Early Years foundation stage (EYFS)

  The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the time in a child’s life from birth to the end of the Reception year. It is based on the recognition that young children learn best through play and active learning.

•   Broaden the children’s understanding of the world. (Be Caring)
• Spark their curiosity and imagination (Be Curious)
• Teach the children how to work collaboratively (Be Cooperative)
• Prepare them for life after Underhill (Be Confident)
• Make them lifelong readers
• Increase and improve their oracy skills (and in EYFS their storytelling skills)
• Build on their physical and mental fitness

Our days in Nursery and Reception are always packed full of learning and fun. The children have the opportunity to work with adults and their friends as a class, in groups or independently. Each day follows a clear routine to ensure the children feel safe and secure, and know what to expect each day. Activities and learning include: 

● Start the day activities ●5 a Day dance  ●Snack time ●Writing time ●Indoor and Outdoor Play every morning and afternoon ●Maths time ●Everyone Reading in Class ●Curriculum learning time such as Understanding the World, RE, Music, Art and Computing ●Storytime ●PE  

The children have opportunity to play and learn in the role play, sand and water areas, small and large construction areas, the message centre, our book corners, the climbing frame, digging areas and to use outdoor equipment such as bikes, balls and hoops .

 At Underhill, in both Nursery and Reception, we support all the children to be happy and friendly people who can understand and regulate their feelings and emotions; manage and regulate their behaviour on their own; make lots of friends and build positive relationships outside of the home.

Our nurturing and safe provision gives the children the opportunity to explore, take risks and develop their confidence and self esteem so that they are ready for the next stage of their learning journey.    

  Oracy and communication is at the heart of our curriculum. We make sure that children are developing their listening, attention, speaking and storytelling skills. In our Nursery and Reception, they become happy confident communicators, able to express themselves in a range of ways with the vocabulary they need to move on to the next stage of their learning in Reception or year 1.     

Your child with develop the ability to run, jump, hop, skip, balance, climb, move and play with skill and confidence in our wonderful setting. We also have specialist PE teachers who deliver weekly lessons to all the children in Nursery and Reception. 

Through drawing, painting, cutting, sticking, modelling and making, and building, they develop their fine motor skills so they can write and perform more ‘fiddly’ tasks with confidence.    

All children that come to Underhill learn to love reading! We have a very comprehensive system for developing early reading skills. Along with the robust teaching of phonics, with reading books closely matched to their reading level, we have a wonderful range of books in all our class book corners and school library. The children visit the school library each week to borrow their own special book to take home. Learning is built around stories and story telling to ensure that they foster a passion for reading. We also love parents to come in a visit at story time and be a Mystery reader! 

Through their play and learning, the children build their expert writing skills. We always write for a purpose in play and in guided sessions, or at each class message centre. The children develop their mark making and handwriting skills through drawing, modelling and making, climbing, and building.    

Number, shapes and pattern are all around and we ensure that our provision both indoors and out, helps our children to develop a confident and concrete mathematical understanding. 

Maths isn’t just about counting. We want our children to be to able notice patterns, to use mathematical language, to problem solve and reason. Through our provision and support, we make sure that all our children have the knowledge and number facts they need for their next stage of learning be that in Reception or year 1. 

Maths is fun and we want to eliminate the ‘I can’t do maths’ concept that many people have!   

Through learning about the past and present, different people and communities and the natural world, we build the historians, geographers and scientists of the future. 

In our setting we have visitors and experiences that bring the wider world to Underhill, building on what the children know already and introducing them to exciting new concepts and experiences. 

Our wonderful provision gives us the space and resources to learn about the natural world. We have different gardening areas and Nursery work with a local gardening group called GROW.  

    Our team ensure that we foster your child’s imagination, taking exciting learning adventures everyday! 

We have a wealth of resources available everyday so your child has the opportunity to draw, paint, make and create. Through planned activities and in their play, the children learn an exciting range of art and design skills and knowledge to enable them to express their ideas and imagination. 

We love music and dance and to perform! 

 Every day, we observe your child to find out their interests, strengths and what they can do. This helps us to plan their next steps. We share this information with you through SeeSaw (our online journal) and through meetings together.

Each of the 7 areas of learning has its own set of Early Learning Goals which determine what most children are expected to achieve by the end of Reception Class. 

At the end of the school year, we share the children final assessments with you and their new Reception or Year 1 teacher.    

   We are very keen for prospective parents to come for a school tour and see our fantastic school!

You can make an appointment to come and visit through the school office and we run tours all year round. Please call us on 0208 449 2423. 

There are lots of photos in the gallery below that show our Nursery and Reception learning spaces. 

Don’t be fooled by the view of the school from the street; behind the building is a wonderful, welcoming site full of very happy learners! 

We look forward to seeing you soon!