Ladybirds Foundation Stage (reception and nursery)

Hello everyone!

 

We are taught by our teachers Mrs Castle and Mrs Cooper, along with our wonderful nursery practitioners Miss Lucy and Miss Zoe

 

We are deeply committed to strong, meaningful inclusion in the Early Years and this shapes everything we do; therefore we place a rich personal, social and emotional development ethos at the center of our Early Years provision. Our practice prioritises emotional wellbeing, secure attachments, communication, independence and collaborative learning. Through a carefully, designed curriculum, high‑quality interactions, purposeful play and a calm, supportive environment, we lay the foundations for happy learners who feel secure, motivated and ready for lifelong learning. You will be able to see our school vision through the three overarching principles within the Early Years Foundation Stage:

 

“Inspire, belonging, collaboration”

 

 

      Inspire

                Belonging

           Collaboration

We aim to inspire every child to explore, imagine, and discover, nurturing a lifelong love of learning from the very beginning.

 

We aim to ensure all children develop a strong sense of belonging and inclusion, not only in school but in their own bodies and minds, by building trusting relationships, feeling safe, and knowing they are respected and celebrated for who they are.

 

We aim to nurture children who work together with curiosity, kindness, and confidence, developing the social skills they need to collaborate, communicate, and learn alongside others.

 

 

In the Early Years we ensure that our children learn what we are legally required to teach but in a way that is exciting, magical, memorable and accessible for them. 

 

Each planned topic is introduced through our curriculum drivers: a magical wow moment, revealed by the Magic Wand, which captures children’s imaginations from the very beginning. These moments are designed to be exciting, surprising and full of possibility—igniting curiosity and opening the door to new learning.

 

Following each WOW moment, adults and children work together to create a mind map that uncovers what truly inspires our children: their ideas, what they already know, their questions, and their desire to find out more. We believe that children surprise us with insights and ideas beyond anything adults could plan for, showing us where the true magic of learning lies thus shaping our next steps. The aim of our mind map is to build on children’s interests and make their learning meaningful. 

 

Following on from our mind maps, staff thoughtfully plan provision enhancements both indoors and outdoors which are tailored to the children’s interests and questions, as we believe that children learn best when their play is meaningful and engaging.

 

Our theme this term is..... MINIBEASTS!

 

The children were very excited to find a letter in the classroom delivered from Curly the Caterpillar. We went outside to go on a minibeast hunt, using our magnifying glasses and bug containers. When we came back into the classroom, Curly had left us lots of magical learning challenges.....  Take a look at our Curriculum Map to see what learning we will be doing this term. So far, the children have already loved....

  • Making minibeast small world homes 
  • Going on their own minibeast hunts
  • Creative art experiences to make minibeast creatures such as collage and water colours
  • Bumblebee cutting, to aid scissor skills 
  • Learning a new Makaton bug song
  • Lots of sand and water play, using drainpipes, buckets and funnels
  • Learning new stories such as 'The Hungry Caterpillar' and creating their own story maps 
 
.....and much, much more!

 

Nursery session times: 

 

Our nursery welcomes children from 2 years old.

We are open 5 days per week Monday - Friday 8:45 am to 3:15 pm term -time only. Breakfast club is optional. 

 

Funding:

 

All Pre-school aged children receive 15 hours FREE funding from the term after they are 3 years old.
(Parent's who work over 16 hours a week may be eligible for 30 hours funding)
and funding is also available for some 2 year olds (please ask for further information). Sessions are available for all children over 2 years old, please enquire about eligability. 

Nursery children staying for lunch can either bring in their own packed lunch or have a paid hot school dinner, eaten within the classroom.

If you would like more information about your child starting with us, please feel free to contact the school who will be help.

 

Please come and visit so you can get a feel for our wonderful, exciting early years setting. 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Learning 

Please find below:
Reception Long Term Overview 2026
Nursery Long Term Overview 2026
Trust EYFS Policy (ADMAT)
Trust EYFS into Year 1 Transition Policy
 Class Dojo
 
We use Class Dojo as our main communication platform between school and home, engaging with private messages, class/whole-school stories and sharing our learning through personal portfolios.
If you have a login, please have a look to see what we are up to in class: https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb/ 
Parents will receive an invitation, via email, to join your child's assigned class once your child is enrolled at our school.
Love of Reading / Phonics 
 

Every day, our Reception children participate in

  • Daily Little Wandle phonics sessions taught by fully trained Little Wandle teachers.
  • SEN 1:1 phonics is used for children with SEN
  • Daily Keep Up is planned for children who are falling behind.
  • Children also take part in 3 reading practice sessions a week which focus on decoding, prosody and comprehension.
  • Drawing Club to bring stories, characters and ideas to life with high-quality texts which immerse children in the skills for early mark-making and writing
  • Talk Through Stories, with books planned over a 2 year rolling program which immerses children in rich language, vocabulary and narrative.
By the end of Reception, we aim for our children to be secure in Phase 4, enabling them to confidently segment, blend, and read simple words and sentences. They should be fluent in decoding using known GPCs, read common exception words, and apply these skills to read closely matched decodable books. 
 
Every day, our Nursery children take part in:
  • Little Wandle Foundations for Phonics sessions, designed to build early language and literacy skills through daily, high-quality oral blending, 20 specific nursery rhymes and language development. This focuses on listening and speaking rather than formal letter recognition, setting the foundations for reading.

  • Rhyme Time, a structured daily approach to singing and reciting key rhymes

  • Squiggle Time; a physical development program signed to prepare our children for writing by strengthening gross and fine motor skills. Through music, dance and ‘flipper flappers’ children make large movements that enhance muscle control before engaging in mark-making and early writing activities.

  • Dough Disco; a fun, music-based activity designed to strengthen fine motor muscles in the hands and fingers. Children squeeze, stretch, roll and poke playdough.

Below, there is a further range of PDF documents and useful websites, which can aid home learning and provide ways in which parents can support their child's learning at home:
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