Abbey Gates Primary School

Welcome to the Foundation Stage Unit! Here you will be welcomed by Mrs Vanner the Foundation Two class teacher and Mrs Davies the Foundation One teacher. You will also meet our wonderful teaching assistants Mrs Whitworth and Mrs Mackay and also many great, supportive parents and students.

In the Foundation Stage Unit we provide a positive and holistic curriculum, fostering and promoting the six areas of learning from the Foundation Stage Curriculum, to ensure that all children develop the necessary skills needed to learn and make sense of the world around them. We encourage children to explore, investigate, challenge, discover, create, practise and strengthen their skills through first hand experiences and play based learning.

We always find time to listen to parents/carers when they want to ask questions about the school or their child. We feel that this relationship is important so we can discuss any issues concerning parents and it gives opportunities just for a general chat. We feel that it is important for us to have good home links, so that we can give our children every opportunity to enjoy every aspect that the school has to offer. Also so that families feel part of their child's life, while they are with us at the school.

The Unit offers children a chance to learn and have fun through a broad range of exciting activities in a safe, secure environment. We provide children with a wide range of opportunities to learn and play, through large group work in literacy and numeracy, outings, special occasions, group times and focus time in much smaller groups, all linked to the six areas of learning. They take part in sports, arts and crafts, projects, games, trips out to museums, parks, or into the countryside, as well as reading, dressing up and lots more. Boys and girls are always encouraged to take part in all activities. Children's preferences, not gender, are the deciding factor in what children take part in.

We include the children in some of the planning of activities and encourage them to feel happy and confident whatever his/her ability, race, culture, language or gender. We believe in doing this because when children feel safe and happy they are learning all the time. All children learn at different rates and so the activities are planned with the needs of each child in mind.

Reading takes place everyday, from signs, labels, displays and books. We have a carefully constructed programme to help our children become readers. When the children are ready, they are given word cards to take home to learn and gradually they are introduced to our reading scheme material.
Children are encouraged to write for a variety of purposes. They proceed at their own pace and are taught as an individual. As children begin to read more fluently they are encouraged to attempt spellings.

We believe that close links with parents and other family members are very important and we want them to feel welcome in our classrooms. We encourage them to come and join in whenever they wish, there are so many activities that need adult supervision or maintaining resources in the Unit. We have some fantastic parents who regularly give their time, which makes the learning for the children even more exciting. They are valued members of our Unit!