Reception (Seacole Class)

Welcome to Seacole Class

Named after Mary Seacole - British nurse and businesswoman. She was famous for her nursing work during the Crimean War and for publishing the first autobiography written by a black woman in Britain.

Class Teacher - Mrs Salisbury	Learning Assistants - Mrs Lopes and Mrs Salvador

 

The areas of learning and development

In Longford Park’s Reception Class, children progress within a language rich environment. We provide this by using every available opportunity to use language, to interact, to take turns, to share and to talk so we can empower every child, without exception, to become a successful citizen of the world. 

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum comprises seven areas of learning and development. All areas of learning and development are important and are interconnected. We want our children to be engaged, motivated, creative and curious.  This will enable them to become problem solvers, critical thinkers, risk takers and independent learners. 

Throughout the year, we provide rich learning opportunities which promote challenge and enable children to become independent and resilient learners.  Our versatile resources enable children to have ownership over their learning and we create environments where children can have fun and create purposeful learning opportunities.  Adults are considerate and nurturing and sensitively support children’s play, language development and thinking processes through positive relationships.  This includes skilled questioning which helps to extend children’s thinking and understanding without interfering with their original ideas and thoughts.

Through the combination of our staff’s deep knowledge of child development, our environment, the planned adult-directed activities and ongoing high-quality interactions, Longford Park’s EYFS creates happy, confident children.

Learning in Nightingale Class

In planning and guiding children’s learning experiences, staff in our Reception classes reflect on the different ways that children learn and cater for these in their daily practice.

Three characteristics of effective learning in the Early Years are:

1. Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
2. Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
3. Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

Playing and exploring with the willingness ‘to have a go’, alongside being an active learner engaging in ‘hands on’ experiences, develops each child’s ability to make links, share views and express ideas in a safe and supportive learning environment.

Learning experiences for our Reception children are planned around the seven Prime and Specific Areas of Learning and experience.  Early Learning Goals summarise the knowledge, skills and understanding that all young children should have gained by the end of the Reception year.

Early Years practice is developed in line with ‘best practice’ guidelines and supports the concept of continuous provision, free-flow, and a predominantly child-led learning environment both indoors and outdoors.  At the heart of this is the development of communication and language skills through ShREC interactions and targeted Wellcomm interventions. 

As outlined in the EYFS statutory framework, our schools teach the seven areas of learning and follow progression documents which clearly outline what 2-3 year olds, 3-4 year olds and 4-5 year olds should know and be able to do in each area.

The progression documents for each area of learning can be found on this page: /1108/our-early-years-foundation-stage-curriculum                                           

 Partnerships with Parents

We believe children learn best when we work in close partnership with our parents and the wider community. There will be many opportunities to actively participate in your child’s learning through our STEAM showcases and family learning events.

We also use ClassDojo to record and share children's learning and communicate these with parents in real-time.  At Longford Park, we encourage parents to comment and share the learning that happens at home, via ClassDojo.  If you are have any issue accessing ClassDojo, please contact your class teacher.

Talking with your child:

 Research shows speaking, listening, and understanding are central to every aspect of our lives. A child’s later educational success stems from their ability to express their needs, learn how the world works and communicate with others. These websites show short simple videos, such as when to introduce new vocabulary or how to have engaging back and forth conversation with your child.