Manifold Church of England Academy

Nursery:

We accept children into our school nursery the term after their third birthday. Children are placed in mixed age classes, working alongside         pupils in our Reception class. We are able to accept 13 nursery children in a morning and 8 in an afternoon.

Reception:

When your child starts primary school, they join our reception class (based within our early years foundation stage unit). We currently are able to take a maximum of 15 children each September, who are taught, and well looked after by our fantastic EYFS team.

For details on how to apply for a place for the next academic year, please see our admissions policy. 

During their time in the Foundation Stage, the children (aged 3-5) follow their own special curriculum which helps them adjust to school life and develop the skills they will need when they move on to Year 1 and begin learning from the National Curriculum. The Early Years Curriculum encourages 'learning through play' - which is exactly what we do!

Each day, the children are given the opportunity to gain new experiences through Child-Initiated play, where we strive to provide a variety of interesting and exciting activities designed to nurture learning in an engaging environment.

As well as Child-Initiated time, our daily routine contains a short Teacher-Led session, where the children learn in a more structured way, as well as group activities focused around: phonics, reading and maths.

THE EARLY YEARS CURRICULUM
Children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework until they enter Year 1 or are ready to move onto the National Curriculum.

The EYFS Framework is a statutory document that outlines the areas of learning to be taught by schools, pre-schools and independent childcare professionals.

It identifies three prime areas of learning:

Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

and four specific areas, which work to support the prime areas:

Literacy
Maths
Understaning the World
Expressive Arts and Design
The Framework is based upon the following overarching principles:

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured;
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships;
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers; children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.

 The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

To read the full documentation, please see the Foundation Years website or the Department for Education website.

As well as the statutory Framework, the EYFS bases its teaching and learning on the 'Development Matters' document.