Early Years Stage
As part of our appreciation for the arts, the Early Years classes are named after artists. The Nursery class is named after Anish Kapoor, and the two Reception classes are named after Paul Klee and Barbara Hepworth.
Nursery
Anish Kapoor (born 12.3.1954 – to the present day) is a British-Indian sculptor. He created the Arcelor Mittal Orbit, a very tall observation tower in the Olympic Park. In the Nursery, we spend time in the first term creating sculptures, inspired by Anish Kapoor.
Reception
Early Years Curriculum
The Early Years Curriculum for Nursery and Reception follows the principles and objectives set out in Development Matters and Early Years Outcomes. Please see the Mayflower Early Years policy which goes through the structure of the day and the curriculum more thoroughly. Further information is available on the Foundation Years website. There is also the Parents’ Guide to the EYFS document which goes through the Early Years in detail.
How Your Child Will Learn
Your child will develop through four principles:
- The Unique Child – your child will be valued and their self esteem built and nurtured. They are seen as capable individuals able to learn, adapt and be resilient.
- Positive Relationships – your child will learn through having warm, nurturing relationships with the school professionals
- Enabling Environments – both the indoor and outdoor classrooms will help your child to learn
- Learning & development – the children will follow an early years curriculum which will allow them to develop the characteristics of effective learning. These characteristics include, being able to explore and be engaged in their learning, persevere with challenges, and be creative and think critically.
What They Will Learn:
The Seven Areas: The Prime Areas which lay the foundations for all other learning:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Self Control & Awareness, Managing Feelings & Behaviour, Making Relationships
- Communication & Language – Listening & Attention, Understanding, Speaking
- Physical Development – Moving & Handling, Health & Self Care
Then there are the Specific Areas:
Literacy – Reading & Writing
Mathematics – Numbers & Shape, Space & Measures
Understanding the World – People & Communities The World, Technology
Expressive Arts & Design – Using Media & Materials, Being Imaginative
Where they will learn:
In the Early Years, children learn through play. The children in the Early Years learn inside and out, using sand, water, the mud kitchen and natural materials. Whilst outside, Reception and Nursery will be able to learn together. Inside the classrooms, children will be able to paint, draw, build and construct, make up stories in the role play area, count and discover shape and use play dough, clay, sand and water. For more details, please see the Early Years policy.
Storytelling in the Early Years
Mayflower is a Storytelling School and the Early Years (Nursery and Reception) is no exception! Each half term, every class in the school learns a new story or book, and this lasts half a term (six stories a year). There is a two year cycle with different stories for the two years. The storytelling curriculum has been shown to really enthuse children and provide a rich scaffold for their storytelling writing and imagination. Mayflower also places a high priority on reading, so every half term there is a focus book for children to enjoy and get to know really well.
We know that your child will enjoy learning in Nursery and Reception at Mayflower Primary School. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us. You are very welcome to arrange a visit and look round at any point in the year so please do get in touch!
