Pre Prep Overview

Staff

Ken Weed – Head of Pre-Prep and Prep

Shanna Smith – Nursery Teacher

Natalie Mckenzie – Early Years Practitioner

Lisa Boyer – Reception Teacher

Lucy Hartley – Reception Teacher

Muna Digaali – Early Years Practitioner

Chana Lapper – Office Manager

Jill Arezoo – Office Assistant

Diana Saeed – Lunchtime Supervisor

Curriculum

Our Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum has been creatively designed to ensure that it not only meets the needs of the wide range of children from our local area, but that it enthuses, engages and challenges children to be aspirational in their learning. Our curriculum is knowledge rich, giving children those important building blocks that they will need to become successful learners. We ensure we develop the whole child, focussing on a holistic approach ensuring that children’s personal, physical and language skills are the priority.

We value children’s interests highly and ensure that we provide bespoke opportunities for children based on what they are interested in.

Playful opportunities are planned for and quality resources support children’s development. This can be through independent play as well as adult led activities and supported play.

Focussed learning time happens every day. Whole class and small group work is timetabled to allow children to acquire, practice and apply new knowledge, concepts and skills.

COVID-19

In Pre-Prep we recognise that adjusting to a new ‘normal’ will look different for each individual child. However, we also understand that it is important for all children that the rigour of our curriculum should continue to ensure that all children are able to be challenged at whatever level they might be working at, following an extended period of home learning.

In order to ensure that children are well supported mentally, yet are able to be challenged in their learning we have adjusted our curriculum to ensure that children’s personal wellbeing is at the forefront of learning. Children will learn the skills they need to re-integrate into academy life. This includes all of the personal skills children may need to catch up on including speaking, listening, making and re-connecting friendships and feeling happy, confident and secure in their learning.

There will be extensive education around new Covid-19 safety practices to ensure that all children know how to look after themselves and others around them.

In addition, our skilled teachers will informally assess at what level children are at in their learning. From here, they will plan for individual needs ensuring that challenge remains high and that no child is disadvantaged.

Although there will be lots of new learning, there will be lots of opportunity for catch up and revision of learning that children may have missed. This includes the revision and re-teaching of phonics where necessary to ensure that children who have missed early letters and sounds are taught these as a priority. We fully believe that wherever a child may be in their education, with the correct personalised learning, every child will soon flourish.

Nursery Overview of Learning

Autumn
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Topic: All about me, Routine, boundaries, relationships and emotions
Communication and Language	Listening, understanding, speaking
Physical Development	Moving in a range of ways, moving to music, fine motor skills and gross motor skills, health and hygiene. Building confidence.
Literacy	Autumn 1: Phonics Phase One Topic: Environmental sounds Autumn 2: Phonics Phase One: Instrumental sounds, Body percussion. Mark making.
Talk for writing	Owl babies, Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?
Mathematics	Sorting and grouping, Numbers, Cardinality and counting, Counting 1:1, Remembering the value, Understanding quantities, Recognising numbers, Identifying shapes
Understanding the World	Season / weather / Changes / Autumn Autumn 1 Topic: All about me / Autumn. Careers: Artist / Explore occupations that parents do Autumn 2 Topic: All about my family / life. Careers: Park ranger
Baking, preparing food and tasting	Children taste, prepare and bake food
Expressive arts and design	Music, songs and singing. Colours, Modelling, Imagination, Tactile experiences

Spring
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Topic: Developing independence/What are you good at? Routines, boundaries, relationships with peers, sharing and building confidence.
Communication and Language	Listening, understanding, speaking
Physical Development	Moving in a range of ways, moving to music, fine motor skills and gross motor skills, health and hygiene. Building confidence and independence. Negotiating space and engaging in challenges.
Literacy	Spring 1 Phonics Phase One: Rhythm and Rhyme Spring 2 Phonics Phase One: Alliteration
Talk for writing	Goldilocks and the three bears, We’re going on a bear hunt
Mathematics	Positional language, Numbers, Cardinality and counting, Counting 1:1, Remembering the value, 1 more, 1 less, Comparison, Pattern, Language around weight and Comparing weight
Understanding the World	Season / weather / Changes / Spring Spring 1 Topic: Around the world Careers: Zoo keeper Spring 2 Topic: Technology here and around the world. Careers: Computer repairs person
Baking, preparing food and tasting	Children taste, prepare and bake food
Expressive arts and design	Music, songs and singing. Colours, Modelling, Imagination, Tactile experiences

Summer
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Topic: I like myself/ It’s great to share. Routines, boundaries, relationships with peers, sharing, building confidence and resolving conflicts
Communication and Language	Listening, understanding, speaking
Physical Development	Moving in a range of ways, moving to music, fine motor skills and gross motor skills, health and hygiene. Building confidence and independence. Negotiating space and engaging in challenges. Moving rhythmically.
Literacy	Summer 1: Phonics Phase One: Voice sounds Summer 2: Phonics Phase One: Oral blending and segmenting
Talk for writing	The Enormous Turnip The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Mathematics	Measure: Re-visit: Positional language, Pattern, Maths problems.
Understanding the World	Season / weather / Changes / Summer Summer 1 Topic: Life cycle Careers: Pet shop worker Summer 2 Topic: Observing changes in weather, Re-visit skills learned/identify gaps. Careers: Veg shop worker.
Baking, preparing food and tasting	Children taste, prepare and bake food
Expressive arts and design	Music, songs and singing. Colours, Modelling, Imagination, Tactile experiences

Reception Overview of Learning

Autumn
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Class rules, Routines, Kindness, Friendships, Celebrating Me!, Yoga, Mindfulness, Feelings, Turn Taking, Sharing, Making Choices, Voting, Marvellous Me, Manners, Lycra Games, Parachute Games
Communication and Language	Makaton, Singing, Stories, Dialogic reading, Noun game, Rhyme of the week, Word of the Week, Rhyme sack, Talking circles, Role play, Repeated refrains
Physical Development	Travelling safely, Negotiating space, Funky Fingers, Dough Disco, Toileting/handwashing, Brushing teeth
Literacy	Peace at Last, Where the Wild Things Are, Talk 4 Writing, Alliteration, Rhyme, Onomatopoeia, Letter formation, Phase 1 & 2 Phonics, Labels and captions, Names, Nouns
Mathematics	Number sense 0-5, Positional Language, 2D Shape, Repeating Patterns, Time, Money, Ordering size
Understanding the World	Me and my family, Weekend news, Spanish, Celebrations/Festivals, Seasons, Dark/Light, Dinosaurs, Colour, Lexia
Expressive arts and design	Transient art – Andrew Goldsworthy, Celebration cards, Rangoli patterns, Abstract art – Kandinsky, Nativity, Threading & beading, Loose parts

Spring
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Voting, Working collaboratively, Choices, Cleaning, Self-awareness, Empathy, Resolving conflict
Communication and Language	Synonyms, antonyms, Explanations, Prediction, Questioning and answering, Tell a Tale, Helicopter Stories, Quizzes, How and why? Conclusions, speculations, patterns, conclusions, effects – discussion and explanation
Physical Development	Physical Education, Dressing /undressing, Spatial awareness, Balance, Jumping/landing, Pencil control, Scissor control, Healthy choices, Effects of exercise, Safety
Literacy	One Snowy Night, Little Jack, Phase 2 & 3 Phonics, Predictions, Character description, Handwriting – finger spaces, Simple sentences, Adjectives
Mathematics	Number sense 6-10, Addition/1 more, Ordinal number, 2D/3D Shape, Length/Weight, Symmetry, Capacity, Time
Understanding the World	Careers, Growth, Life-cycles, Space, Environment, Pollution/Recycling, Habitats, Investigations, Programmable toys
Expressive arts and design	Mixing colours – Claude Monet, Clay sculptures – Barbara Hepworth, Weaving, Cutting, Papier mache, Kite making

Summer
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Safety outside school Stranger danger Sun safety Transition
Communication and Language	Synonyms, antonyms, Instructions, Explanations, Prediction, Question time, Hot seating, Debating, Quizzes, How, why and when?
Physical Development	Independent skills, Coordination, Agility, Team games, Athletics/Sports Day, Letter formation, Number formation, Effects of healthy/unhealthy choices, Assessing own risk
Literacy	Mrs Armitage on Wheels, Mr Gumpy’s Outing, Phase 2,3 & 4 Phonics, Verbs, Handwriting – full stops and capital letters
Mathematics	Number sense 11-20, Doubling/Halving, Sharing, Subtraction/1 less, Problem solving, Counting in 2, 5, 10s, Measure, Money, Distance / Direction
Understanding the World	Health/Exercise/Needs, British Values, Oceans, Floating/Sinking, Transport, Forces, Farms, Flags, Direction
Expressive arts and design	Sunflowers – Van Gogh, Giuseppe Arcimboldi – creating pictures with fruit and vegetables, Floral wreaths, Printing, Floating boats, Make a hot air balloon

Assessment

We assess children’s progress against all 7 areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. Assessments are mainly judgement based, where teachers and practitioners will observe and assess a child’s fluency in a particular area. Many of these assessments are recorded as observations, notes, photographs and videos. By collating all of this information, teachers can then make judgements on where a child is placed in their development towards meeting the Early Learning Goal in each area of learning.

We use ‘Development Matters in the Early Years’ as guidance to support the curriculum and assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We use an online learning journal called Tapestry which documents children’s learning across Pre-Prep. The journals also demonstrate the progress children are making across the different areas of learning. This enables us to enhance and adapt both practice and provision to support their individual development and needs.

Tapestry can be accessed by you at home and we greatly encourage this. You will also have the opportunity to contribute the your child’s online journal by capturing special events and milestones at home.

Home Learning and Support

In Pre-Prep children will have optional homework that we encourage parents to support. The homework will be age appropriate and will encourage children’s basic skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing and numbers. Parents will also be given ways of supporting their child’s learning through fun games and activities.

As children move into Reception, children will bring home reading books regularly. We would encourage parents to read with their child as much as they can.

You can support your child in their learning by talking to them about what they have learned while at the academy. While reading with your child is vital, reading TO your child is also highly important as it builds and develops children’s vocabulary, speech and imagination.

Learning is all around us. It does not have to be sat down with a pencil. Counting objects around your child, singing a favourite song, asking your child questions about the world around them and taking part in physical activity are all great ways in which you can support your child at home. Please speak to your child’s class teacher about more ways in which you can support your child at home.