Our Vision
At Amblecote we have high expectations for all our pupils and aim to ensure that every child has the necessary tools to succeed. We believe that a strong start in the EYFS lays the foundation for a successful educational journey.
Creating a caring and nurturing environment is at the heart of everything we do. We understand the importance of providing a safe and supportive space where our children can explore, learn and grow. Our dedicated staff, each highly qualified and experienced, bring their own unique attributes to the classroom, ensuring that every child’s unique needs are met.
We firmly believe that a positive parent partnership is key to a child’s success. We value the role parents and carers play in their child’s education and are committed to working together. We encourage open lines of communication and welcome your input and involvement in your child’s learning journey.
We pride ourselves on early identification of any additional needs our children may have, ensuring the appropriate support is put in place from the very beginning. By working closely with outside agencies and specialists, we can provide tailored interventions that enable all our children to thrive.
At Amblecote we place a big focus on developing language and communication skills, as well as personal and social emotional development. Our aim is to empower our young learners to become confident, resilient, independent learners who have a voice. We encourage them to express their thoughts and ideas and instil in them a belief in their own abilities.
As we move forward, we will continue to provide a rich and engaging curriculum that offers a wide range of learning opportunities. Our EYFS team are committed to ensuring that every child reaches their full potential, and we are constantly seeking ways to improve.
Our Values
Our values are the qualities in a person that are important to us and define how our school community should think and behave in order to achieve our vision.
Friendship: Encouraging our pupils to build strong relationships with their peers is vital for their personal development and fosters a sense of belonging and support within our school.
Kindness: We encourage children to show kindness towards themselves, others and property.
Resilience: We strive to instil resilience in our pupils, helping them to develop the determination and strength to overcome any obstacles they may face and to bounce back after difficulties.
Respect: By fostering a culture of respect, we create a safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and heard.
Honesty: We encourage our children to always be truthful and fair in their actions and words. By fostering a culture of honesty, we aim to create an environment where trust and integrity flourish.
Pride: We encourage our children to take pride in their achievements. Whether big or small, acknowledging and celebrating their successes helps build confidence and self-esteem. By fostering a sense of pride, we hope to inspire our pupils to always strive for excellence in all that they do.
Pre-school staff:
Mrs E. Bradley Pre-school Manger & Deputy DSL BA HONS Integrated working with Children and families
Mrs L. Jukes Deputy Pre-school Manager & SENCO Foundation Degree in Early years
Mrs A. Bristow Teaching Assistant
Miss V. Holdcroft Cover Teaching Assistant
Miss E. Arnold Lunchtime cover teaching Assistant.
Welcome
We appreciate that starting Pre-school is a big step for both you and your child. We aim to make this a happy one, where your child will enjoy a caring, stimulating environment, where they feel secure and confident able to learn through enjoyment and challenge.
We operate a staggered intake system, whereby children are admitted in small groups. We consider the partnership between children, parents, staff and school to be fundamental in the development of your child.
There will be opportunities to discuss your child’s progress across the year (face to face when possible).
We like to keep you informed about what the children are covering in their learning through regular updates on class DOJO; we share information with you about your child’s learning; and information and about what’s happening in school.
Amblecote Pre-school has a 24-place morning session and a 24- place afternoon session. Places are allocated as per the criteria in the admissions policy: Admissions Policy
Opening Hours
8.45 am – 11.45 am- Morning session
12.30 pm- 3.30 pm- Afternoon session
8.45am- 3.30pm – Full Day
We currently operate Monday to Friday during term time, excluding staff training days and Bank Holidays.
Learning through Play
Each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play, which is guided by adults.
Parents in Partnership
Establishing a strong link and relationship between home and school is vital to support and develop children’s learning. By taking the opportunity to support your child’s learning and working in partnership with the adults in the Pre-school, you can significantly influence your child’s learning. Your continued involvement is crucial to successful learning. We aim to make parents feel welcome, included and valued.
Outdoor Learning
The children have access to the outdoor classroom every day. Being outdoors has a positive impact on children’s sense of well-being and helps all aspects of children’s development. It offers opportunities for doing things in different ways and on different scales than when indoors. It gives children first-hand contact with weather, seasons and the natural world. Our outdoor environment offers children freedom to explore, use their senses, and be physically active. Children will also be taking part in Forest Fridays on a regular basis, which will enhance their outdoor learning.
Fees- If your child is not eligible to access the Government funding or is attending another setting and exceeding the 15/30 hours’ entitlement, you will be required to pay £17.50 per half day session and £35.00 for a full day.
30-hour or full day places- We welcome applications for 30 hours funding, letters will be sent to the parents whose children will be attending the 30 hours to give further information. We also offer a full day session as part of the 15 hour entitlement. An additional cost will be £4 per full day, due to the additional time (2.45-3.30pm) at the end of each session.
Curriculum Information
Development Matters – Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage
EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers
At Amblecote Pre-school children’s learning is very carefully planned in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance, to include experiences and opportunities that address all areas of learning with a specific focus on embedding the three prime areas of learning.
Prime Areas
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This helps children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others. This also involves developing social skills and learning how to manage their feelings. We run workshops for parents to attend to support their child’s emotional regulation.
PSED Workshop Zones-of-Regulation
Physical Development
This involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement.
We facilitate Dough Disco sessions and fiddly Fingers every week to support children’s fine motor control and get ready for early writing and mark making.
Communication and Language Development
Involves giving children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Talk Newsletters
Talk Newsletter Spring 1 week1
Talk Newsletter Spring 1 week2
Talk Newsletter Spring 1 week 3
Wellbeing
When children and young people feel good about themselves, feel that their life is going well, they will feel more able to get on with their daily lives. A few simple steps can make a real difference in children achieving a happy and healthy life now and in the future. These include:
Forming and maintaining positive relationships,
Eating a balanced diet,
Taking time to relax,
Recognising when help and support is needed and how to access it,
Learning about and recognising safe behaviour and choices.
The Early years statutory guidance stresses just how important Personal, social and emotional development is for a child’s overall development, including their cognitive development. Early years educators should support children with managing their emotions and help them to develop their self-worth.
We can do this by providing:
Early social skills and groups for communication, sharing, turn taking and listening,
Emotional regulation, mirror play and self-worth exploration,
Peer groups to talk about families, friends and how to make a positive relationship,
Use of good choices and helping others, being respectful of themselves and others,
a nurturing environment.
An early years setting should be an environment of nurture as well as a place for educational discovery and wonder. Early year’s educators need to provide a safe space in which children feel understood, listened to, supported and an environment in which children’s feelings are validated and never dismissed.
Children who experience a nurturing environment in early year’s settings will feel comfortable and this helps them become capable learners. A nurturing environment will also contribute to children developing their self-regulation skills over time.
Phonics and Maths
foundation for phonics Reading
SEND
Safeguarding
It is essential that all pupils including those in the EYFS are provided with safe and secure environments in which to interact and explore rich and diverse learning and development opportunities.
Amblecote Primary School is fully committed to ensuring that its whole school policies and procedures fully meet the statutory safeguarding and welfare requirements in the early years.
EYFS Safeguarding Team
If you want to know more about our procedures or have a concern, please speak to one of the following:
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs Jane Cook (Head Teacher)
EYFS Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are:
Mrs A Price- EYFS Coordinator/ Reception Class Teacher
Mrs E Bradley- Pre-school Manager
Every other member of staff within the EYFS team including Teachers, Teaching Assistants, volunteers and students are responsible for safeguarding every child within their care.
Safeguarding determines the actions taken to keep children safe and protect them from harm in all aspects of their life to ensure that they have the best outcomes. This is underpinned by a culture of openness where both children and adults feel secure, able to talk, and believe that they are being listened to.
We maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ and expect that all staff and volunteers share and demonstrate their commitment to protecting children.
