EARLY YEARS (AGE 3-5)
Our fabulous Early Years department welcomes children into our Kindergarten class from the term after their third birthday. Our flexible ‘Wrap around Care’ provision enables us to ensure that what’s on offer here at Talbot Heath fits around your family life.
Our well-resourced base, which comprises our Kindergarten (age 3-4) and Reception class (age 4-5), is staffed by dedicated and enthusiastic teachers and teaching assistants, who are committed to ensuring that your daughter has a fantastic start to school life and develops a true love of learning. We understand that every child is unique, so work hard to ensure that we provide an enabling and rich learning environment, in which to ignite our children’s curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
We are extremely proud of our Early Years base and work very closely together in delivering a thematic approach to learning, focussing on a new topic each half term, such as ‘Traditional Tales’ in Reception and ‘Dinosaurs and Space’ in Kindergarten. This style of teaching captures the children’s imagination and sparks off an eagerness and palpable excitement, which can be felt as you walk through the base; there’s nothing more thrilling than a visit from Goldilocks or a spaceship crash landing in your classroom overnight!
Each day in Early Years is wonderfully exciting, as we believe it is important for children to be introduced to as many new experiences as possible. In addition to adult-led learning, our days are carefully planned to encompass engaging child-initiated activities, indoor and outdoor, providing opportunities and time for our children to work collaboratively, use their imagination, sing, dance, paint, build, explore and investigate; in turn, promoting their creativity, capability and knowledge.
Our Reception class is the year prior to your daughter starting in Year 1. Our Curriculum is based upon the EYFS Framework and the children have fun working towards achieving the Early Learning Goals from the moment they join our setting. Our pupils benefit from specialist teaching in computing and physical education and make great use of our sports facilities.
EYFS CURRICULUM (EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE)
Our curriculum is based upon the EYFS ‘Development Matters’ Framework. The children have fun working towards achieving the Early Learning Goals from the moment they join our setting.
Our children enjoy daily practical and engaging Maths lessons to provide our youngest learners a sound and concrete understanding of the core principles of number, shape space and measure. Phonics lessons, taught daily, are delivered in a fun, and stimulating manner, using characters, stories, and songs.
We have a strong focus on developing core skills in Reading, Phonics and Maths from Kindergarten onwards, so that our children have the very best start in their education; equipping them well for Reception.
Our aim in EYFS is to give the children a broad and balanced start to their education and the confidence to achieve their potential in a happy, industrious and stimulating environment. Our experienced, well-qualified staff seek to develop the children’s skills and talents to encourage good manners and behaviour and to bring out the very best in every child.
Benefiting from enriching activities, our children are fortunate enough to have specialist teaching for Music, French and Forest School; in addition, Reception also have Swimming Lessons, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths), PE and Computing.
Our children are fortunate enough to have specialist teaching for Music, French and Forest School; in addition, reception children frequently use facilities in the HUB to support their learning and also have Swimming Lessons, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths), PE and Computing.
The children have access to an outdoor learning area which is used on a daily basis. One of the key features of our curriculum is forest school. The children spend time in our beautiful woodland guided by our specialist forest school teacher and assisted by our staff. In these sessions the children learn about life outdoors and have a great deal of fun!
EARLY YEARS SCHOOL LIFE
Our children are fortunate to have small class sizes, 1-1 reading, small group work and 1-1 personalised learning, ensuring that all children thrive, and their development is on track; with excellent academic achievement by the time they leave EYFS. Children needing extra support are quickly identified and supported in class, following expert advice from our SENDCo.
Our primary goal is for our children to feel safe, motivated, and confident, whilst forming secure attachments with their friends and the staff. With a high staff to pupil ratio, our team knows each child individually, helping children to feel secure in their environment, whilst building strong links with all adults and children across the base.
As an all-through school, from age 3-18, our children enjoy access to all the main school’s facilities. These include our very own, well equipped, Secret Garden, fabulous playground with a large range of appealing climbing frames and play equipment, expansive woodland, including our Forest School site with mud kitchen and fire pit, our impressive HUB with indoor swimming pool, Jubilee Hall, Library and Music Room. Our pupils also take part in school assemblies, themed days, and weeks, such as ‘National Storytelling Week’. We collaborate with older children in Junior school for ‘buddy reading’, take part in class assemblies and perform in our fantastic EYFS Nativity!
We enjoy a healthy snack each day mid-morning and come together at lunch time for a fresh, well balanced, home-cooked meal. Our school day begins at 8.40am and finishes at 3.30pm (you are welcome to drop your child off at 8am for no extra charge). We also offer an after school club, which runs until 5.30pm each day.
Home school communication is very important to us, and we have always been passionate about ensuring parents/carers have a good insight into their child’s learning and development. Therefore, as well as parent’s evenings and school reports, we also use an online journal to share photos and videos of your child’s experiences across the week, sharing progress and celebrating your daughter’s achievements together.
We warmly welcome you to come and visit our wonderful school, to meet our fabulous staff, and to see our amazing young learners in action.