Nursery and EYFS
Please click here for a video of Ribblesdale Nursery
Please click here for a video of Swaledale Reception
We would love to welcome your child to our friendly and caring Foundation Stage! We are able to offer Nursery places for children from two years of age and a dedicated EYFS Wrap Around Care from 8am until 5.30pm.
The EYFS department encompasses Nursery and Reception classes and is currently situated within four exciting indoor classrooms, all with access to well-resourced outdoor classrooms. Our 2-year-old provision is in a brand new, purpose-built Nursery (Silverdale). Provision for 3-year-olds is in the main school and called Ribblesdale and our two Reception classes are called Swaledale and Malhamdale.
We have an exciting Facebook page for you to follow us @RMSEYFS
Our EYFS@RMS, is taught by both experienced teachers and dedicated EYFS Practitioners. The children are organised chronologically for registration and for short Literacy, Numeracy and Phonics skills input sessions but in between these sessions the children choose their own learning environment inside or outside. Indeed, for the majority of the day, the children are free to investigate their own lines of enquiry and learn through play with their friends. Our planned curriculum meets the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and we use the children’s interests to engage and ignite curiosity. We then weave in the knowledge and skills we feel each child needs as their personalised next steps. When appropriate, we play alongside the children and ‘plan in the moment’ to enhance children’s learning so all children are enabled to meet their potential in all areas of their development.
Our Foundation Stage curriculum and provision reflects and provides opportunity for learning across the three prime areas of learning and also the further specific areas, of which there are four, which help children to strengthen and apply the prime areas.
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
We aim to encourage and nurture children to become more powerful learners and thinkers. These characteristics develop as the children learn to do new things, acquire new skills, develop socially and emotionally, and become better communicators.
Please find more detail below:
We believe when we succeed in giving every child the best start in their early years, we give them what they need today. We also set them up with every chance of success tomorrow.
Our seven key features of effective practice encompass:
- The best for every child
- High-quality care
- The curriculum
- Pedagogy
- Assessment
- Self-regulation and executive function
- Partnership with parents
The characteristics of effective teaching and learning
In planning and guiding what children learn, we reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust our practice appropriately.
Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:
- playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
- active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
- creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
(Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage: early adopter version)
Our Curriculum Intent is available here:
Click here to view the EYFS@RMS Curriculum Intent
During June, we initiate transition activities with the families and children who are beginning Nursery or Foundation Stage for the coming September. These can be adapted on a individual basis but involve a combination of some or all of: ‘Door Step Hellos’, visiting the Nursery / Pre-school settings, inviting the settings to visit us and holding open evenings for small groups of parents to meet each other and view our learning areas. Finally, and if possible, we invite your child to visit for two morning or afternoon sessions when the whole school moves temporarily to their next class and where your child can meet their new class friends and fully explore their new learning environment as it will be for the coming September. We also provide a scrap book where your child can add pictures of people, places and special belongings/objects that are meaningful to them in the journey in to beginning school or Nursery. We believe in ‘doing all the good we can’ ‘for all’ children should feel valued and a sense of belonging to the EYFS@RMS family from the very first instance.
These documents may be of use when considering supporting your child on this journey:
What Parents can do to help before they begin
To find out more about our engaging provision, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RMSEYFS
