01904 806414 | admin.rws@ebor.academy
Robert-Wilkinson-Primary-Academy-Logo-

Parent Meeting for Children Starting School in September 2023

We recently held a meeting for the parents of children who are starting school for the first time in September 2023.

Here are the slides that were used during the evening.

New Starters information 2023

Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Offer

At Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy, we view our Early Years children as competent, capable and creative with huge potential for learning. Our environments enable our children to foster and develop skills and knowledge through a highly effective combination of adult and child led activities.

Adult led activities are meticulously planned from the Statutory Early Years Curriculum and are planned according to children’s needs and interests. Activities are engaging, practical, visual and active and our children display high levels of involvement and motivation.  Lessons are planned to teach specific knowledge and skills and adults model specific learning strategies to aid learning.

As well as adult led teaching activities, our children enjoy long periods of uninterrupted play, indoors and out, that allow them to initiate their own learning experiences. These activities encourage them to independently apply new found knowledge and skills, learn to manage risk and to develop their own sense of curiosity, perseverance, resilience and collaboration. Through these more “open” activities, children also learn to problem solve, take and manage risk and to self-challenge. Adults support and challenge the children during these times through modelling, questioning, demonstrating and encouraging imagination.

The Framework is divided into three sections:

  • Characteristics of Learning
  • 3 Prime Areas of Learning
  • 4 Specific Areas of Learning

Phonics

Our children are taught phonics and reading through the application of Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised. This is a systematic, synthetic phonics programme that was validated by the Department for Education in July 2021. All teachers and teaching assistants have completed training modules provided by Little Wandle to ensure a whole school understanding of the approach. As a result, the programme is followed with consistency across the school from the start of FS2.

Phonics is the learning of individual sounds and then applying this to blending sounds to read words. Through daily lessons and repeated practice, a child’s phonic knowledge and skills become more automatic, leading them to become, over time, fluency and competent readers.

We are very fortunate in our school to have some amazing facilities and we use these to enrich the statutory curriculum. Opportunities include:

  • Forest Schools
  • Cook School

Parents as Partners

Reciprocal relationships between adults and children are essential and we respect and value the relationships we have with our children and their parents an carers. Parents are welcome into our classrooms each day as well as for other events such as Stay and Play sessions in FS1, Open Doors, Christmas activities and twice yearly Parents’ Evenings.

Parent workshops are also held around various curriculum subjects, such as Phonics and Reading, which not only provide information about what is taught in school, but also provides advice of how to support their child’s learning at home.

Inclusion

We are fully inclusive of children with Special Educational Needs and DIsabilities (SEND) and children who have other additional needs. All staff work alongside these children and their parents, as well as the SEND Team within school to  employ various supportive strategies so that the children make progress and enjoy successful outcomes and access the curriculum alongside their peers.

OUR FOUNDATION STAGE THEMES

An overview of our EYFS themes can be downloaded here

Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy: Early Years Curriculum Overview 

 

Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1 Summer 2
Theme All About Me Celebrations Saving the Planet Planting and Growing Fantasy Worlds Summer Fun
The children in EYFS (Nursery and Reception) have high quality continuous provision that enables them to learn new knowledge and skills every day. The topics are a guide to the experiences the children may have and a way to ignite the learning but this is dependent on the developmental stage the children are at. Provision is enhanced and adapted to meet the needs of all of our children in Nursery and Reception to ensure they meet their developmental milestones enabling them to be able to do, learn and know more. The Knowledge and Skills Progression Documents provide further guidance on what the children will learn, know and be able to do by the end of Reception to ensure they are ‘Year One’ ready .