School Nurseries and Reception classes (and other Early Years providers) must follow a legal document called the Early Years Framework, which has been recently revised.  It is our duty as a school to inform parents about the Framework and offer guidance.   

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum helps your child prepare for more formal learning as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes.  From when your child is born until the age of 5 years, their early years’ experience should be safe, secure and happy and support their learning and development.

There are 7 areas of learning:

1. Communication and Language
2. Physical development
3. Personal, Social and Emotional Development
4. Literacy
5. Mathematics
6. Understanding of the World
7. Expressive arts and design 

These 7 areas of learning are used to plan your child’s learning and activities.  In school, we will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. Our flexible and personalised curriculum is planned around the children’s interests and individual needs. This is done through collecting evidence, including photographs, observations, children’s work and information from parents/carers. 

 

Characteristics of Effective Learning 

The characteristics of effective learning play a central role in a pupil’s learning and in becoming an effective learner.  The characteristics of effective learning run through and underpin all 7 areas of learning and development.  They represent processes rather than outcomes.

These are the characteristics of effective learning:

1. Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
2. Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
3. Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things 

EYFS practitioners will comment and make observations of how pupils demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning and will use this information to plan for next steps in learning.
 

The Key Person

The Key Person Approach is one of the vital principals in the Early Years Foundation Stage and is a statutory requirement of the framework. It is a reciprocal relationship between a member of staff, individual child and their family.  It provides the child with a sense of security so that they feel confident to explore their world and form further relationships.

The role of the Key Person is to know their individual children and to support their sense of identity and individuality.  They need to be aware of their individual child’s and family’s needs, preferences and development.

 

Parental Engagement  

The guidance for the Early Years Curriculum makes it clear how parents/carers need to be involved in contributing to their child’s learning journey.

Regular conversations with your child’s key person will enable current interests to be discussed, current levels of development to be shared or concerns to be passed on.

 

How Can You Help Your Child At Home?  

The DfE has published a new guide for parents, produced by Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre – ‘What to expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage’ which guides parents through what to expect in their child’s development.

This is the link Updated guidance to support the EYFS - Foundation Years

All the fun activities that you do with your child at home are important in supporting their learning and development, and have a really long lasting effect on your child’s learning as they progress through school.

 

30 Hours Funding for Nursery

At Barnburgh, we have a 26 place nursery alongside a 30 place reception class which form our early years unit. Our main nursery intake is in September but if there is availability then a January and April intake is offered. 

All nursery-aged children are entitled to 15 universal hours of nursery funding each week. At Barnburgh Primary, these hours are allocated between 8:40am-11:40am Monday to Friday. Some children are entitled to 30 hours funding each week and these hours will be allocated between 8:40am-2:40pm Monday to Friday. 

If you are eligible to receive 30 hours funding for nursery education, you will receive a 30 Hour Eligibility Code on completion of an online application. Please complete the application form by clicking here. You will need to retain this code and provide it on Section 3 of the Parental Declaration Form for a Free Entitlement Place. This form will be issued prior to your child starting nursery. 

All parents who receive a 30 hours Eligibility Code will need to reconfirm their code via their Government Gateway account every 3 months (from the date you first applied). Once your 30 hour Eligibility Code is reconfirmed, you will need to inform the school office. The code itself will remain the same. 

If you are no longer eligible for 30 hours (through a change in circumstances) you must inform the school office immediately. There will be a grace period during which your child will be eligible to attend for their usual funded hours. After the grace period has expired, your child will only receive 15 universal hours funding per week and any additional hours will be charged at the sessional rate. 

If your child only receives 15 universal hours of funding, you may book additional sessions at the sessional rate via the school office. All sessions must be booked in advance and as a regular booking.