Early Years (EYFS)

At Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy Every Child Matters.

We aim to:

• Prepare children for the future
• Give everyone the opportunity to achieve their full potential
• Provide a happy, safe and stimulating environment
• Value others and ourselves
• Put the school at the heart of the community

Make sure that everyone, irrespective of gender, race or culture, feels safe and secure, have empathy for others, and place a high value upon individual achievement and personal development.

Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage

At Braeburn Primary and Nursery Academy we want all children to feel secure, happy, included and cared for.

We want them to be able to learn and aim to provide well planned, purposeful activities for them.

We help them to work together, share and respect other people as they gain confidence, understanding and skills.

As a parent /carer you are your child’s first and most important teacher and we want to share progress and achievements with you. We aim to build on what children already know and can do.

You can help prepare your child by:

• encouraging independence when using the toilet and getting dressed
• letting him/her help with household tasks eg. sorting, washing, laying the table, making shopping lists etc
• encouraging your child to mix with other children
• providing interesting toys, particularly those which stimulate imagination and encourage manual skills eg. bricks, construction sets, dolls with removable clothes
• encouraging your child to tidy toys away
• talking to him/her, answering questions and listening to what he/she has to say
• singing songs and nursery rhymes with your child
• setting aside a special time each day to share a story with your child
• joining the local library and borrowing books for your child
• encouraging your child to use pencils and crayons and by praising his/her early scribbles, drawing and writing.

We provide many opportunities for early learning:

Our main aims for all children are:

• to enjoy learning through play
• to learn by investigating, experimenting and discovering
• to learn to be independent and to make decisions
• to learn to play together, to take turns and co-operate
• to learn to use language and develop it by talking with other children and adults
• to learn to enjoy stories, which is the first step on the ‘road to reading’
• to learn to enjoy books and acquire pre-reading skills
• to learn how to make good use of pencils, crayons, scissors, glue etc.
• to learn about matching, sorting, counting, shape, pattern and measurement
• to learn to use numbers confidently
• to learn to climb, balance, skip, throw, catch and kick a ball, ride a bike etc with confidence
• to provide learning experiences that lay foundations for all later learning.

Organisation and planning

Nursery:

Children enter Nursery at the start of the term after their third birthday.

Child’s birthday between

1st September – 31st December – Begin nursery in January

1st January – 31st March – Begin nursery after Easter

1st April – 31st August – Begin nursery in September

You will be able to stay with your child until he/she is settled, but this usually takes no time at all.

Your child is eligible to receive 15 hours per week with an Early Years provider.

Nursery session times:

To give you flexibility you can choose from the following sessions and times:

Morning session 8.55 a.m. – 12.00 a.m. (go home for lunch)

Afternoon session 12.00 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. (have lunch before arriving)

Stay all day 8.55 a.m. – 3.00.p.m. (children have lunch at Nursery)

The Nursery is organised around three classrooms and an outside area. The Nursery is managed by a teacher and supported by a number of teaching assistants.

You may find your child finds a full session a but overwhelming to start with and the length of their stay can be varied if required to meet your child’s needs. Also some children can take time to settle, and if this happens you are bound to be concerned; we do our best for your child but if he/she is very unhappy or distressed we will discuss this with you and find ways to help.

Joining Main School:

All children will be offered a full time place in main school from the beginning of the year in which they will reach 5 years of age.

When the children transfer into main school they will be in classes and may work within their own class, in the shared indoor area or outside. Each class is managed by a teacher and supported by a teaching assistant. Once a child is admitted to a class, they will remain in the same class for the year.

Classrooms are used for registration and whole class activities. During activity times children have free flow access between their indoor classroom, the activity corridor and the outdoor classroom areas.

For some sessions, such as singing and physical activities, classes may join together or reorganise. Occasionally children will join in special whole school assemblies in addition to the weekly singing and celebration assembly. Children may occasionally join Key Stage 1 children for playtimes in the main playground and towards the end of the year for part of the lunchtime.

Absence, illness and accidents

• Please could we ask you to provide us with an emergency telephone number in case we need to contact you urgently.
• If your child has any special medical needs please let us know
• When children attend regularly they soon get into a routine. However we recognise that children are sometimes too ill to come to school.

If your child is unwell with a stomach upset, please do not send them into school until 24 hours have passed in order to limit the risk of other children becoming ill.

• Please inform us in the morning if your child is ill and unable to attend TEL: 582616. If you do not contact us you may receive a telephone call asking about your child from us; this is to make sure that we are able to explain a child’s absence and ensure their safety.

What should I do if my child needs medicine during school hours?

If your child has been prescribed medicine but the Doctor says he/she can attend school, you may bring the medicine to the School Office. We will provide you with a form to be completed and signed giving details of the dose and the time it is to be administered. For safety reasons please do not send the medicine in with your child or just hand it to the class teacher.

Headlice

We recommend that you check your child’s hair every week and ask in School if you need any advice about the various lotions and treatments available.

Breakfast club

Breakfast Club opens at 8.00 a.m. in the Junior School Hall. It is useful if you need to leave your child early to go to work or college.

Breakfast club charges for children in main school, are very reasonable. Please ask if you need any more details.

Snack money

Each child is given milk and a biscuit every day. They are also given a piece of fruit. We regularly bake and have other treats so we ask for 50p a week towards the cost of this. In order to avoid confusion, please send this money in a separate envelope with your child’s name on and marked ‘snack money’. Children have access to drinking water at all times.

How do I find out about free school meals?

If you are eligible for free school meals or think you may be, please contact the school office. There is a simple form to complete, which we can help you with if necessary. Although children aged between 5 – 7 are eligible for a free meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals initiative, we encourage everyone who is eligible to apply even if you do not take up the meals because this allows us as a school to access additional funding to help the children in school.

We are all partners in your child’s learning. We value your opinions and the information you can give us about your child.

We do not have a long list of rules. All we ask is that the children are kind and friendly to each other, they are polite, listen and follow instructions and try to do their best. These rules are to ensure your own child’s safety, the safety of other children and adults and the safety of school property.