At St Stephen’s Church of England Primary School we are proud of the start we give to all children in Foundation Stage as they join our school.
The Foundation Stage is a discrete and very special phase and is concerned with the development of “the whole child”, each area of development closely and often seamlessly intertwined together as children learn and develop following a play based curriculum.
The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum has three “prime” areas of learning; Personal, Social and Emotional development, language for communication and thinking and physical development, and four “specific” areas; literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design. Broad developmental bands indicating likely stages of development and behaviours in each of these areas form the basis of our planning for learning and children’s progress and attainment is monitored in relation to these developmental bands.
All activities and experiences are designed and planned to meet individual needs and interests.
Quality play experiences form the basis of each day in Foundation Stage and children are encouraged to initiate and develop their own ideas, working with other children and adults in a variety of contexts both indoors and in the outdoor classroom. In addition we use our “Forest Schools” area on our school field, which involves small groups using the natural environment to explore, learn and grow, as well as enhancing self-esteem, confidence, independence and personal well-being.
We have a carefully structured induction programme to settle children into our school and we work closely with parents and families to form a partnership around each child to work together to ensure each child reaches their fullest potential.
Foundation Stage children contribute to whole school life in many different ways, including performances, joining older children for Collective Worship and special celebration times, visiting other classes and sharing their work with others.
