Welcome to the Acorns Unit! In our unit, we have the Little Acorns which are Nursery and Reception children and we have the Acorns which is our Year 1 and 2 children.
Autumn 1 Topic Overviews:
Acorns Topic Overview Autumn 1
EYFS Long Term Overview – Autumn 1 – Who am I
We aspire for our learners to be confident, independent and inquisitive. We believe the best way to achieve this for our learners in the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) and Key Stage One curriculum is through an engaging and challenging environment where children are supported to learn through play. We understand the power of high-quality interactions in the development of outstanding teaching and learning. Children are given opportunities to develop their own ideas, thoughts and opinions through play indoors and out.
Our teachers:
The Acorns are taught by Miss Willett and supported by Mr Penrice (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) and Miss Rainford (Teaching Assistant).
The Little Acorns are taught by Miss Garrett and supported by Miss Fisher (Higher Level Teaching Assistant).
Environment:
We are a free flow setting which means children have the choice to move indoors and outdoors freely, and can be outside in all weathers. Children should come to school with a weather appropriate coat. In summer, they can bring sun hats and sun cream. In winter children should have a jumper and warm coat.
Messy Play:
There is a lot of explorative play both inside and outside the classroom. This can lead to uniforms getting dirty and wet. Messy play lends itself to gross and fine motor skill development, and there is no better way of learning about the world around us than by touching it, inhabiting it and shaping it. When outdoors we provide wellies and full waterproof suits for children to wear. A named change of clothes is necessary for your children to remain comfortable whilst at school.
Independence:
We continue to promote independence throughout the school year. In order to support this at home your child should be able to: ask to go to the toilet, begin to or be able to dress and undress themselves, put on and zip up their coat on their own. Ideally children in nursery should be using the potty or toilet trained.
PE:
Our P.E days are Thursday and Friday. We provide pupils with a Tebay Primary School P.E Kit including: joggers, hoody, shorts and their house colour t-shirt. All parents need to provide is black trainers.
Guided Practice Reading Sessions:
Guided Practice reading sessions will begin week 4 of Reception. Children will read with an adult in school three times a week and focus on the following: decoding (sounding out), prosody (expression) and comprehension (understanding what they’re reading). This book will then go home with children in order to develop their fluency, accuracy and confidence with reading. Celebrate their success and talk about the book together. You can find out more about how to support your child to learn to read at www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk
Water bottles:
Children do not need to bring a water bottle. School provides them with their own Tebay Primary School water bottle which stays in school.
Snack:
We promote healthy eating at all times at school and provide fresh fruit and milk in the morning.
Communication:
Teachers are available to speak to at the end of the day. If you wish to have a meeting to discuss something more in depth, please make an appointment at the school office. We regularly update our social media pages and use ParentMail via Tracy in the office.
Tapestry Online Learning Journal
Assessment in the EYFS is carried out through informal observations of the children participating in a range of activities and is recorded through Tapestry – an online learning journal.
Reception Baseline Assessment
Upon entry to Reception, we undertake the Reception Baseline Assessment. The RBA is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child’s literacy, communication and language and mathematics skills using familiar resources. The assessments are carried out with familiar adults in their everyday environment.
Early Years Foundation Profile
At the end of the Reception year, staff complete the EYFS Profile assessment for each child. The EYFS profile is a statutory assessment of children’s development at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and is made up of an assessment of the child’s outcomes in relation to the 17 early learning goals (ELGs). It is intended to provide a reliable, valid, and accurate assessment of each child’s development at the end of the EYFS.
