Foundation Stage News
Rachel on the till in the role play Marks and Spencer’s
Timea’s ‘butterfly’
Suhaib and Kamran den building
Once again the Foundation+ Department have had a busy time.
We started the term learning about ‘Explorers’ . We were able to investigate local areas and join in activities that showed us how to care for the environment and living things.
Our next topic was ‘Places’ where we extended the children’s interest in different places and aspects of specific environments. Our special book this term ‘Handa’s Surprise’ gave us the opportunity to dress up as various African animals and learn about a variety of exotic fruits.
We have been out on lots of visits to build upon the children’s experience of real life situations. As a full day out, we visited Eureka! in Halifax. The museum is a fully interactive learning environment where play is an integral part of the educational experience. This made it the perfect place for our children to learn in a play based setting.
As a special treat some of the older pupils were able to join the Primary Department on a fun day out at Harewood House. The children really enjoyed seeing unusual birds in the gardens as well as having their faces painted and an ice cream at the adventure playground.
The Early Years and Childcare Service have continued to bring exciting sessions into the department. Our recent den building afternoon encouraged the children to use their imagination and allowed them to make their own choices about play situations. The children were able to experiment with large pieces of materials and construct various dens for various purposes.
play tent june 2009 002
We will be saying goodbye to the children who will be moving into the Primary Department in September, but close links will be maintained between the departments in order to meet the children’s needs. Also goodbye to Pat Fullen who will be working at Swain House as part of interim arrangements whilst the new provision is being set up. Susan Kilby will also be sadly leaving to take up a new post at Swain House. We wish them well.
Happy Holidays from everyone in Foundation
Our Foundation Department offers the same curricular opportunities as those found in the best Foundation Stages in Bradford; all our planning and organisation is based on Early Learning Goals and agreed best Early Years Practice. Additionally, our pupils benefit from having support from adults who are skilled in developing children's use of BSL and English. We encourage maximum use of ICT as soon as possible and have software to support many areas of the curriculum.
The planning is carefully balanced to include a mixture of adult-led and pupil initiated activities. We are also proud of our warm and relaxed atmosphere where children achieve high standards, become as independent as possible, whilst learning through fun-based activities. All Parents and Carers are invited to attend the weekly signing support groups and we also welcome Parents and Carers into the department to work together to enable their children to achieve age-appropriate standards. We aim to keep up to date with Deaf issues and current developments in mainstream education.
We liaise closely with Bradford Early Years and Child Care Service and Bradford Support Service for Deaf Children. A small number of pupils (have multi-sensory impairments / are deafblind). They require a specialist approach emphasising the development of communication, social and independence skills, alongside other curriculum areas delivered as appropriate to individual needs. A tactile approach is used to afford access to alternative modes of communication and learning, and to reinforce signed communication. BSL signs are adapted and used alongside tactile symbols to promote the development of communication skills centred around daily routines and the particular interests of each child.
The development of residual senses and compensatory skills is promoted and enhanced by opportunities to experience swimming lessons, aromatherapy, and experiential learning through regular outdoor education trips. Younger pupils benefit from use of the soft-play area and specially equipped multi-sensory room in the nursery department.