“Our task is to help children communicate with the world using all their potential, strengths and languages, and to overcome any obstacle presented by our culture” Loris Malaguzzi.
Welcome
Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage 2. At Huntingdon Academy we understand the importance of high-quality provision and teaching within the EYFS. We believe that the Early Years Foundation stage is crucial in building solid foundations that pupils can continue to build upon throughout their education. It is our intent that pupils are given the best opportunities to grow in all areas of their development whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning.
In Foundation 2 we have two parallel classes with a capacity of 30 children in each. Our provision consists of an environment which meets the needs of our children’s innate desire to learn through play alongside areas for focussed direct teacher led input. The ‘Nest’ is an area of our provision where children are encouraged to develop their skills in the prime and specific areas through carefully planned and delivered lessons. The ‘Forest’ is an area of our provision which is carefully planned with exciting and high-quality purposeful play opportunities for children to develop in the prime and specific areas. In addition to this, the children have access to an outdoor playground which provides further opportunities for learning and developing.
Our Foundation 2 team comprises of teachers Miss Lindsey and Miss Andrew and teaching assistants Miss Fell, Miss Syed, Mrs Rowbottom and Miss Morris.
Class Authors
Our classes are named after famous children’s authors. Miss Lindsey’s class is called F2S, named after Nick Sharratt, a well-known children’s author and illustrator. He is famous for his rhyming book such as ‘Shark in the Park’ and ‘Don’t Put Your Finger in the Jelly Nelly!’ He is also well-known for his choosing books like ‘You Choose!’ and ‘Once Upon a Time.’ Miss Andrew’s class is called F2D and is named after Julia Donaldson, a very popular children’s author who also writes wonderful rhyming stories with captivating cartoon characters. Some of her most famous work includes ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘The Smartest Giant in Town.’
Our class timetable
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum and provision is guided by the prime and specific areas of development:
- Prime
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Specific
Literacy
Mathematics
Expressive Arts and Design
Understanding the World
Each of these areas are reflected in our learning environments. Children receive both direct teaching through adult interactions as well as opportunities for independent exploration. Through accessing the environment, children have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in each of these areas.
We have carefully selected the topics and themes to ensure children make progress against the EYFS framework. Our themes include: Family and Friends, Senses and Celebrations, Once Upon a Time, Animals, Gardens and Growing and People Who Help Us.
Trips and WOW Moments
The curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not only designed to ensure children make progress in the prime and specific areas, but also focuses on enriching the lives of the ‘whole child.’ We ensure that children have opportunities to learn to value their own identity and their place within school and the wider community, this is achieved through trips, visitors and our careers curriculum which focuses on children’s aspirations.
Some of our ‘wow’ moments include speaking with firefighters, paramedics, police officers, doctors, gardeners and more.
In Spring, during our animals topic we take a school trip to Stonebridge City Farm.
Assessments
Baseline
Your child will be participating in the reception baseline assessment within the first 6 weeks of starting reception. This is a requirement for all reception children in the UK. The purpose of the assessment is to understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6. The baseline is not about judging or labelling your child or putting them under any pressure. Your child cannot ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ the assessment. Its main purpose is to create a starting point to measure the progress schools make with their pupils. We’ve found the baseline assessment to be a positive experience in which the child can get to know their teachers. If you have any further questions about this, please speak to your child’s class teacher.
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
At the end of your child’s reception year, their teacher will submit a statutory review of your child’s progress against 17 early learning goals to the local authority. This assessment is designed to inform you about your child’s progress in relation to the early learning goals, as well as supporting their transition to year 1.
If you have any questions about the areas of development which are assessed in F2, please speak to Miss Andrew or Miss Lindsey.
Newsletters
Each half term we send out a newsletter which describes our topic, special books and curriculum coverage for the term. It also includes important dates and information. Please click on the link below to view our half-termly newsletter.
Additionally, we use TALK newsletters during each half term to describe the content we are covering in our F2 unit. We hope that this allows parents/guardians to support with their child’s learning at home, as well as introduce the key thematic vocabulary we will use in our teaching/provision. You will find an example of a TALK newsletter below…
