ISB Early Years
Handbook for Parents 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018
Welcome 3 Intro 4 School routines 6
Behaviour 9
Dear Parents,
Welcome to ISB Primary Here at ISB we understand that choosing the right environment for your child’s first steps into their school life is crucial. We understand that all children are coming into school with different experiences, needs and levels of English. Don’t worry we are here to help! Our aim at ISB is to ensure that your child feels happy and secure in our school. All our teachers and teacher assistants are here to ensure that your child is well cared for, happy and welcomed into our school community. Vicky Seeshan Deputy Head of Primary
ISB Early Years
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Intro In this booklet we hope to answer some of the many questions that you may have about your child’s transition into our school. If you have any further questions that are more personal to your individual needs then please feel free to email or pop in and ask us, we are more than happy to answer them for you. All the teachers and teaching assistants are highly qualified and excited to help your child reach their full potential in all areas of our curriculum. Our aim is to help your child foster a love of learning that will help them throughout their school career. It is our belief that a strong relationship between teachers and parents will ensure the very best for the children in our care. We aim to develop partnerships with parents where information can be exchanged freely in order to provide learning opportunities and care that will best suit your individual child.
The Foundation stage Structure In the British system the first years of school are called ‘The Foundation Stage’ It is in the foundation stage where children first begin their learning journey. Here at ISB we have divided the Foundation Stage into 3 year groups, Pre-Nursery, Foundation 1, and Foundation 2. Children are admitted into Early Years as follows:
Age
Year group
Age of admission
2-3
Pre - Nursery
If a child turns 2 on or before the 31st August they will be admitted into Pre - Nursery.
3-4
Foundation 1
If a child turns 3 on or before the 31st August they will be admitted into Foundation 1.
4-5
Foundation 2
If a child turns 4 on or before the 31st August they will be admitted into Foundation 2.
Early Years Curriculum Here at ISB we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Our curriculum is split into 7 areas of learning. These areas of learning are then split again into the Prime areas and the Specific areas.
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ISB Early Years
The Prime areas are:
∙ Personal, Social and Emotional Development ∙ Communication and Language Development ∙ Physical Development It is vital that children have a good solid base in these 3 areas before going onto explore the Specific areas. The Specific areas are:
∙ Literacy ∙ Numeracy ∙ Understanding the world ∙ Expressive art and Design
An overview of each area: Personal, social and emotional development: This area involves building children’s confidence and abilities in a range of situations. It shows them how to manage their feelings and emotions in order to build positive relationships with others. Developing children’s social skills and helping them to respond positively to instructions and rules is vital for their continued learning. Communication and Language: It is vital that children are given the opportunities to communicate in a range of ways. Allowing children opportunities to have conversations and make marks, enhances their learning in all other areas of the curriculum. It is also important that children learn to respect others and listen in group situations as well as participate with their own ideas. Teachers will provide opportunities for all of this through engaging hands on activities that stimulate the children’s interests. Physical development: This involves children developing their co-ordination and balancing skills by using a range of apparatus such as bicycles, climbing frames and balls. The children also develop their fine motor skills (small movements) by using equipment such as pencils for writing/drawing and scissors. In this area of the curriculum children are also supported in making health choices and how to have a balanced life-style. Literacy: Children are encouraged to foster a love of reading and writing through a range of activities that promote this area. Children are taught the links between letters and sound through ‘Phonics International’ phonics scheme and this is supported by resources from ‘Letters and Sounds’ from the UK. Children are encouraged to ‘make marks’ and ascribe meaning to them as they develop an understanding of written words. Children are encouraged to enjoy listening to stories and to create and tell their own stories. Mathematics: In this area children are given the opportunities to explore numbers through a range of practical learning opportunities that support counting and problem solving. Children are also encouraged to build using shapes and think about concepts such as money and time to build on their mathematical vocabulary. Understanding the world: This involves giving children the opportunity to explore people, places and experiences in order for them to build up a greater knowledge of their environment and the world. Children are given opportunities to investigate and ask and answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. By providing opportunities to practically explore and find out for themselves they have a greater understanding of the different concepts. Expressive Arts and Design: Children are given opportunities to create and express themselves through a variety of different media and materials. These will include dance, music, singing, painting, building, role play and drawing. They are encouraged to talk about their work with others and to modify and develop their ideas.
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The school day An example Nursery and Foundation 1 timetable Time
Monday
Tuesday
8.30-9.00
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Arrival and Registration
9.00-9.30
Integrated Classroom Activities
PE
Integrated Classroom Activities
PE
Library
9.30-10.00
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
10.45-11.15
Music
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Music
11.15-12.00
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Integrated Classroom Activities
Story
Story
10.00-10.45
Snack and Outside Play
12.00-1.00
Lunch and play
1.00-1.15
Story
1.15-2.00
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
2.00-2.45
Sleep Snack and home routine
Sleep Snack and home routine
Sleep Snack and home routine
Sleep Snack and home routine
Sleep Snack and home routine
2.45-3.00
Story
An example Foundation 2 timetable
Story
Time 8.309.00 9.009.30 9.3010.00 10.0010.45 10.4511.15 11.1512.00 12.001.00 1.001.30 1.302.00
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Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Arrival and Registration Integrated classroom activities (ICA)
ICA
PE
Library
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
PE
Snack and Outside Play
Phonics
Phonics
Phonics
Phonics
Phonics
ICA
Music (11:15 11:45)
Music (11:15 11:45)
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
Lunch and play ICA Computers ICA
2.002.45
ICA
ICA
ICA
ICA
2.453.00
Snack and home routine
Snack and home routine
Snack and home routine
Snack and home routine
Early Years assembly (2 - 2:30) Snack and home routine
Arrival at school You are invited to drop your child off at school between 8:15 and 8:30am. In the spring and summer months the children will play outside before school. In the Autumn and winter months the children will play inside the classrooms. Of course if it is raining the children will always be inside. Classes will start at 8:30, we encourage you as parents to drop your child off and return at the end of the school day. We understand that this can be difficult if your child is upset in the morning. However, we have found that children settle more quickly when this routine is established as early as possible. If you would like to stay with your children for their first day this can be arranged with the class teacher.
Picking up your child at the end of the day The school day finishes at 3pm and we kindly ask you as parents to wait behind the doors to the Early Years department in the main gallery area. The staff will help your child prepare to go home and bring them to you when you arrive. This process is in place for the safety of the children. If you need to speak to a member of staff at the end of the day please just ask for that person and they will come and meet with you.
School bus: There is an option for children to use a bus service to and from school. If you require this service please speak to the admissions office and they will be able to advise you on this.
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Food and snacks at school In Early Years we understand the importance of a healthy balanced diet and we do our very best to ensure that all the children are eating well during the day at school. Meals provided are as follows:
Morning snack This could be a yoghurt, fruit or milk.
Lunch This will be a soup, hot meal and desert. The menu for this will be emailed to you from the school office so you can keep track of what your child is eating.
Afternoon snack The children also get an afternoon snack which they eat at about 2:30 this could be fruit, yoghurt or a drink of juice or milk. If you would prefer your child to bring a packed lunch this can be arranged when you register your child through the admissions office.
What to bring There are certain things that your child will need to bring to school every day to ensure that they are comfortable, these are as follows: • A water bottle • Spare set of clothes in case of ‘accidents’ or they become wet or dirty during play • A bag We also ask that the children have a pair of inside shoes that they can change into when they are in the classroom. This will ensure our classroom environment remains clean and dry.
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ISB Early Years
Nap time The children in our Pre-Nursery and Foundation 1 classes are still very young and need to rest in the afternoon. We provide a comfortable room with individual beds for the children to use. The teachers will stay with the children until they are asleep and then one member of staff with remain in the room to ensure they are all comfortable while they are sleeping.
Specialist lessons During the week the children in Early Years have the opportunity to participate in specialist lessons for music and P.E. In Pre-Nursery and Foundation 1 the children have 2 lessons of Music and 2 lesson of P.E each week. In Foundation 2 the children have 2 lessons of Music and 2 lessons of P.E each week. In addition to this the children are able to visit the Library once a week and have a computing lesson once a week taken by the class teacher.
Behaviour Here at ISB we have very high expectations of children’s behaviour and we like the children to take responsibility for their actions and show an understanding of what is right and wrong. Teachers achieve this by establishing routines and positive relationships with the children in the class. The children feel safe and secure when the routine is familiar and this helps them to identify what they need to do and what is acceptable. We feel that good communication between parents and staff is vital and we welcome you as parents to come and talk about your child regularly. Staff are always available to speak whenever you need it. If you prefer to communicate via email this is perfectly fine too.
We would like to thank you for considering ISB as the right choice for you and your family. We hope to welcome you into our school community very soon.
ISB Early Years
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1R, Gara Catelu Street, Sector 3, 032991 Bucharest, Romania Phone: +40(21) 306 95 30