St. Michael's CE School
Working Together For The Good Of All
“St. Michael’s Church of England School, established upon Christian foundations and living out the Christian faith, is committed to providing every child with an excellent education.”
EARLY YEARS
St Michael’s is a school and nursery where little people start on a big learning journey adventure! The children who join us in Nursery or Reception will discover a place where they truly belong in a safe and nurturing ‘home away from home’.
Our Early Years takes a holistic approach to teaching and learning. We focus on developing children’s social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical abilities. We encourage inquisitive young minds to blossom through experiences that allow them to question, wonder, inquire, experiment, explore and discover. Experienced teachers ensure challenging and creative learning experiences which place children at the very heart of all they do. We aim to stimulate and encourage children’s development and establish a love of learning within a safe and secure Christian environment.
Our St Michael’s EYFS follow the statutory framework, including the 7 areas of the learning and development into everything we do, understanding they are all equally important and interlinked.
Throughout the year, we will ensure our activities cover all areas of learning and will also place special emphasis on the Prime Areas, which are fundamental in ensuring children achieve to their fullest potential across the Early Years Framework.
The prime areas of learning are…
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The specific areas of learning are…
Literacy
Mathematics
Expressive Arts and Design
Understanding the World
There are 4 key principles that underpin our practice in the Early Years Classes at St Michael’s:
A Unique Child - We recognise that all children are different. We identify and celebrate their strengths and support their areas for development.
Positive Relationships - Our pupils interact well with each other and with the adults in the school. We encourage parents to be involved with their child’s education.
Enabling Environments - Our indoor and outdoor areas encourage exploration, investigation and independent learning. Our displays and resources are well maintained and reflect current learning.
Learning and Development - Pupils achieve well and make good progress from their starting points. Learning is playful, practical and purposeful and builds upon prior attainment. Our children enjoy coming to school.
Children learn through their play with a combination of child-initiated and teacher-led learning opportunities both indoors and outdoors. We use the EYFS Development Matters document to plan purposeful play opportunities, which create the enabling environment necessary for the children to display the Characteristics of Effective Learning.
Please look at the links below to find out more about our amazing Early Years.
The Early Years Team comprises of:
The EYFS Phase Leader,
A full- time Nursery teacher
Two full -time Reception class teachers,
Four full-time Teaching Assistants (Nursery & Reception) one of which is a full-time Nursery Nurse.
Together they work closely as a team to deliver an exciting and innovative curriculum which provides a balance across the areas of learning from the transition from a variety of external nurseries into our school up until the end of the reception year.
Each year we prepare social story cards for the children so that they can familiarise themselves with the staff team. Please contact the school office if you have lost your social story and need a new one.