Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the Kindergarten (Foundation Stage). We hope that your child will find it a happy, enjoyable and stimulating experience.

We aim to help children in their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development through play, within a secure and caring environment. By providing facilities to meet every child’s needs, we hope that they will grow in self-confidence, gain independence, learn new skills, and enjoy meeting other students and adults.

We ensure that your child receives a great deal of individual attention at this early and very important stage. Each class has a qualified Teacher and a full-time Learning Support Assistant (LSA).

Communication and Language development is given a high priority within our Kindergarten. We also place great emphasis on providing equal opportunities for all our students. We aim to promote an understanding environment which builds positive attitudes towards differences. In this way the students will begin to appreciate the diversity of the world in which they live.

We warmly invite you to entrust the education and pastoral care of your children to the dedicated team at THE HERITAGE PRIVATE SCHOOL.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gary Butcher BEd (Hons), CertEd, DipMaths
Kindergarten & Primary School Headteacher

The Nursery, Pre-Reception and Reception classes make up the Kindergarten, which is the Foundation Stage of Learning.

It probably will not seem like learning – most children see it as just fun and play. However, as they get to grips with speaking and listening, singing and dancing, stories and counting, they will be gaining all the basic skills necessary for a successful start to their continued education in Year 1.

Effective learning involves: Children feeling safe, secure, valued, and able to trust the practitioners who work with them.

Effective teaching requires: Practitioners who act as positive role models through what they say and do.

Early Learning goals set out what most children are expected to achieve by the end of Kindergarten. They help our teachers and assistants focus on what children need to learn. There are six broad areas of learning.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We aim to:

• Help the children to make friends and to work and play co-operatively with other children and adults.
• Help the children to develop confidence in themselves and their own abilities by encouraging them to try, to concentrate, to persevere, to make decisions for themselves and to do as much for themselves as possible. They are encouraged to help each other, but also to ask for adult help when needed. Both effort and achievement are praised.
• Encourage independence and good habits in personal hygiene, e.g. washing hands after using the toilet, and encourage independence in dressing, by showing children how to manage their shoes and clothes themselves, but giving help when necessary.
• Encourage sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others, and encourage positive attitudes towards other cultures.
• Promote interest in and respect for the environment, and each other.

Communication, language and literacy

Knowledge and understanding of the world

Appropriate topics are used to help children develop knowledge and understanding of their environment, and to provide a foundation for historical geographical, scientific and technological learning.

Physical Development

We help the children to develop their fine motor skills by:

• Providing opportunities for and encouraging the correct and safe handling of appropriate equipment and materials with increasing control, e.g. pencils, scissors, brushes, glue, paint, sand, water, playdough and clay.

We help the children to develop their gross motor skills by:

• Encouraging them to move confidently and imaginatively, with increased control and co-ordination, and development of spatial awareness.
• Encouraging them to use small and large equipment, and balancing and climbing apparatus, with increasing skill, whilst considering their own safety and the safety of others.
• Providing opportunities for them to enjoy movement and musical activities.

Creative Development

The children are provided with:

• Opportunities to use and develop their creative skills through art and craft, music, movement, stories and imaginative play.
• A wide range of tools and materials in order to allow them to express their ideas.

Will the goals put pressure on my child?

No, most of the time, children will feel they are just playing and having fun. Sometimes they will choose what they want to do. Sometimes they will take part in an activity that helps them learn how to concentrate or develop a particular skill, like using scissors under supervision.

What if my child does not speak English?

Many children in Early Years settings will have a home language other than English. We try to provide opportunities for English to be learnt in context, through practical, meaningful experience and interaction with others. Your child may spend a long time listening before they speak English and will often be able to understand much of what they hear, particularly where communication through gesture, sign, facial expression and using signal support is encouraged as it is at The Heritage Private School.

What about when my child starts Kindergarten?

When your child first starts school, an individual tracker profile is established, which will provide a continuous, up-to-date assessment of your child’s progress throughout the Kindergarten years. It is not a formal test, but carried out through daily observations and activities, such as sharing a book together, so they will not even be aware they are being assessed. It is not something you or your child should worry about.

Once you have accepted the offer of a place at the School, your child is expected to commence school on the first day of Term 1, unless a definite prior arrangement is agreed in writing for a subsequent start date. If for some unforeseeable reason your child does not commence school on the first day of Term 1, the place will be held for one week only. Please be aware that there is vigorous competition for places at the School and applications for admission exceed places available. Offers are made according to stringent entry criteria and a rigorous selection process, and so places offered but not taken up need to be quickly reallocated to other children on our waiting list. Similarly, once your child takes up the place at the School, you must inform us regarding any absences during term time. Absence of your child from school for more than two weeks without notification will forfeit the school place without refund, and your child’s place will be offered to other children on our waiting list.

We would be happy for you and your child to visit us before starting at the School. Please take time to settle your child down. Some children settle almost straight away, others take longer, but all children need someone they know well to be with them when they take such a big step.

We suggest you stay with your child on the first day, and then leave them for a longer time each day until they are happy to stay for the whole session on their own. Please keep one whole week free to settle your child in.

Play is a child’s way of learning.

We never underestimate the value of play, and always make sure that there is a wide variety and balance of activities available to the children.

These include:

• Sand and water.
• Playdough, salt dough or clay.
• Activities that encourage imaginative play such as dressing up clothes and construction toys.
• Creative activities such as drawing, painting and model making.
• Activities that help develop fine manipulative skills and co-ordination.

Talking is very important in our Kindergarten. We chat as we play, tell stories, sing songs and recite rhymes.

Birthdays are celebrated in the Kindergarten. We hope you will share the celebrations with us, and we have Assembly time once a week. All parents/guardians and friends are welcome.

Please:

• Provide a spare set of clothing; e.g. pants, socks, trousers and jumper for your child in case of accidents.
• Name your child’s clothing and footwear – it would help us considerably.
• Collect your child promptly or ring us if there is any difficulty, so that we can reassure your child if you are late.
• Collect your child yourself or notify staff if someone else is collecting him or her. Your child should always be brought and collected by an adult.
• If your child is still in “nappies”, please provide nappies, cream, powder etc., each labelled with your child’s name.

If your child is ill or unable to attend school for any reason, would you please let us know, especially if they have something infectious.

A child suffering from sickness or diarrhoea must not attend school for at least 24 hours after the cessation of symptoms.

We expect the children to behave in a sensible manner, and to show kindness and consideration towards others. Any behaviour that may cause harm to themselves or others, or upset another person, is unacceptable.

We help the children to learn by our own example, and by praising and encouraging good behaviour. We try to avoid behaviour problems by being well organised and well prepared, by keeping the children happily and purposefully occupied, and by ensuring that they are adequately supervised at all times.

If an undesirable incident occurs we quietly discuss this with the child/children involved, explaining why their action is unacceptable and discuss with them how they can modify their behaviour. They are then usually allowed to continue with their activity.

If the unacceptable behaviour is then repeated (e.g. throwing sand) their action would be discussed with them again in a similar manner, but this time they would not be allowed to return to that activity. An alternative would be selected for them where they would be closely supervised.

Minor incidents that occur (e.g. snatching a toy from another child) are not usually reported to the child’s parents or guardians, as it is normal for children to display some behaviour that needs correcting. Learning about acceptable behaviour outside their home is one of the reasons that children attend school. However, repeated bad behaviour, or a serious incident, such as deliberately hurting another person, would be discussed with the parents or guardians.

‘The Friends of the Heritage’ help in many ways, for example, fund-raising and organising social events. Please let us know if you would like to help, or if you have any ideas for events which you think would be popular. The meetings are informal and friendly.