As well as the 7 areas of learning and development, children in Foundation are encouraged to learn in a variety of ways, these are defined as the characteristics of effective learning, which are:

• by playing and exploring,
• through active learning
• by creating and thinking critically

The Foundation Unit is set up to enable children to explore these characteristics of learning by:

• creating and making
• pretending and role playing
• finding out and exploring
• mark making with pencils, pens, chalks, paints, pastels etc.
• playing with numbers and shapes.

We have designated areas for reading, mark making, numeracy, jigsaws, construction, fine motor skills, listening, small world, role play, discovery and ICT. We have also have daily provision of sand, water, outdoor and messy play.

Routines and systems:

Our Day

* We start the day in our Key Worker groups, welcoming the children, sharing their news and introducing activities for the day.

*This is followed by ‘Busy time’ where the children explore the activities and initiate their own learning through play both indoors and outdoors.

*In the middle of the morning we have a speaking and listening or phonics session followed by snack in our key worker groups.

*Children then return to busy time and end the morning with stories or songs for F1 children and Literacy or Numeracy for F2 children.

*This routine is repeated in the afternoon, focusing on different curriculum areas during carpet times.

Throughout the day children also work at targeted activities and in small groups with staff to develop their skills in the different areas of the curriculum.

 P.E

F2 children need a P.E kit for weekly P.E sessions (Thursday), please keep P.E kits in school on your child’s peg (black shorts and a white t-shirt). Please can you also make sure all uniform and P.E kit is clearly labelled with your child’s name.  F1 children take part in a range of physical activities but do not yet require a P.E kit, for any hall P.E sessions, they simply need to take off their shoes, socks and any jumpers. Can we also take this opportunity to remind you that children should not wear earrings on P.E days for safety reasons.

 Reward Systems

We are now recording children’s rewards electronically on a system is called ‘Class Dojo’ where each child is given a character (called an avatar) which keeps count of the children’s rewards in a simple points system. These can be displayed on the interactive whiteboard for the children to see. Dojo points are awarded for achievements, effort, good manners and behaviour and kindness to others.  Please ask for your own parent log in if you have not received one.  This will enable you to see when your child receives dojo's and you can message the class teacher.

Reading at Home

We ask that you support your child learning to read. Please try to listen to them at home every night for a few minutes and talk about their books with them. Feel free to read along with them if they are finding their book a little tricky and encourage them to talk about the pictures or guess what might happen next in the story. Please make sure that when you have read with your child you sign their diary. Every read at home is worth a dojo point! When children read 4 times in a week they will be rewarded with extra playtime on a Friday.

Assembly

We have a merit assembly every Friday at 9.10am. This is where we recognise the children’s achievements. All parents, relatives and friends are welcome at this assembly and it would be lovely if you could join us. If your child is going to receive a certificate we will let you know.

Supporting your child

During the year, children who need extra support/ intervention in literacy or numeracy will be supported in small groups or 1:1 sessions to suit their individual needs.

You will be invited to speak with your child’s teacher about your child’s progress, achievement and next steps in the Autumn term. This will be followed up with a second meeting towards the end of the year to review any targets set. If you have any concerns or need to speak to your child’s teacher at any point during the year just let us know and we will be happy to speak to you.

Attendance

We highlight the importance of good attendance at The Mount School, knowing that good attendance leads to better learning and progress – we also don’t want the children to miss the exciting activities we plan! Each Friday we have an attendance raffle where every child who has attended school every day and has been on time is entered into the raffle with the chance of winning a prize. We also have a school attendance trophy, which is awarded weekly to the class which has the highest attendance.

Starting School

Children can start Foundation 1 the term after they turn 3. They are entitled to 15 hrs each week which is made up of 5 half days (mornings)

To support this transition into school, we organise a home visit and 2 school visits before they start their first full week.

Children start ‘full time school’ at the beginning of the academic year in which they turn 5. Visits are arranged during the Summer term to support this transition.