Foundation

Welcome to Foundation!

 

At our school, the Foundation Stage (Reception Year) is a warm, welcoming, and exciting place where children begin their learning journey. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which focuses on developing the whole child through play, exploration, and discovery.

What We Learn in Foundation

Our curriculum is built around seven key areas of learning, divided into Prime Areas and Specific Areas:

Prime Areas of Learning

These are the building blocks for all future learning:

• Communication and Language
  Children develop speaking and listening skills through stories, songs, role-play, and conversations.

• Physical Development
  We support both fine motor skills (like writing and cutting) and gross motor skills (like climbing and balancing), while also learning about health and self-care.

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  Children learn to build friendships, manage emotions, and develop independence and confidence.

Specific Areas of Learning

These areas introduce more structured learning experiences:

• Literacy
  Through phonics, children begin to read and write simple words and sentences, and enjoy a wide range of books.

• Mathematics
  We explore numbers, counting, shapes, patterns, and simple problem-solving through hands-on activities.

• Understanding the World
  Children learn about their environment, different cultures, nature, and technology through real-world experiences and exploration.

• Expressive Arts and Design
  Creativity is encouraged through art, music, dance, role-play, and imaginative storytelling.

Our Approach to learning

Learning in Foundation is play-based, with a balance of child-led and adult-guided activities. Our classrooms and outdoor spaces are designed to spark curiosity and creativity. Teachers observe and support each child’s development, helping them grow in confidence and independence.

We value strong partnerships with parents and carers. Regular updates, workshops, and open communication help us support your child’s learning journey together.

My Day in Foundation 

The doors open to the Foundation classroom at 08.35am. I need to hang up my coat, put my packed lunch (if I have one), drinks bottle and book bag away. My teacher will be in the class ready to find out what I would like to have for lunch. 

There will be a different person every day who will take the register to the office and change our days of the week and weather card. After that, we all sit together for Read Write Inc. (phonics) and it is lots of fun. 

After phonics, it is “Busy Time.” I can work in the classroom, the patio or outside in the garden. There are lots of fun activities and challenges to choose from. I can work with my friends, on my own or with an adult. All of the adults are learning partners during Busy Time so they can help to develop skills. 

Outside there are large construction resources, water, mud kitchen, sand, messy play, physical equipment and bikes.  In the classroom there is a home corner, paint & create station, play dough area, reading area, construction, small world, writing area and maths area. There is a snack station and I can serve myself fruit and a drink and make healthy snacks.

Next, it is time to sit together to learn about our class story by either reading a book or helping our teacher to do some writing. Then we work in a small group with an adult to learn specific skills. In the morning, these skills are literacy based. We might be talking, reading, writing, playing a phonic game, handwriting or improving our fine motor skills.    

Before lunch, we listen to a story, chosen by our line leader and then do a Squiggle as you Wiggle or Dough Disco. This is where we learn actions to music to help us with our physical development. Then it is time to wash our hands ready to eat our lunch in the hall with our friends.  Our teacher and meal time assistants make sure we eat plenty of our lunch and have a drink before we go out in the playground. Our meal time assistants play with us and make sure we have a happy playtime.  

After lunchtime play, we come together as a class and do some maths activities. We sing counting songs; learn numbers and how to solve problems. Then we have a group time again with a maths focus. We then spend the afternoon working in “Busy Time” as we did in the morning.

Then we sit on the carpet, listen to a story, sing songs and talk about what a busy day we have had. At 3.10pm we say goodbye and go home. 

Important information:

• Our PE day is Wednesday.  The children will need to wear PE kit to school on a Wednesday, they will not need to get changed back into their school uniform.
• Library books and reading books will be changed on a Thursday.
• Please provide your child with a full change of clothes to keep on their peg in school in case they have an accident or get messy while playing; this will need to include a top, bottoms, socks, underwear, jumper.