term unfolds learning is fostered and developed through a variety of adult-directed and free-choice activities.