Foundation stage guide 2013

THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE Dulwich College Beijing

EARLY YEARS

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Dear Parents, Welcome to the Foundation Stage at Dulwich College Beijing where your child is at the centre of everything we do. The aim of our team of qualified and committed educators is to engage your child in a curriculum that is well planned, stimulating and will inspire them to achieve high standards of attainment. In our caring environment we believe that if children enjoy and have autonomy over their learning, not only will they achieve these high standards, but they will also become learners for life. Our uniqueness lies in our commitment to ensuring that we celebrate each child as an individual who is capable of achieving their full potential and is confidently able meet the challenges of the 21st century.

When you visit our Early Years campuses at DCB you will see children highly engaged and learning actively through problem solving and creative thinking. Accommodation at both campuses is welcoming, safe and facilitates educational provision that combines the very best of innovation and tradition.

Sarah Humphreys Head of Early Years

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CONTENTS PHILOSOPHY & OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................... 4 INTRODUCTION FOR PARENTS .............................................................................................. 5 At Dulwich Children Come First ............................................................................................. 5 Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 5 ICT ................................................................................................................................................ 8 English and Mandarin – A Dual Language Approach.......................................................... 8 English as an Additional Language ......................................................................................... 9 Learning Support ....................................................................................................................... 9 Learning Journal - Your Child’s Unique Portfolio ................................................................. 9 PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS ............................................................................................... 9

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DULWICH COLLEGE BEIJING Philosophy & Objectives Because children come first: • Our school is a fun and safe place to learn • We can be ourselves • We all work together to do the best we can • We learn through everything we do • We play and work together as a team • We trust ourselves to try new things • We will try our best to take care of our world • We respect ourselves and others • We will be prepared for change

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INTRODUCTION FOR PARENTS AT DULWICH CHILDREN COME FIRST At DCB Early Years we are committed to ensuring that all children in our care can become happy, independent and enthusiastic learners. We aim to provide an appropriately balanced and challenging curriculum that will enable all children to realise their potential in a safe, caring and supportive setting. We provide a vibrant and stimulating school environment in which children can excel in their learning and develop the confidence and skills to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world.

STRUCTURE Dulwich Foundation Stage is part of our Early Years department and is led by our Head of Early Years, supported by a Deputy and a team of coordinators. All our classes are led by native English speaking Early Years lead teachers who are supported by qualified English speaking Chinese assistants.

Our Foundation Stage is divided into three age groups: • Toddler – 1 to 3 years • Nursery – 3 to 4 years • Reception – 4 to 5 years Our teacher to child ratios are: • Toddler: 1 teacher to 4 children • Nursery and Reception: 1 teacher to 8 children Our class sizes are: • Toddler: 16 children • Nursery: 18 children • Reception: 20 children The Foundation Stage Classes Our children’s learning meets the expectations of the English Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS), which sets standards for the curriculum. The EYFS is based around four themes: • The Unique Child – every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured • Positive Relationships – children learn to be strong and independent • Enabling Environments – the environment plays a key part in supporting and extending children’s learning • Learning and Development – children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates; all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected

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Toddler (1 to 3 years) In our toddler classes the play-based curriculum is centred around everything that the children do, from beginning to dress themselves, to using a pencil and riding a bicycle.

At toddler age, children tend to engage in their own play, gradually developing the skills to play with other children. Small group singing, story sessions, outdoor activities and simple games help a child to develop friendships and to socialise with their peers.

Parents are an important part of a toddlers’ education and we encourage you to take time to settle your child in, join in your child’s birthday celebrations and contribute to their learning journal with comments from home.

Nursery (3 to 4 years) and Reception (4 to 5 years) In our Nursery and Reception classes, children experience a play-based curriculum planned around the expected learning goals for their age. The teachers in the classroom regularly observe the children and place these observations, along with other samples of work and photographs, in individual portfolios – the children’s Learning Journals. These contribute to daily planning and the assessment of each child.

The curriculum is a carefully planned balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Specialist music, art and physical education lessons are also provided. As real life experiences are an important part of children’s learning, we often take them in small groups on local trips.

Children develop their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills at this stage of their development and this is recognised as an important part of our planning. We follow a phonics programme through which children are encouraged to segment and blend sounds through a variety of games and activities as part of their reading and writing development. They experience literacy and numeracy activities each day and will begin to bring reading books home when they are ready to do so.

Children enter the classroom in the morning to a choice of activity areas both inside and outside that include: • Number, reasoning and problem solving • Early reading/writing activities • Science and nature • Role play • Creative art • Construction • Music • Sand and water • Fine and gross motor skill development Page | 6

• Small world • ICT Language in the Curriculum Language development during the Foundation Stage is key to your child’s learning.

We therefore ensure that every experience we provide encourages your children to develop their verbal and non-verbal skills. This is done through a variety of activities and we ensure that adults interact with your child by encouraging them to think and solve problems for themselves. To do this we often use open ended questions that begin with phrases such as: “What if….?”

“How can we….?”

“Tell me about your…”

Learning opportunities are provided in different areas of the classroom and encourage language development.

The Creative Area encourages children to think independently, make their own decisions and talk to other children and adults about what they are doing. Whilst playing with other children, they develop listening and communication skills.

The Book Corner enables children to develop reading skills, which are an important part of their language development. Reading and sharing books with their peers and adults helps develop their language further.

The Role Play Area stimulates much functional, descriptive and receptive language and communication between the children.

The Sand and Water Play Area enables children to use language to solve problems, challenge each other’s thinking, follow instructions and express ideas. This can be by pouring sand or water into different containers or observing how sand changes state when water is added. They can also develop scientific and mathematical language.

Small World and Construction Areas provide opportunities for children to instruct, listen to others, explain and describe. They can develop language skills individually or in small groups designing, constructing and playing imaginatively with large and small equipment.

The Outdoor Area encourages all areas of children’s language development. Physical play activities such as crawling through tunnels and taking part in an obstacle course or a garden role play area, require instructional language that the children may use imaginatively together or by imitating adults.

A Malleable Area focuses on the use of sensory materials such as play dough or clay and encourages the children to use expressive language to describe what they are doing or talk to adults and other children.

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ICT Learning through and about technology is a priority for us in the Early Years at DCB and the use of ICT also promotes language and discussion. Using interactive whiteboards, computers, laptops, ipads and itouch devices, children are taught how to discover, reinforce and represent their learning using a range of different programmes. Our Early Years classrooms are very well equipped so that the ICT skills taught directly can then be used by the children throughout the day.

English and Mandarin – A Dual Language Approach In our Foundation Stage we provide a language rich environment where children follow our English Early Years Foundation Stage framework in a classroom environment that is rich in both Mandarin and English.

At Dulwich College Beijing we want to ensure that your children attain the best possible learning outcomes. Young children are highly receptive to language acquisition and, in our dual language programme, children will develop meta-linguistic awareness though a curriculum that is a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. We also recognise the importance of Mandarin as a global language Our Foundation Stage dual language classroom in Dulwich Beijing will: • • • • • • •

enrich your child’s language skills extend your child’s thinking skills nurture a deep understanding of language develop your child’s cognitive skills to solve problems at a deeper level encourage your child to be a creative thinker encourage your child to attain a consistently higher level of thinking develop your child as an independent learner

Your child will learn in a language rich environment where: • • • • • •

the English Early Years Foundation Stage is the learning framework the learning is led by a qualified teacher who is a native English language speaker and will lead the curriculum in spoken English the curriculum is supported by a qualified teacher who has Mandarin as their first language but who speaks fluent English English and Mandarin are used in natural contexts such as greeting in the morning, snack time or conversation during a child’s play linguistic development in both languages will be tailored to meet individual needs so that children who need to develop their English will be supported the physical learning environment, including print, is in both English and Mandarin Page | 8

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in the Reception year children will have differentiated phonics sessions and Mandarin sessions.

English as an Additional Language As an international school we welcome children from around the world and recognize that some will need support accessing the curriculum in the English language. Our experienced team of teachers will support children in class to develop their English. We have early years practitioners from the UK to ensure that children with English as an additional language are supported.

Learning Support We believe in enabling children to access the curriculum where appropriate. Children with specific needs are assessed on entry or as the need becomes evident. Children are supported in class by our experienced learning support teachers. Some children will have Individual Educational Plans that are shared with teachers and parents.

Learning Journal - Your Child’s Unique Portfolio Each day we regularly observe and assess each child, collecting photographs, comments, examples of work and written records of relevant things that we see throughout the day. We use this evidence to keep track of each child’s and to inform our planning. All this information is placed in a portfolio – the Learning Journal.

These form the basis of our reporting to you and are available for you to see. At the end of the year parents are given their child’s Learning Journal to keep.

PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS We know that children learn best when parents and teachers work in partnership.

We respect parents as the children’s main educators and want to create clear communication between home and school. As parents you will be asked to provide us with valuable insight about your children that will help us to get to know them. You will always be welcomed to settle your children into their classes. To keep you informed and give you opportunities to be actively involved in your child’s learning we provide: a) A Key Person Every child in our Foundation Stage has a designated adult who can communicate with you about daily events in your child’s life. The lead teacher is always the person responsible for your child’s education but the key person supports your child’s routines and keeps a special ‘eye’ on them to ensure they are happy and secure in the setting. The key person will also contribute observations of your child’s social and emotional development to your child’s portfolio. b) Consultations and Curriculum Information Sessions Parent-teacher consultations, information evenings and workshops are scheduled throughout the year. Our parent workshops focus on different aspects of learning Page | 9

such as phonics, early reading/writing, mathematics, and ICT, and we strongly encourage all parents to attend. We are keen to keep dialogue between parents and teachers open; consultations take place three times a year but if parents wish to see teachers at other times, they are very welcome to make appointments to do so. c) Home/School Liaison Diaries/Weekly Newsletters Parents are encouraged to communicate closely with their children’s class teacher.

All children have a liaison diary for day-to-day communication between home and school. We look at the diaries daily and encourage parents to do the same. Every Friday our Early Years newsletter goes out to parents, along with a Year Group letter outlining the previous week’s learning and communicating any other useful information. d) Parent Helpers and Class Representatives We warmly welcome parents who would like to contribute their skills and time to our school. There are opportunities to help during the school week, to use any special skills you may have or to contribute during curriculum focus days, charity initiatives, and school trips. Each class has a parent representative who acts as a link between the teacher and the parents for social events and to support the class. e) Coffee and Chat Our Early Years Friends group organizes regular opportunities for mums and dads to meet together informally to share coffee and cake. This takes place in the library at Riviera Main Campus and at Coffee and Books at the Legend Garden campus.

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