Admissions: 01372 372311
General: 01372 372197

Early Years - 2 to 4 years old

Our approach to 2 - 4 year olds.

At age 2, in First Steps, children might be joining us for the first time, or progressing from our Early Learners class. We help children gently adapt to a new routine and build strong bonds with teachers and friends. We love to see how quickly children settle in with us, and how they approach each day with genuine excitement. A day in First Steps is one of fun, exploration and energetic activity!

As they move into Rising Reception at age 3, children really start to develop their sense of self, becoming independent little people with opinions and questions that all help them to understand their place in the world and to absorb new skills and information like sponges! The play-based learning continues, adding in new experiences and layering over new opportunities to develop their language, to build relationships, to be imaginative and develop all the ‘what comes before’ skills they need for the next step into Reception.

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A day in the life of 'First Steps and Rising Reception'

Time Activity
07:45 Early Bird Club – included within your fees, Early Birds welcomes children for time to play, colour and catch up with friends before the day starts.
08:30 Children move to classrooms
8:55 Registration
9:00-12:00 Play-based learning sessions, both in classrooms and outdoors
12.10 Lunch and Playtime
1:30 Registration and afternoon sessions of play-based learning begins
3:30 Day ends and after school clubs start
3:30 - 16.00 Late Club: included within your fees, all children are able to stay with us for Late Club, supervised by our qualified team
3:30 - 16.30 After school clubs
16:00 - 18:00 Extended Day
Wonderful school. Wonderful teachers and staff. An ideal environment for early learning and development.

– Little Downsend Parent

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Curriculum.

In First Steps, we provide imaginative ways to work on numeracy and literacy skills. We stimulate your child’s curiosity and imagination and introduce fun games to work on their fine motor skills, such as using tweezers to collect gems and chopsticks to move spaghetti. During these early years, we work with your child to build their confidence to try anything and everything, we ask questions and create opportunities for children to explore, learn and find their voice.

In a playful environment, our children have endless ways of developing their skills without even knowing it is happening. We explore books and language together, we use blocks and loose parts play to understand number, shape, space, and time. Fine motor skills are boosted with creative crafts and physical coordination is always high on the agenda given Downsend’s sporting pedigree!

Our First Steppers are always challenged to test their ‘what comes before…..’ skills, so reading, writing, and numeracy come naturally when they take their next step. We are guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and our curriculum is built around the seven areas of learning development and is enriched by a structured and intentional approach to the development of specific skills.

Curriculum Guide

Rising Reception

As children move into Rising Reception, the prime areas of learning remain central, but we also have a greater focus on the development of skills that lead children into reading, writing, number and numerical pattern.

We introduce the children to phonics and to oral blending of sounds which are the stepping stones into early reading. We play games, sing songs and share stories and poems that develop the children’s awareness of alliteration and rhyme. Our Write Dance programme continues to strengthen the children’s gross and fine motor skills so they can begin to use lines and enclosures to form recognisable letter shapes and to write their names. Through Talk 4 Writing we promote a love of books and a growing understanding of the structure of stories, and we use Message Centres and role play to give children a purpose for wanting to write symbols, letters and words to communicate their ideas.

Our approach to Maths is based upon the concrete, pictorial and abstract method of learning developed by the American psychologist Jerome Bruner. This approach develops a deep understanding of number starting with concrete apparatus and then progressing to drawings and finally to using numerals to represent numbers and calculations. This approach creates strong foundations that enable children to make rapid progress as they encounter more complex areas of mathematics later in their education.

Specialist teaching.

All Little Downsend children benefit from specialist teaching every week.

We welcome expert teachers in French, Dance, Music, Sport and Forest School to give our children dedicated time every week to explore languages, movement, creativity, and the outdoors.

View our Curriculum Guide

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Downsend School

Admissions: 01372 372311

General: 01372 372197