TIDCOMBE PRIMARY SCHOOL
Marina Way, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 4BP
Tel & Fax: 01884 252973
e-mail:
Web address: www.tidcombe.devon.sch.uk
Dear parents,
Welcome to another busy year at Tidcombe. Last year was incredibly successful for the Foundation Stage and we are hoping to build on these achievements, making more improvements to benefit your child as they start their learning journey within our school.
Within the Foundation Stage your child will be engaged in play opportunities covering the seven areas of learning. I have attached these areas of learning to show you the breadth of the early years curriculum. It is an exciting and interesting curriculum which aims to develop the skills of the whole child.
We are starting the year with a theme called ‘Once Upon a Time’ which will encourage a love of storytelling and language. We are using stories based around the busy life of a farm and the rather exciting world of jungles. Later this half term we will have a theme called ‘Look, Listen and Learn’ within which we will be using our senses to explore the world around us.
We have an outdoor session each morning as research and experience has shown the value and importance of outdoor play. We will access our environment whatever the weather so suitable clothing and footwear please! The children will get messy both indoors and outdoors so clothes which can get dirty and are not too precious are always best! Wellington boots are always a safe bet when Autumn really sets in.
The children will be accessing a French session with Madame Addy each week. This early flavour of languages is extremely beneficial to your child and you would be quite amazed at how quickly they pick up key words in French!!!!
We will be completing short physical sessions in the hall twice a week practising skills necessary for your child’s physical development.
Later in the year we will begin short phonic sessions, focusing initially on sounds in the environment and eventually leading on to sounds that we can hear in words. These initial skills are the foundation for segmenting and blending sounds which will eventually lead to the reading and writing skills that your child will need when they start school. .
We ask for 20p snack money each time your child attends the Nursery. We provide a snack time each day. It is a wonderfully social time when children are encouraged to develop their conversational skills as well as their social skills. This snack money also pays for our weekly cooking session led by Mrs. Thompson.
Our lunch time is between 11.55am and 12.55pm. If your child is booked in within these hours they will need to bring a packed lunch or they can have a school dinner for £2.10. Please order the school dinner with myself or Mrs. Thompson as you arrive.
We would like each child to bring a named drinks bottle in each time they attend filled with either water or squash. We want the children to access drinks at all times throughout the nursery day and we feel that this will be far more achievable with their own bottle. We will be able to take these bottles out with us during outdoor play and even into the hall during our movement sessions. The bottle can go home with your child after each session to be washed and refilled for the next time they attend.
Staffing is crucial in the Nursery. Please make sure that you contact the office if you change your hours. Extra staffing may need to be organised if more children attend during different sessions. We do ask that you maintain the same hours each half term to ensure that staffing is always appropriate.
When your child starts within the Foundation Stage we begin a book called a Learning Journey. It takes the form of a scrapbook which shows your child’s progress and development with the seven areas of learning. They take a lot of time and effort but I strongly believe they are the best assessment of your child’s progress that we could possibly provide. I would like to improve them further by incorporating more parental or family input so I may ask for contributions from you, grandparents, childminders, etc throughout the year, commenting on how you feel your child is doing, small achievements at home, etc. This will make the Learning Journeys incredibly informative and useful both to you, to me and to your child’s next teacher.
We use Wow! stars within the Foundation Stage Unit to celebrate your child’s achievements. I have stars available in class or feel free to make your own. You can write anything on a wow star – getting dressed independently, riding their bike for the first time, sleeping in their own bed all night, counting to 10 at home, etc. We will celebrate all achievements in class and display the stars. The Wow! stars will be put in your child’s Learning Journey. We will also be asking you for holiday highlights throughout the year, detailing any milestones or achievements over a holiday period. Parental voice is as important as teachers voice!
Thank you for your continued support. The Foundation Stage would not be running successfully without your cooperation and support. If you have any questions regarding your child please do not hesitate to talk to either myself or to Mrs. Thompson.
Yours sincerely,
Sara Smith Kim Thompson
Personal, Social and Emotional Development / Communication and Language / Physical Development· Making relationships
· Self-confidence and self-awareness
· Managing feelings and behaviour
/ · Listening and attention
· Understanding
· Speaking /
· Moving and handling
· Health and self-care
Literacy / Mathematics / Expressive Arts and Design / Understanding The World
· Reading
· Writing / · Number
· Shape, space and measure /
· Exploring and using media and materials
· Being imaginative /
· People and communities
· The World
· Technology