Foundation Stage 2 - Also see Pupil Zone F2

Here at Jesse Gray our vision is to create a Foundation Stage 2 where every child is challenged to achieve with inspiration and enjoyment. We do this by guiding and supporting them with excellent teaching practice and key Early Years pedagogy. Learning is personalised to each child, taking account of their age and stage of understanding and development. We pride ourselves on working closely with our families and together we provide a nurturing, supportive and caring environment for children starting their primary education in our setting.

What is FS2?

FS2 (Reception Class) is the final stage of your child’s Early Years Foundation Stage which starts from when they are born.

Our Key Aims and Intent:

To appreciate the uniqueness of every child and show them what they can achieve if they are given the opportunities to explore, be creative and think for themselves.
To develop caring, confident and curious children with a passion for life-long learning.
To have a firm understanding of what children want to learn and what we want them to learn and how.

How we will implement this:

Embedding learning and understanding in all the seven areas of learning ensuing children make progress consistently across the curriculum.
Using books to develop a love and enjoyment of reading and as a stimulus for our topics. All children are encouraged to bring their own favourite books into our setting as well as stories enjoyed by their parents and carers.
Having a stimulating and challenging learning environment. We have a large playground area, a patio area and a Wildlife Garden as well as two large individual classrooms and a shared area.

How we will celebrate impact:

Children will demonstrate what they have learnt through their play, their levels of concentration and their work.
Children will have the knowledge and skills to thrive in school.

Expectations:

At Jesse Gray we pursue excellence in the heart of everything we do and always aspire to be even better, to always be exceptional!

Curriculum and Organisation:

Our curriculum is based around the Characteristics of Effective Learning; Creating and Thinking Critically, Active Learning and Playing and Exploring. We use Development Matters and the EYFS Statutory Framework and other key documentation. Our curriculum is based upon what we want our children to learn through key objectives and skills and also evolves around their own interests and ideas. Themes are changed usually on a half termly basis and always begin with a brainstorming session with the children to find out what they would like to find out more about and any questions we have to find answers to.

Effective Learning and Assessment

Our learning is a mix of child initiated and adult led. Our children learn best when they experience learning first hand and through meaningful interactions with others. We work individually with a child, in different sized groups, differentiated and mixed ability and also as a whole class. Learning is differentiated to meet the needs of the children and we ensure we offer challenge throughout our provision. We spend lots of our time outdoors in all weathers. We have a dedicated area for F2 as well as a large playground with lots of apparatus to support physical development which we access at lunchtime and throughout other times in the day. We also have a Wildlife Area with its own outdoor classroom, vegetable and nature garden. Assessment for all is continuous and ongoing. We record formally using O'Track and use Seesaw for our home/school communications and celebrations. We share other news and capture key moments on our class Twitter page. We pride ourselves on the standard of work your children do in their books and folders.

Enrichment and Parental Involvement

Trips, Visits and visitors are planned around our curriculum. We welcome parental involvement. Optional evening meetings /events are held to share information or enjoy Bedtime Story Evenings, Cultural Celebration events and a Curriculum Evening is held (or pre-recorded) in October to share how your child is settling into our school as well as giving you additional information about how you can continue supporting phonics and reading at home. We pride ourselves on ensuring every parent and carer feels as fully involved as possible in their child’s early education at Jesse Gray and you are always welcome to come in and share your profession or special interests and hobbies with us.

For further details please see the documents listed below and in Pupil Zone F2

Jane Wadsworth

jwadsworth@ga.jessegray.notts.sch.uk