Set up on hill side in the middle of the village is Kingswear Primary School. It is a small friendly school with 74 pupils. The small number of children means that everyone knows one another. All the teachers know all the children by name. The recently set up Foundation Stage Unit for children aged 3 to 5 has been a great succsess. It is lead by teacher Rachel Torpey, here she tell us all about it.
K
ingswear Community Primary School set up a new Foundation Stage Unit in September 2011. We take children from 3 years old through to 5 years old. Within our Foundation Stage Unit we have a full time qualified teacher and a full time experienced Teaching Assistant. The ethos within our unit is that each child feels safe and secure and happy to come to school each morning. We believe that if a child’s personal, social and emotional well being is looked after then they feel ready and able to learn and take on challenges. We use our indoor and outdoor area for well planned play opportunities for the children, which is a key way for children to learn with enjoyment and challenge. We provide learning experiences and activities throughout the day that allow the children to access all the areas within the new Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. The children’s interests and ideas form the basis of a balanced adult led and child initiated curriculum. It is our philosophy that children learn best when the curriculum is relevant and meaningful to them. As well as lots of school based activities, the children have lots of opportunities to engage in out of school enrichment within our local environment and also
Little school on the hill
Above Top: The view from the playground! Above: Kingswear Primary School
Left: Teacher Rachel Torpey (left) and Teaching assistant Tina Davey. Dressed up for Children in need!!
the wider community. For example, we regularly take advantage of the beautiful creek and marina we have in Kingswear. We have been on a bear hunt, minibeast hunt, Gruffalo Walk, seasonal walks (experiencing the change in our environment), and we sent a message in a bottle
to Pirate Pete, who later came to visit us at school once he had received our message. The children really enjoy our trips on the passenger ferry over to Dartmouth where we regularly visit the library for story telling sessions and to Coronation Park which provides the children with further opportunities to practise and develop their physical skills. Daily opportunities are planned to ensure children develop as active independent learners. In our classroom we have a ‘Learning Wall’ which provides every child with their own display space which they have complete ownership of and responsibility for. Children decide if they
At the beach, Paignton A trip to the park in Dartmouth
Some of the children in their outdoor area
The whole class Gruffalo walk down the Creek
(and baby Iris who goes to toddler group at school!) on a recent trip to Plymouth to visit the lighthouse and the Aquarium.
Creative Play
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