Our Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of Nursery and Reception. Our wonderful Early Years team work hard to promote co-operative learning through all areas of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. We prepare children for a smooth and seamless transition to Key Stage 1 by developing and modelling a range of skills that will aid this transition and prepare them for the rest of their school career. We have a very welcoming ethos and an ‘open door’ policy, where parents are encouraged have daily discussions with staff to support the ongoing learning in Nursery and Reception.
Our Academy’s SENDCO and Senior Leadership Team work closely with the Early Years Team, who support children in our school with various needs. Our SENDCo is there to offer advice, liaise with outside agencies and ensure we create a provision suitable for the needs of all pupils.
Both Nursery and Reception follow a program called ‘Success For All’, which is a whole day program that works to ensure all areas of the EYFS curriculum are covered, but also preparing children to be independent learners, with a variety of skills so they can be challenged and question the world around them. This program is also used throughout the rest of the school in KS1 and KS2, which allows children to have consistency as they move up year after year.
The Early Years curriculum focuses on seven areas of learning which are split into the prime areas and the specific areas. As children grow and mature in the prime areas, they become ready to develop and acquire skills and knowledge in the specific areas.
The Prime Areas:
The Specific Areas:
Each of the areas has its own learning goals. By the end of Reception most children should have made significant progress towards achieving these goals.
At Gonville Academy, we have a 52 place Nursery which gives children a safe, creative space in which to learn and develop. If your child is 3 years old, and you are successful in your application to the Nursery, then they are entitled to 15 hours of free learning within the Nursery every week. Sessions are divided into morning sessions (8:55 – 11:55am) and afternoon sessions (12:15 – 3:15pm), and your child will be allocated a place in either the morning or afternoon Nursery.
In our Nursery, we aim to apply the best principles of early years education, encouraging positive attitudes to school and its routines. Children have access
to a range of activities, both inside and outside the classroom, and a variety of adult-led and child-led activities are on offer.
In Nursery, we focus on the three Prime Areas of: Personal, Social & Emotional Development; Physical Development; and Communication and Language. These Prime Areas are the most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.
You can download our Nursery application form below, or come and see us in the office to pick up a form.
In Reception, children learn through playing, exploring and being active, and much of the learning in the EYFS is child initiated. At Gonville, children have access to a range of activities both inside and outside the classroom that support their progress through the Early Learning Goals.
Gonville Academy follows the national Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework, which has 7 main areas of development. In Nursery, children develop the 3 Prime Areas. These are:
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
Teachers carefully plan activities to suit the needs of individual learners. At Gonville Academy, children have access to a range of activities, both inside and outside the classroom, that support their progress through the Early Learning Goals. Our pupils in Reception are given a firm foundation to begin the next stage of their education in Year 1.
