Welcome to Foundation Stage at Towcester Church of England Primary School!
Our Vision Statement
(Through the eyes of a child)
I will look and explore
I will touch, I will try
I will find out more
And question why?
I get time to discover
To create and pretend
To take a new risk
And make a new friend
I am happiest when
I am following my lead
I will play to understand
That is how I succeed.
I try things for myself
And grow my love to learn
Through the opportunities I am given
And the praises I earn
I am very special
That is clear to see
We celebrate our differences
Because I am me!
Welcome Video
Hello Grown-Ups,
We are so excited to welcome you to our Foundation Stage page. We can't wait to meet you when things are better but for now we would love it if you have a look at the information we have included on this page and watch the videos below. They give you a little insight of what is in store for you in September.
Welcome Booklet
Please see our welcome booklet. This gives you a little more information about us and gives you an overview of our Foundation Stage.
Parent Welcome Meetings - 26th May 2022
We are delighted to invite you to our ‘Welcome to Foundation Stage Parent Meeting’ that will be held in school on Thursday 26th May at 6.30pm.
Our Aims
In our Foundation Stage, we are a united team with play-based child centred learning at the heart of all our practice. At Towcester C of E Primary School, our children are eager to learn and are happy and highly motivated individuals. We promote our love of learning through rich and challenging learning environments; opportunities to explore, take risks, become independent thinkers and experience life first hand.
Every child is unique. At our school, we celebrate difference and encourage children to become exactly who they want to be. We aim high in Foundation Stage for all of our children regardless of background or previous life experience. This is because we want every child to have the best possible start to their education journey. We carefully plan our provision to suit the needs of all children at different stages of development. We ensure all children thrive and succeed and create learners who are well-rounded, independent, resilient and who have had the chance to access the many different opportunities we have to offer.
We celebrate all success in Foundation Stage, from both school and home. We truly believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to feel proud and enjoy celebrating achievements, no matter how big or small.
The wonderful children at our school are at the heart of all that we do. We build positive relationships with them, help them grow and develop and nothing is more rewarding than seeing the individual they have become when they leave us at the end of the year. When they leave Foundation Stage, our children are happy, proud, independent and motivated to take on the challenge of Key Stage One.
Transition program
The Foundation Stage team at Towcester C of E Primary work closely with local pre-schools and nurseries as part of an established transition program. More details to follow soon.
Our Parents
Our parents are a key part of all that we do and are welcome to be actively involved in their children’s learning at school. Parents are able to share learning experiences through open mornings, ‘WOW’ days, assemblies, volunteering and parent workshops. We also love sharing children’s achievements from both school and home through Tapestry, an online learning journal. We recognise that parents are the first educators in children’s lives and work closely with families to gather information. This supports our assessments and allows staff to share information about what each child needs to do next to develop and thrive.
Tapestry
Here at Towcester Church of England Primary School, we use the Tapestry learning journal to record the unique learning experience for each child. We are able to share this with parents, which provides communication between home and school. Tapestry also allows parents to upload observations of their child for the teachers to see. Together we build a learning journey of your child throughout the year.
A typical day in Foundation Stage
Every day, we provide opportunities for children to come together to share their experiences, learn through play, and have fun. Our continuous provision (famously known as ‘job time’) is updated regularly to engage and motivate the children to learn. More often than not, our children do not realise they are learning and often think they are simply ‘playing’. This is what we strive for. We encourage children to actively engage with ‘learning jobs’ and our passionate staff are on hand to challenge and guide the children to learn the best that they can. Our curriculum has a careful balance of child-initiated and adult-led learning.
We complete daily sessions of: phonics, handwriting, reading and teach daily ‘linked learning’ lessons. The linked learning will focus on communication and language, literacy, maths and personal, social and emotional development.
Areas of Learning:
The seven important and interconnected areas of learning and development shape our provision. We regard the three prime areas as particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.
- Communication and language development
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
Our provision also supports children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Within all of these areas, are 17 ‘Early Learning Goals’ that make up the EYFS national curriculum. As we work so closely with our children, we know each individual and their needs specifically at all times. As a result of this, we are able to keep track of the children’s attainment and progress. Where we believe a child is not on track for achieving the Early Learning Goals, we will work with the child on individual targets during continuous provision, group work and 1 to 1 time. We expect the vast majority of children to achieve the 17 ‘Early Learning Goals’ and are motivated to ensure all children make continual progress throughout the year. Our EYFS provision ‘gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life’.
Getting prepared for school
In addition to the information you can find in the welcome booklet, please use these links to get your child prepared for school in September.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/reception-at-primary-school/getting-ready-to-start-school/
https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk/#3
