Learning

Our approach to learning

The emphasis at Rising Fives is on learning through play. We help your child to:

• Learn through play in a safe, stimulating environment

• Share and enjoy the company of other children

• Meet and trust new adults from outside the family

• Be in a group which values everyone, where there is freedom of opportunity for personal growth and development, regardless of gender, race, ability, class beliefs, language or age

• Gain independence and develop at their own pace with plenty of adult support

• Develop self-confidence by learning to choose from a range of activities and materials, by trying new skills, and by receiving praise for achievement.

Our curriculum enables children to progress towards the government's early learning goals. These goals apply throughout the Foundation Stage, which includes pre-school and the reception year of primary school. The goals prepare them for the National Curriculum, which begins at Year 1 in primary school.

Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five years and all government funded Pre-schools must follow the principles of the EYFS.

There are early learning goals in each of these areas, which most children will have achieved by the end of their reception year at primary school. At Rising Fives Pre-school we recognise that all children are different. Children learn and develop at different rates and some may achieve these goals earlier and some later.

The activities and experiences your child will enjoy at Pre-school are planned around the zoned areas and the interests of the children. In conjunction with the children’s own exploration and play, adult-led focused activities are planned on a weekly basis. These activities ensure that every child’s individual interests and learning needs are met.

In line with Early Years Foundation Stage guidance, Rising Fives Pre-school offers continuous provision of these zoned areas:

Book Corner

Art, craft and painting

Malleable table

Construction

Mark making/writing/literacy

Music, movement and singing

Role-play

Imagination Area

Maths and science activities

Sand and water play

Outside Play

How we support learning

Key People

Every child who joins Rising Fives has an allocated Key Person, who will establish a close, trusting relationship with the child, oversee their learning and development and be primarily responsible for liaising with the parents and carers to ensure the child's needs are met. Our key people are all qualified, experienced members of staff.

The key person will get to know the child and use the child's individual likes and preferences to enhance their learning. They are also responsible for ensuring every child's needs are targeted through group time at least once a week and will usually be available for a casual chat at the start and end of each session, also  will hold formal Parents Afternoon sessions once a term  to discuss each child's progress with their main carers.

Starting and Home Visits

We recommend that children come to visit with a parent or carer before they start with us. For most children, three visits usually have them feeling confident and ready to start, but every child is different and we will adapt our induction process to suit each individual. We also aim to visit each child at home before they are left with us for the first time, as this helps them to establish a friendly relationship with their key person.

Stay and Play

We welcome parents, grandparents and other carers to "Stay and Play" with their children whenever they would like to. You can stay for part or all of a session, the only requirement being that you sign in on arrival and out when you leave. This is a lovely way to develop your understanding of what your child does at pre-school and become more involved in your child's learning.

You may bring younger children with you on the understanding that they remain your responsibility at all times.

Record Keeping

We use an online system called Tapestry to record the learning and progress of our children. Staff will create observations of the children as they play and learn, which you will be able to access online or via the Tapestry App. Parents can comment on the observations and even add their own observations of their child, which help to give staff a more complete view of the child's life and experiences.

You would usually expect that a child would have a new observation about once a week, with them usually appearing online in the same week as they happened. The feedback from parents about the Tapestry system has been very positive, and the same system is used at Whitchurch Primary School.

Links with Whitchurch Primary School

Preparing children for school is an important element of our work and we are keen to ensure that the transition from pre-school to primary school is as smooth as possible. Since most of our children will attend Whitchurch Church of England Primary School, we work closely with its reception year teachers to ensure our teaching practices are consistent. The school invites future pupils to attend weekly story-time visits and an annual event, so they become familiar with the surroundings. Staff from Rising Fives these sessions to support the children and help the teachers. The Reception Class teachers also visit the children at Rising Fives to help the children get to know them. The staff also visit the Reception classes once the children have settled at school in the autumn term, and we take our children to watch the Reception class Nativity play each December.

Trips out

Throughout the term, we take children on visits to places of interest in Whitchurch during sessions, such as the library and fire station. During these visits we operate a ratio of one adult for every two to four children. Parental help is therefore essential for these visits to be able to take place.

Our Staff

Manager:                Sarah Pritchard

                                (Early Years Teacher, PGCE)

Deputy Manager:   Victoria Golding (NNEB)

SENCo:                   Susan Clarke (NVQ level 3)

Practitioners:         Michaela Pyle (NVQ level 3)

                                Vicky Cassidy (NNEB)

                                Sarah Kelly (NNEB)

                                Moira Whitehorn (NVQ level 2)

Bank Staff              Siobhan Askew (NVQ level 3)

Administrator         Rachel Abbott

It is our aim for all of our practitioners to hold up to date First Aid, Safeguarding and Food Hygiene certificates.

Special Educational Needs

Susan Clarke is our SENCo, working under the supervision of Sarah Pritchard. Sarah has experience of caring for children with special needs. Susan and Sarah will work with professionals and outside agencies to ensure a child’s individual needs are appropriately supported.If you have any concerns, please discuss them with Sarah (the manager), Susan or your child's key person at your earliest opportunity.

Staff to child ratio

A committed and experienced team of staff works at the Pre-school. We are very proud of the high ratio of adults to children in our group and usually exceed the government requirements for adult/child ratios, which are 1:4 for children under 3 years and 1:8 for children over 3 years.

In addition, our membership of the Pre-School Learning Alliance ensures that we are constantly in touch with new thinking in the field of child education and care. We receive a monthly magazine offering practical advice and up-to-date information, and have access to a range of professionally produced publications.

Our Committee

Our pre-school is run by a committee of elected parents. A committee of at least five parents is essential for the pre-school to remain open. The Committee, in conversation with the Manager, make the major decisions about the running of the pre-school, maintain our premises and raise additional funds. All parents are encouraged to join the Committee. For more information, please speak to our Manager or Administrator.

If you prefer not to join the Committee, you can still support the pre-school by getting involved with fundraising activities.