Early years by St George's Communications

International School, Luxembourg A.S.B.L.

Early Years Good Things to Know

We hope you find this handbook useful; it contains information which is an extension of the Parent Handbook you will have already received. You will receive further information in the form of termly Year Group letters with in depth information on each of the subjects your child(ren) will be studying.

Learning is growing in doing, knowing and understanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome to Early Years ............................................................................................................4 The Foundation Stage Framework ...........................................................................................5 Values .........................................................................................................................................8 Internet Safety Guide for Parents and Carers ....................................................................... 17

For further information regarding the curriculum visit

http://www.gov.uk/dfe/nationalcurriculum

WELCOME TO FOUNDATION STAGE – EARLY YEARS We would like to welcome you to the St George’s Foundation programme. We are sure your child will settle in quickly and gain a great deal from their time with us.

ADVICE FOR GIVING YOUR CHILD THE BEST START TO SCHOOL LIFE The key word is ‘independence’! Without independence your child is not able to learn and develop as quickly or as pleasurably as it is possible to do so. Therefore, please note the following information. Arrival at school – encourage your child to hang up their own coat and put their belongings in the appropriate places. Please also arrive on time, the ‘free-time’ play is an important start to the day to settle children and to ease them in to the busy day ahead. The School day is 8:30-15:00. Clothing – should be of a style that makes dressing/undressing for personal needs and independence possible; elasticated waistbands on trousers are easier, shoes should be velcro or slip-on style, slippers should be sturdy and well fitting, with a back support on them. Skills to be practised now: putting coats on and taking them off independently, putting shoes onto correct feet by themselves and also taking them off. Learning left from right. Bathroom independence – children cannot start with us unless they are completely toilet trained. Children in Early Years should be supplied with several changes of clothing or two (in case of getting wet from playing with water tray or during wet playtime), this should be left at school in the red bag provided, on their peg. Children in school must be completely independent in the toilet as they are not assisted, so we do not expect toilet accidents. Packed lunches and snacks – please ensure that your child can open and close their bags and boxes. Children should be able to open all wrapped food (clementines, apples etc. can be peeled/chopped, pre-packaged items can be pre-torn, drink bottles should have sports tops). Boiled sweets are not suitable because of the choking hazard. Nuts, while nutritious, are not advisable as we often have other children who have nut allergies. Canteen lunches are easy to eat and children can use a spoon or fork to feed themselves, they do not need to cut up their food. Please make sure lunch bags are an appropriate size – they should not be oversized, and suitcase bags on wheels are not appropriate. Book bags and files – your child will be issued with these, please bring them back as requested! Red book bags should come in with them every day as it contains their journal de classe/diary – a form of communication between home and school. If your child is ever being collected by another parent or anyone else, we MUST have this in writing from you! Gym sessions – please note that the children in Early Years participate in physical activities and have gym lessons in school. They will be given a red school t-shirt to wear for gym. They also need pumps/trainers to wear inside. Reception class have gym lessons timetabled all year and swimming for one term, your child will be supplied with a red school t-shirt and a swim hat. We have blue tracksuits available for purchase ages 3-4 and 5-6. These are very useful, especially on P.E. and swimming days as it makes changing so much easier for them. They are €20. We would kindly ask that you add your child’s name to the clothing and any possessions. End of day or session – please can we emphasise the importance of being here on time! Children get very concerned when they may think they have been forgotten! When your child comes out of school they have had a busy day and may either be bursting to tell you about it or may wish to keep it to themselves. This is all perfectly normal. Thank you for your co-operation. We look forward to welcoming your child to join us and having a wonderful year. If you have any questions do not be afraid to ask. 4

EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE FRAMEWORK The period of schooling which extends from 3-5 years is known in the National Curriculum of England and Wales as the ‘Foundation Stage’. Whilst it prepares children for later learning, it is a stage in its own right where much of the learning is through play and hands on experience. Playing is the main medium of learning — good play is characterised by challenge and enjoyment for the individual child. The children build on what they already know from their early learning experiences from home and extend their skills by observing, planning questioning and experimenting, developing their self-confidence, learning social skills and deepening their understanding of the world around them. All of this is achieved using a practical programme centred on the three prime and four specific areas of learning, and three learning characteristics that make up the Foundation Stage Curriculum working individually and in groups.

THE PRIME AREAS OF LEARNING Please remember that in Early Years the children will be tackling tasks at the beginning of the learning journey which will be completed at the end of Reception. Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. The three areas are:   

Self-confidence and self-awareness Managing feelings and behaviour Making relationships

Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive, and to develop their coordination, control and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food. The two areas are:  

Moving and handling Health and self-care

Communication and Language development involves giving children opportunities to speak and listen in a range of situations and to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves. The three areas are:   

Listening and attention Understanding Speaking

THE SPECIFIC AREAS OF LEARNING Literacy involves encouraging children to read and write, both through listening to others reading, and being encouraged to begin to read and write themselves. Children must be given access to a wider range of reading materials – books, poems, and other written materials, to ignite their interest. The two areas are: 

Reading



Writing

Mathematics development involves providing children with opportunities to practise and improve their skills in counting numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, and to describe shapes, spaces and measures. The two areas are:  

Numbers Shape, space and measures

Understanding of the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. The three areas are:   

People and communities The world Technology

Expressive arts and design involves supporting children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role play, and design and technology. The two areas are:  

Exploring and using media and materials Being imaginative

THE LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS The three characteristics of effective learning comprise playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. The characteristics describe the different ways children learn rather than what they learn. They begin at birth and are lifelong characteristics which are critical for building children’s capacity for future learning. These characteristics need to be understood by practitioners working across all seven areas of learning. Playing and exploring – Refers to engagement, comprising three aspects:   

finding out and exploring; using what they know in their play; being willing to have a go.

Active Learning – Refers to motivation, comprising three aspects:   

being involved and concentrating; keeping on trying; and enjoying achieving what they set out to do.

Creating and thinking critically – Refers to thinking, comprising three aspects:   

having their own ideas; using what they already know to learn new things; and choosing ways to do things and finding new ways.

FRENCH This is introduced into the curriculum for children for whom English is their first language. It is taught in an informal and practical way for the children to join in with role play, songs, stories, etc. Children for whom English is not their mother tongue, join the programme as and when the staff identify that their English has developed to a high enough level to easily cope with the demands of the current and future curriculum.

ASSESSMENT Systematic assessment of learning is, of course, an important component of our programme as it informs teachers, parents and children of the progress the children have achieved. At this age this is completed by observations of the child whilst at play.

THE VARIOUS AREAS OF LEARNING INVOLVE CERTAIN ACTIVITIES, THE INDIVIDUAL VALUES OF WHICH ARE

NOW DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES.

VALUES BOOKS

Extend language. Bring pleasure and enjoyment and an appreciation of fiction / non-fiction. Source of knowledge. Often stimulate further activity. Lengthen span of concentration. Assist social development. Excellent medium for relaxation or release from emotional tension. May kindle a genuine and lasting interest in books. Stimulate power of thought, memory and imagination. Encourage a quiet time for reflection.

POETRY

Offers vocabulary extension and good speech patterns to imitate. Develops memory and concentration. Brings awareness and delight in rhythm and rhyme. Promotes natural group situations. Brings pleasure and satisfaction. May be used to assist a child with a delay speech development. Passes on folk-lore and tradition. Stimulates imagination and thought. May kindle a genuine and lasting interest in poetry. Stimulates role play / drama.

CONSTRUCTIONAL PLAY

Strengthens large and small muscles. Improves hand and eye co-ordination. Offers satisfaction and pleasure from being creative. Assists social development through learning to share and take turns. Offers legitimate means for release from tension. Builds up self-confidence and satisfaction from achievement. Helps stimulate dramatic and creative play. Encourages children to think and reason. Numerous opportunities arise for the adult to extend childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge and language. Natural group situations result in free conversation with peers, older and younger children. Lengthens span of concentration.

COLLAGE AND 3D RECYCLING MODELLING

Improves hand and eye co-ordination. Strengthens fine muscles thus assisting manipulative skills. Offers release from surplus energy and tension. Gives satisfaction and pleasure from being creative. Increases physical skills thus boosting self - confidence. Promotes constructive and creative play. Assists learning through touch, sight and hearing. Brings an awareness to shapes, size and texture. Offers opportunity for language extension with adult and other children. Stimulates power of thought, memory and relaxation. Assists social development through learning to share and take turns. Promotes group co-operation. Lengthens span of concentration.

JIGSAWS, GAMES AND IMAGINATIVE TOYS

Strengthens small muscles thus assisting manipulative skills. Develops hand and eye co-ordination. Increases span of concentration. Develops visual discrimination. Brings satisfaction from achievement. Stimulates power of thought, memory and imagination. Encourages language through conversation with adult and other children. Increases vocabulary. Extends general knowledge. Assists in social training through learning to share and take turns. Develops an awareness of shape, size and texture. Encourages group situations. Numerous opportunities arise for incidental learning. Encourages child to think and reason.

PAINTING

Strengthens small and large muscles thus assisting manipulative skills e.g. control of hand movements, hand and eye co-ordination. Brings satisfaction from achievement. Stimulates other creative work with other materials. Extends childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knowledge of colour. Develops span of concentration. Gives child a non-verbal means of communication. Encourages social training through learning to share and take turns. Reflects childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s depths of observation. May offer topic of conversation. Offers a legitimate release from tension, especially finger painting.

OUTDOOR PLAY, INCLUDING SAND

Extends general knowledge through self-discovery. Develops span of concentration. Offers possible release from tension in a legitimate way building up, knocking down own creations. Stimulates conversation by naturally forming group in-situ. Improves hand and eye co-ordination. Assists in social training through learning to share and take turns. Offers opportunities to exercise and so strengthen large and small muscles. Stimulates imagination. Encourages creativity. Gives satisfaction from achievement and so builds self-confidence. Helps to relax upset children through its soothing and satisfying qualities. Presents numerous opportunities for language extension through general conversation with adult and other children. Numerous opportunities arise for incidental learning.

WATER

Offers possible release from tension in a legitimate way: e.g. wave hands in water vigorously. Stimulates conversation by naturally forming group situations. Offers opportunities to practise and so improve hand and eye co-ordination by filling, emptying, pouring. Assists in social training by learning to share and take turns. Exercises small muscles and so assists manipulative skills. Stimulates imagination. Gives satisfaction from achievement and so builds up self-confidence. Helps to relax an upset child through its soothing and satisfying qualities. Presents numerous opportunities for language extension through observations and general conversation with adults and other children. Numerous opportunities arise for incidental learning. Extends general knowledge through self-discovery. Lengthens span of concentration.

COOKERY

Offers opportunities for language extension with adults. Increases general knowledge e.g. changes in consistencies. Gives satisfaction and pleasure from being creative. Promotes group situation. Improves hand and eye co-ordination. Strengthens small muscles through pouring, stirring, mixing. Encourages independence. Assists in social training through sharing and taking turns. Independence and awareness of health and safety through using equipment safely. Encourages group situations. Offers learning situations through the senses: smell, touch, sight. Offers an awareness and recognition of different shapes and textures. Numerous opportunities arise for the adult to extend learning situations: “How many spoonfuls?”, “Which spoon is bigger?” Lengthens span of concentration. Introduction to early science and numeracy.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

FURTHER ADVICE AND RESOURCES

ä Get involved in your children’s internet use. Discussing the opportunities and risks with children involves helping them to see for themselves how they might get into and out of difficulty.

The Childnet International website gives internet safety advice, resources and links for young people, parents, teachers, and other organisations. Childnet’s Chatdanger website, accessible from here, gives information and advice about how to keep safe while chatting online. www.childnet.com

ä Agree rules as a family about not disclosing personal information – such as your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name – time spent online, and contacting people via the internet. ä Create a family email address for registering online. ä Bookmark your family’s favourite websites. Add www.ceop.police.uk to your favourites if you ever need to report online abuse to the police. ä Encourage children to talk to someone they trust if they feel worried or upset by something that happens online. ä Make use of available filtering and monitoring software. These can help to block inappropriate material but remember they are not 100% effective and are no substitute for adult involvement and supervision. For more advice see: www.getnetwise.org C

ä Make sure your children know the SMART rules. Childnet’s SMART rules have been written especially for young people to remind them how to be careful online.

Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information either to people you are chatting with online or by posting it online where other people can see it.

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Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only when they can be present.

Accepting emails, IM messages, or opening files, pictures or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!

Someone online might lie about who they are, and information on the internet may not be reliable. Check information or advice with other websites, books, or someone who knows.

Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.

Childnet runs a special parents’ seminar which can be held in your school and there is further advice for parents on Childnet’s KidSMART website at www.kidsmart.org.uk/parents Childnet’s award winning suite of Know IT All resources have been designed to help educate parents, teachers and young people about safe and positive use of the internet. You can access the suite of resources for free at www.childnet.com/kia Childnet’s Digizen website provides information about using social network sites and social media sites creatively and safely, it shares advice and guidance on preventing and responding to cyberbullying. www.digizen.org

KEEPING UP WITH CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET

Childnet’s Sorted website is a resource produced entirely by young people for young people and adults on the issues of internet security. It gives important information and advice on how to protect computers from the dangers of viruses, phishing scams, spyware and Trojans. www.childnet.com/sorted

www.childnet.com/kia The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s website houses a range of information on how to stay safe online. It includes a link that enables parents and young people to make reports of actual or attempted abuse online which the police will investigate. www.ceop.police.uk

The Internet Watch Foundation website is the UK’s hotline for reporting illegal online content. It deals specifically with child abuse images hosted worldwide and criminally obscene and incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK. www.iwf.org.uk

Childnet forms part of the UK Safer Internet Centre in partnership with the SWGfL and the IWF. www.saferinternet.org.uk

This guide has been written and produced by children’s charity Childnet International.

... AN INTERNET SAFETY GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

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THE INTERNET – ALWAYS CHANGING

Keeping up to date with children’s use of technology is challenging for many adults. It can be hard to supervise what young people are viewing and creating online, who they are chatting to and texting, and what they are downloading. Many children may have better technical skills than you; however they still need advice and protection when using internet and mobile technologies. This Childnet Know IT All guide will help you to understand online safety issues and give you practical advice as you talk to your children so they can get the most out of the internet and use it positively and safely.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

The risks for children when using the internet and mobile phones include inappropriate:

CONTACT

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Potential contact from someone online who may wish to bully or abuse them. It is important for children to remember that online contacts may not be who they say they are. Children must keep personal details private and agree not to meet unsupervised with anyone they have only contacted via the internet. It’s important that you discuss with your child who they can report inappropriate conversations, messages and behaviours to and how.

CONDUCT

Children may be at risk because of their own and others’ online behaviour, such as the personal information they make public. They may also become either perpetrators or targets of cyberbullying (the use of information and communication technologies to deliberately upset someone else).

CONTENT

CYBERBULLYING

New technologies provide an apparently anonymous method by which bullies can torment their victims at any time of the day or night. While the bullying may not be physical, the victim may receive an email, chat or text messages or be the target of unfavourable websites or social networking profiles that make them feel embarrassed, upset, depressed or afraid. This can damage their self-esteem and pose a threat to their psychological well-being. For more advice on preventing and responding to cyberbullying see: www.digizen.org

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social networking services or blogs are places online where young people can create personalised web-pages in order to express themselves and share ideas and opinions with others. These services enable them to meet and socialise online by linking to other people and therefore create an environment for the whole of their social network to easily exchange information and chat. WHAT ARE THE RISKS? Personal information and contact details can be contained in a profile or could be disclosed during online conversations. Such information can lead to children and their social network receiving unwanted contact from inappropriate people. Children can also post comments or images of themselves or others online, which may compromise their or their friends’ safety or be used as a means to bully others. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Learn from and teach children how to use these applications responsibly. Check the privacy settings available and encourage children to make their profiles accessible only to people known offline. Encourage young people to keep their personal information to a minimum and to think very carefully before including a personal photograph of themselves or their friends in their profile. Photos online can easily be copied, changed and used elsewhere, and can potentially stay online forever.

Inappropriate material is available to children online. Consider using filtering software and agree ground rules about what services you are happy for your children to use. Give them strategies for dealing with any content they are not comfortable with – such as turning off the computer screen and telling an adult they trust.

DOWNLOADING, P2P AND FILE-SHARING

There can be legal consequences for copying copyrighted content. Young people need to be aware that plagiarising content and downloading copyrighted material without the author’s permission is illegal.

WHAT IS PEER-2-PEER (P2P)? A file-sharing network enables people to exchange photos, videos, music, software and games directly between computers, by downloading P2P software.

COMMERCIALISM

IS IT LEGAL? People who download or upload copyrighted material online without the author’s permission are breaking the law. You can legally download by going to websites where this permission to share files has been given.

Young people’s privacy can be invaded by aggressive advertising and marketing schemes. Encourage your children to keep their personal information private, learn how to block pop-ups and spam emails, and use a family email address when filling in online forms.

For further information on social networking safety visit: www.childnet.com/downloads/blog_safety.pdf

WHAT ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT AND CONTACT? File sharing networks are the least regulated part of the internet. They can contain pornography and inappropriate content, often in files with misleading names. Direct children to legal downloading sites to reduce this risk. WHAT ARE THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY RISKS? Your computer is at risk from spyware, viruses and other invasive programmes if you are sharing files on non-regulated sites. Protect your computer and personal files by visiting reputable sites and by installing a firewall and anti-virus software. For further information visit: www.childnet.com/downloading

ACCESSING THE INTERNET ON OTHER DEVICES

The internet can be accessed through mobile phones, handheld gaming devices and gaming consoles as well as other devices like the iPod Touch and iPad. Internet safety issues apply to these interactive technologies. MOBILE PHONES Whilst mobile devices offer opportunities in terms of communication, interaction and entertainment, children can be at risk of accessing and distributing inappropriate content and images and talking to strangers away from parental supervision. Children can receive abusive text messages, be vulnerable to commercial mobile phone pressures and run up large phone bills. It is very important to encourage your children not to give out their mobile numbers to strangers either online or in real life and help them to use their mobile safely and responsibly. For more advice visit: www.chatdanger.com/mobiles GAMES CONSOLES AND HANDHELD GAMING DEVICES Home entertainment consoles such as the Playstation, Wii and Xbox are capable of connecting to the internet as are handheld games consoles like the DSi and Playstation Portable. For more advice on online gaming and how to stay safe visit www.childnet.com/downloads/Online-gaming.pdf