Early Years

Welcome to Early Years learning at

St John’s Church of England Infant School

 

At St John’s, we believe all children should be supported to become independent and happy learners – no matter their starting point.  There is no better place to start than in Butterfly Class, our Early Years Foundation Stage classroom.

For the academic year 2022/2023 children in Butterfly Class will be a mixed age range, with some Y1 children and some YR children. Each will follow their own curriculum.

 

We are passionate about providing a stimulating and exciting learning environment for all children, following their personal interests and development.  We recognise that every child is unique, and has something extraordinary to bring to our school family.  Every achievement is championed because, as we say each day in prayer during worship, we are all different, and we are all special.

 

Every child has a right to the rich interwoven learning opportunities vital for their development and key to extending their potential.

We encourage our independent learners to develop through play – supporting them through carefully planned playful activities that ignite their creativity and resilience.  We use the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum to inform our planning.

 

Topics of learning each term:

This year we will be adopting an enquiry based approach to learning. This involves offering an exciting hook for the children to grab and go!

We endeavour to follow the children’s interests as much as possible at St John’s, so our termly topics/hooks for this academic year are likely to change; no two groups of children are the same, and neither is their learning!

 

 

We use books as the springboard to propel our happy learners to become literature-loving story enthusiasts.  

 

 All of our activities, provocations and lines of inquiry are designed to enhance vocabulary, build curiosity and engage children with delight and enthusiasm.

Children are provided with an inspirational environment that changes and includes quirky objects and things that lie outside the ordinary. They will hear words that are strange and alluring, hear stories that open up new worlds of imagination and wonder; participate in drama and songs, adventure and the great outdoors. 

 

Cultural capital and Cultural entitlement: Every child has a spark inside him or her and it’s our responsibility to ignite that spark.

We share the view that cultural capital can be strengthened through the extension of language and through the introduction of interesting resources, including food which would provoke greater conversations; more trips to the sea and trips – with the aim of deepening children’s understanding and strengthening their language.

 

Learning opportunities in the Early Years extends to language, arts and crafts, music, singing, poetry, drama, storytimes, outings, museums, theatre, art exhibitions, science, shopping and eating – with our school aim to open children’s senses to a new world. All children at St John's experience regular trips and outings.

 

Throughout their first year at school, each child will be introduced to all of the RWI phonics sounds and the processes or segmenting and blending sounds in a word in order to read it.

The following is a webpage that displays all the sounds we are introduced to in Phonics sessions and when learning to read. Please feel free to have a practice with your child -

https://brizeprimary.org//documents/phonics_sounds_set_1__2_and_3-2.pdf

 

Furthermore, below is a webpage containing the Development Matters Framework for the Early years foundation stage - This is our version of the curriculum within the Early years. The practitioners observe the children as they act and interact in their play, everyday activities and planned learning opportunities.

Please pay close attention to the 30-50 and 40-60 years age brackets as this is where your child will be working towards in their reception year. The document gives examples of tasks that can be completed in order to achieve the learning goals highlighted on the left-hand side.

 https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seesaw 

                                                

What is Seesaw?

Seesaw is a secure online ‘classroom’ and Learning Journal where children and staff can set work, record audio clips, add photos, observations and comments about your child’s learning. This platform is available as an app or via a desktop computer. 

At St John's Infant School, we will also have the ability to use Seesaw to ensure that students can continue with their learning remotely in the event of a bubble closure, lockdown or self-isolation. In the future, we are hoping to use this platform to set and complete homework tasks, as part of our commitment to reduce our paper usage in school.

 

How does Seesaw work?

Seesaw provides each individual child with their own Learning Journal held online. Parents and carers are given their own log-in. All our staff are given a secure log-in. They can then upload observations, photos or videos; recording children’s achievements and assessing their learning.

Parents can change their settings so that an email is then automatically generated informing them when an work has been added so they can have a look and add any comments of their own.

We have sent home a login page with a unique code for Seesaw Class, which is the app your child will use to complete work. On the reverse, there is a login with a unique code for Seesaw Family where you can see your child’s work and feedback.

 

Who can access Seesaw?

You can choose to share your Seesaw Family log in details with extended family if you wish, so they can see your child’s Learning Journal. The Seesaw Class code should only be used by your child.

It is vital that you keep your Seesaw Class and Seesaw Family login codes secure, these should be treated as a password.

 

How can I view my child’s Learning Journals?

Once logged in, you will see your child’s work on your home screen in a list – selecting any one of these will open up the work for you to look at. You may add comments in the box at the bottom of the work if you would like to – and we would love to receive such comments!

 

How do I know that my child’s Learning Journal has been updated?

The system will automatically send you an email when an work for your child has been added.

 

Who can access my Child’s Learning Journal?

At school we have access to all of the children’s Learning Journals.  The only other people that can see your child’s account will be yourselves and anyone that you share your log in details with, such as Grandparents etc. 

 

 

We really hope that you enjoy using Seesaw and that it helps to keep you feeling informed about your child’s learning. 

Assessment update from the DFE - 2/2020

 

An update on the Reception Baseline Assessment 

What is the Reception Baseline Assessment

The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) is a short and simple check of a child’s early literacy, communication, language and maths skills when they begin primary school. The assessment will be age-appropriate and there will be no need for children to prepare for it, either at home or in school.

The RBA can be used to complement other on-entry assessments you may already conduct with your reception pupils. It can also provide teachers and teaching assistants with a useful opportunity to have some one-to-one time with individual children, when they first start school.

Full rollout 

Yesterday, we confirmed that all new primary school pupils will take the RBA from September 2020. The assessments will eventually replace key stage 1 SATs, which are intended to be discontinued from the 2022/23 academic year.