Foundation Stage
The Foundation Stage begins at the age of 3. Children will
enter Gateway Nursery at the age of 3 1/2 and remain within
the Foundation Stage until they reach 5. This stage
incorporates both the Nursery and Reception years and runs
into the beginning of Year 1, providing a continuous
learning environment which enables the children to develop a
solid base for their education.
Nursery
The children in the nursery can be full time or part time.
We have two part-time sessions; the am session which
runs from 9am until 11.30am, and the pm session
which begins at 12.30pm until 3.20pm. A number of children
stay for the whole day.
For young children their first experiences at school are
extremely important in developing positive attitudes to
learning. The Nursery is often their first contact with the
world outside their home and we aim to enable children to
become independent, confident and self-motivated.
Before your child starts Nursery
Parents are invited to visit the nursery before their child
attends. During this visit parents will meet their child's teacher
and the Nursery staff and have the opportunity to ask any questions
as they take the time to look around the nursery setting and get an
idea about the environment.
The Settling-in Period
Some children feel very confident on their first day at Nursery,
whilst other children will need more time to settle and feel happy.
We encourage parents to stay with their child until he or she is
more settles and ready to participate in the Nursery activities. We
feel this also gives parents a chance to see the workings of our
Nursery.
Even when your child is settled, parents are more than welcome to
spend time in the Nursery. We believe that parent involvement helps
to create a secure, positive and caring environment for the
children.
Reception
There are three
Reception Classes. Each class has a full time teacher and
teaching assistant, two support teachers work between the
three classes supporting children in all aspects of the
curriculum. Some of their time is spent on children who are
very able and children with special educational needs. All
support staff work with class teachers to ensure that all the
children's needs are met.
The Foundation Stage Curriculum is divided into 6 main
areas:
These six areas are taught through a cross curricula
approach to enable the children to grow as independent and
confident learners. It is very important to us that at this
stage of a child's development activities are based around
play, this is a key way that children learn with enjoyment and challenge during the Foundation Stage.
Learning takes place through child initiated and adult directed
activities.
Parents
and Carers
Parents and teachers work together in the Foundation Stage to
ensure a positive impact on the child's development and learning. At
Gateway we value parents knowledge and views and try to build strong
and positive links between home and school ensuring that learning
flows from classroom, to home, and back again.
If you want to help your child at home the best things you can do
are:
1. Speak to them - in your home language or in English (whichever
is most appropriate), talking to your child is the best way of
developing their language, thinking and learning skills.
2. Read with your child - try to find 10 minutes every day to sit
quietly and share a story.
3. Letter / number spot - look out for numbers, letters and
opportunities to count with your child in the environment.
If you want to see some of the work that goes on, then take
a look at our class
blogs - Cherry,
Amber, Purple and Nursery.
