early years foundation stage HANDBOOK

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P R I M A R Y C U R R I C U L U M H A N D B O O K

early yearsfoundation stageHANDBOOK

E Y f s H A N D B O O K

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OVERVIEW 3

7 AREAS FOR LEarning 4

assessment 6

trips, special days and visitors 8

enabling environments 9

specialist subjects 10

communication 12

parental support 14

CONTENTS

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OVERVIEW

Our Early Years Foundation Stage programme is an excellent foundation for learning. We follow the revised British Early Years

Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, providing a curriculum full of activities, themes and real-life experiences that motivate the children and provide a solid base for their future learning and development.

Parents want to know that their children will thrive in a happy, safe and secure environment. Our EYFS framework and curriculum, taught by our experienced and caring teaching staff, provide that assurance.

Children from Pre-nursery to Reception engage in learning that follows broad themes throughout the year such as Getting To Know You, Ready-Set-Go and China in your Hands. Classes follow children’s interest and ensure that every child makes progress based on their individual learning needs.

Field trips, special visits and participation in whole-school events bring great learning opportunities as well as the participation of parents and family in school to share cultural experiences.

Classroom layouts are planned across the various areas of learning and include areas such as book corners, maths blocks, puzzles, sand and water play and role playing. The carpet area is for working with the whole class on storytelling, sharing stories and having circle time.

A comfortable and practical uniform is worn by all children and caters well for the different seasons.

We provide our pupils an environment that enables them to thrive and progress at the right rate for them and to, most importantly, be happy in their first school experience.


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THE 7 AREAS FOR LEARNINg

The EYFS is a framework for children’s development from birth to the end of the Receptionyear of Primary School (0 - 5 years).

There are four themes of the EYFS Curriculum;

A Unique Child - every child is a competent learner from birth and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships - children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and carers.

Enabling Environments - the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending a child’s development and learning.

Learning and Developing - children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important.

These themes are used to underpin the learning and development that your child will take part in during their time in the EYFS. Children learn in a variety of ways: watching others, talking, asking questions, listening, exploring and investigating.

Play is the foundation of development and learning for young children and your child will continue to take part in many indoor and outdoor play experiences that will help them to learn and have fun.

The EYFS curriculum is organised into seven areas of learning and development:

• Personal, social and emotional development• Communication and language• Mathematical development• Understanding of the world• Physical development• EAD - expressive arts and design• Literacy development

THE 7 AREAS FOR LEARNINg

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THE 7 AREAS FOR LEARNINg THE 7 AREAS FOR LEARNINg

personal, social and emotional development We provide children with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others, respect for others, social skills and a positive disposition to learn.

Communication and LanguageChildren’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening is constantly supported and extended.

mathematical development We develop children’s understanding of Maths in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding.

Understanding the World We support children in helping them to make sense of the world through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments; undertake practical experiments and work with a range of materials.

Physical Development The physical development of students is encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement. They are always supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food.

expressive arts and design Children’s creativity is extended by supporting their curiosity, exploration and play. Our pupils are provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, design and technology.

literacy DevelopmentChildren’s learning and competence in beginning to read and write is constantly supported and extended.


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ASSESSmENT

Assessment plays a crucial role in effective education. We believe this whole heartedly and have a wide range of assessment systems in place

to track and respond to children’s learning. The types of assessments may include:

• Timed observations of individual children to track their movements around the learning environment, periods of time for which they remain at activities and peers with whom they interact.

• Planned observations in which children will work in groups, or individually, with a teacher and have their learning assessed against a set of criteria.

• Informal or spontaneous observations when working independently, a child may make a link in their learning or a comment to someone which gives insight into their understanding.

• Photographs of children engaged in a range of activities, often with a comment or quote attached by the teacher.

• Examples of work from all areas of the curriculum can be one of the most useful pieces of assessment evidence.

ASSESSmENT

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ASSESSmENT ASSESSmENT

Each child has a ‘Learning Journal’ in which assessment information is kept. This is an individual book which may be accessed by the

child, teacher or parents at any time.

Parents and children are encouraged to look at the working document over the year; discussing successes, building pride and considering areas for development.

Parents are also invited to bring in any work, done by the child independently at home, which may feed into their child’s Learning Journal.

Each section of the Learning Journal contains statements referring to the seven areas of development:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development • Communication and Language• Physical Development• Literacy Development

• Mathematical Development • Understanding the World • Expressive Arts and Design

By the end of Reception, all children are expected to have made progress in each of these areas. At the end of their Reception year, children are assessed against 17 Early Learning Goals and their progress is described as either “emerging, expected or exceeding”.

A child will progress at different speeds through the 7 different areas and will be further ahead in some when compared to others – this is normal and expected.


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Throughout Foundation Stage children may experience a range of external trips and visitors to school. Some of these trips may be local,

such as trips to the shops to use money or to meet the local community. Others may be further afield, taking advantage of the exciting place in which we live. Children experience a wide range of exciting whole-school events over the course of the year including International Day, Chinese New Year, Christmas events and Book Week. Previous trips, special days and visitors have included:• Blue Zoo aquarium• A picnic in Chaoyang Park• Dinosaur Museum• Chinese Day• Teddy Bears’ Picnic in the playground• Pet Day• Dentist visits• Authors and musicians

As hands-on experiences, trips offer great learning opportunities; not only whilst actually on the trip but also when building up to them by engaging the children in planning and researching activities.

We are always keen to invite parents and family members in to school to share their expertise in different areas and share their cultural experiences with us to enhance the children’s learning.

TRIPS, SPECIAL DAyS AND VISITORS ENABLINg ENVIRONmENTSCLASSROOm LAyOUT

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Each Foundation Stage classroom has a number of different areas set up to ensure that our pupils have easy access to a range of resources

and opportunities across the 7 areas of learning. These include:• Outdoor areas: used for exploring larger

movements, planting, circle games, climbing and cycling, making tents and sharing books, etc.

• Unit Block area: block play for maths, language and social skills development.

• Fascination Station: free creative expression with cutting and pasting, collage and paint.

• Book Corner: sharing and enjoying books with others in a cosy spot.

• Role play: make-believe, dressing up and trying out different roles and scenarios. Speaking and listening, sharing and using our developing reading and writing skills.

• Writing and Drawing area: free expression and experimentation through drawing, trying out their own writing and becoming confident ‘mark makers’.

• Manipulatives: fine motor skills development though puzzles, beads, weaving, etc.

• Sand and water: experiencing and experimenting with different equipment and materials.

• Carpet area: working with the whole class on storytelling, sharing a class book or having ‘circle time’.

The classroom layout will change from time to time as the children show particular interests which the teacher will then follow. For example if some of the children are really interested in pets a Vet’s Surgery may be set up for their learning in the role play.

ENABLINg ENVIRONmENTSCLASSROOm LAyOUT


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SPECIALIST SUBjECTSmUSIC AND CHINESE

Children will have a range of specialist teachers for Music and Chinese, in addition to their class teachers, who will work with them each week.

Chinese is delivered on a daily basis by well-trained, Mandarin speaking staff who also speak English. Children are engaged with their learning and supported in this new language through use of songs, daily routines, visual aids, stories and ‘call and response’ games as well as hands-on activities.

Music lessons are experienced by all year groups in their classrooms. Concepts are explored through song and exploration of musical instruments with children encouraged to perform and interact both individually and in groups. Music is also an integral part of the Early Years curriculum each day with songs used as a basis for teaching in many areas.

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SPECIALIST SUBjECTSmUSIC AND CHINESE

SPECIALIST SUBjECTSPHySICAL EDUCATION

Physical Education is taught by the class teachers every week. They will start by developing children’s spatial awareness skills and move onto

lesson blocks in which they practise ball skills and games, dance and responding to music and gymnastics.

Formal swimming lessons, taught by specialist PE teachers in the swimming pool, begin in the final term of Reception when children swim once a week.

Children in the Nursery enjoy water confidence activities in a small outdoor pool in the summer months. They are encouraged to play simple floating and sinking games and gain experience in the water.

Throughout our Teddies program, children are encouraged to play and explore water and in the summer months they are able to enjoy paddling, spraying and splashing in our nursery garden.


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COmmUNICATION

At The British School of Beijing, we greatly value working in partnership with parents and carers to ensure the very best for your children. As

part of this, we place a strong emphasis on opening up many avenues of communication between parents and teachers.

Daily Communication: 1. When dropping off or collecting your child.

It is an good opportunity for you to convey any important information to the teacher about your child. For example, if your child did not sleep well last night or really loved their new library book. Similarly, the teacher may have a quick message to convey to you too.

2. Home/School Communication Books.Each child has a Home/School Communication Book that travels between home and school every day with them. This offers the opportunity for daily correspondence as required. The teachers check the books everyday to see if there are any messages from parents and will reply accordingly.

3. E-mailIn addition to this, you will be given the teacher’s e-mail address and can e-mail them at any time. E-mails are checked regularly throughout the day and will be replied to as soon as possible.

4. Weekly E-mailEvery Friday the teacher sends an e-mail about the learning and activities for the class. They also include a range of photos that show some of the activities from the week.

5. School NewsletterTeachers regularly submit articles to the school newsletter that show a range of photos and the fun activities from the week.

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COmmUNICATION COmmUNICATION

You will also be given:

1. Three official BSB school reports per yearEach term you will receive a full written report on your child’s progress and attainment.

2. Class TimetableThis timetable indicates which activity your child is doing at what time during the week. This is e-mailed to you for your reference.

3. The Foundation Stage CurriculumThis contains the Early Years curriculum, listing all objectives planned throughout the year for each of the three year groups.

4. Termly curriculum letterThis is sent out to parents three times a year and is an overview of what the year group will be addressing each term.

Information we offer to parents personally in a face-to face situation.

1. September Curriculum Evening. This is a presentation at the beginning of each academic year where you will get the opportunity to meet all the teachers and assistants and hear about our Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and organisation.

2. Parents’ evenings. These take place 3 times a year and give you the opportunity to talk one-to-one with the teacher about your child’s progress, development and targets.

3. Open door policy. We are very pleased and willing to meet to discuss anything parents should wish to address. Please just let the teachers know and we can arrange a time that is agreeable to both parties.

4. Parent workshops. These are run around the 7 areas of learning to help parents understand how we teach certain subjects and how the children learn.


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In addition to using the communication channels you can also support your child, and their teachers, in various ways:

▪ Talk to your child about their day by using precise questions: What did you learn today? Who did you play with? What did you have to try really hard at in school today? What did you make with the blocks today?

▪ Give your child boundaries and routines that they need to accept e.g. bedtimes, mealtimes, acceptable behaviour, etc.

▪ Include them in adult conversations. ▪ Encourage their independence with going to the toilet,

hand washing, dressing, and eating. All children will be expected to feed themselves with a fork and spoon sitting at a table.

▪ Have a go at suggested activities in weekly e-mails. ▪ Read and look at books together every day. ▪ Have a big, healthy breakfast every day before school. ▪ Have early nights every day after school as children

often need more sleep once they start school. ▪ Clothes, school bag, snack box, spare change of clothes,

sun hat should all be labelled please.

PARENTAL SUPPORT

Nappies and Toilet TrainingWe would expect that all children are toilet trained before they start in Nursery. In Pre-School, if not yet toilet trained they will also need nappies and baby wipes. Please let us know when you wish to start toilet training your child as we can really help.

If Your Child is UnwellIf your child is unwell they need to stay at home and rest until they are well again. Please call or e-mail school to let us know. If a child vomits, has a temperature or has diarrhoea they should not come into school for 24 hours after the last attack to ensure they are fully recovered. If your child is better but is finishing their medication for an illness, the medicine needs to be given to the school nurse for her to administer and your child’s class teacher informed.

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PARENTAL SUPPORT

CONTACT

the british school of BeijingSHUNyI CAmPUS

South Side, No.9 An Hua Street,Shunyi District, Beijing 101318

T +86 10 8047 3588E [email protected]

early years foundation stage HANDBOOK

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