Early Years Foundation Stage

How is the EYFS delivered and how can I help at home?

At Margaret McMillan, we embrace the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, emphasizing a dynamic, hands-on approach to learning. With teaching and learning as our core focus, we’re dedicated to nurturing your child’s educational journey. Our aim is to foster independence by creating a vibrant and supportive learning atmosphere, where each child is encouraged to explore, discover, and grow.

Throughout the Nursery year, our daily schedule evolves to cater to the developmental needs of the children. Initially, our focus is on helping them settle into school life, ensuring they feel comfortable and secure in their new environment. As the year progresses, children engage in a variety of structured activities, including registration and focused group sessions centred on key areas like Phonics and mathematical development. Additionally, they have ample opportunities to enhance their skills and understanding through hands-on experiences in both indoor and outdoor learning environments

We invite parents to our engaging Stay and Play sessions held every Tuesday in Nursery. During these sessions, you’re invited to spend 20 minutes with your child, participating in a variety of enriching play-based activities. It’s a fantastic opportunity for you to actively engage with your child’s learning journey, explore their interests, and bond through interactive play experiences. We encourage you to join us and create lasting memories together!

In Reception, children engage in Phonics sessions every day, following the Little Wandle Phonics Programme. They also participate in daily Maths and Literacy sessions, fostering skill development. Children further enhance their learning through continuous indoor and outdoor activities. Weekly activities include physical development sessions, library visits, and a Friday afternoon Celebration Assembly.

In both Nursery and Reception, we prioritise a play-based learning approach to foster children’s development. Our dedicated staff members actively engage with children during play to facilitate the acquisition of essential skills and knowledge. This interactive environment nurtures the foundation for lifelong learning, ensuring that children are equipped with the tools they need to thrive academically and beyond.

On Friday mornings, we host a Stay and Learn session in Reception, extending a warm invitation to parents to join us for an engaging 20-minute session. These sessions vary in focus, with some being teacher-led, providing valuable insights into your child’s learning journey. On other occasions, parents have the opportunity to actively participate in their child’s morning activities, fostering a collaborative learning environment that strengthens the bond between home and school.

We use a fantastic app called Seesaw to share the fabulous work we do in school. Seesaw is designed to enhance home-school engagement and communication. It serves as a digital platform where teachers, children, and parents can easily connect, collaborate, and share learning experiences. With Seesaw, families can stay updated on their child’s academic journey in real-time, viewing photos, videos, and examples of their work directly from the classroom.

Every family receives a special password for Seesaw, ensuring privacy and safety while encouraging teamwork. With Seesaw, technology helps us communicate easily between home and school, making learning more enjoyable for everyone.

How does Margaret McMillan Primary School support children with Special Educational Needs?

We have a Special Needs and Disability Co-Ordinator (SENDCO) in school who supports children who have additional needs. The SENDCO works closely with class teachers to ensure we are meeting the needs of every child. Children work best in different ways and we will ensure that learning is made relevant for every child in school.

What types of food and drink will be given to my child?

Children in Nursery and Reception are all provided with full fat pasteurised milk (until the beginning of the term in which they turn 5), and a piece of fruit or a vegetable free of charge each day. The fruit and vegetables provided over the course of the year are apples, pears, oranges, bananas, strawberries, carrots, sugar snap peas, baby cucumbers and raisins.

Reception children stay in school for their lunch. All children may have a school dinner, which is provided free toy children from Reception to Year 2, or you may pride your own packed lunch. We are able to cater for any dietary requirements. If your child has any dietary requirements, please inform a member of staff. Children who bring a packed lunch into school will have their lunch box stored in the classroom. (Please note that we do not have facilities to refrigerate packed lunches.)

Children may occasionally be given sweets, chocolate or party food as part of a class reward or a celebration e.g. Eid party or a birthday. All sweets and chocolates etc are Suitable for Vegetarians and nut free.

What policies and procedures are in place? What happens if my child goes missing or is not collected?

We have many policies and procedures at Margaret McMillan Primary School. Please ask if there is a specific policy that you are interested in; these are available on request.

A specific procedure unique to Nursery and Reception is our ‘going home’ process. For the safety of our children, only individuals aged 18 or older are permitted to bring or collect a child from Nursery or Reception. We maintain a record of authorised individuals, typically including parents and two additional designated persons. In case of emergencies, you must provide the school with a password for any other authorised individual to collect your child. It’s essential to inform the school in advance if someone else will be picking up your child, and the class teacher will only release your child to an adult who provides the correct password for verification. This procedure ensures the utmost safety and security for our students.

If your child in not collected from school, we will try to contact you on all of the telephone numbers that you have provided school with. It is important that you inform us if you change your telephone number. If we can’t get hold of you will we telephone social services (Department of Children’s Services).

If your child goes missing. we will alert members of staff and look for them. We will inform a member of the senior management team and contact you. If your child has not been found, we will telephone the police.

If your child goes missing at home time, after you have already collected them, we will inform the senior management team and help you to look for them. If your child can not be found, we will telephone the police.

Who are the members of staff looking after my child?

Below is a list of the members of staff who work in Nursery and Reception.

The Assistant Headteacher and head of our Early Years Foundation Stage is Ms Khaliq.

We have 2 teachers in Nursery. Mrs Rathor-Khan who works Mon-Wed and Mrs Tariq on Wed-Fri. They are supported by Early Years Practitioners, Miss A.Iqbal, and Miss S.Iqbal.

The teachers in Reception are Miss Fitzgerald in Saturn Class, Mrs Lindsay in Earth and Miss Irfan in Mars. They are supported by Early Years Practitioners Miss Khan, Mrs Shah and Miss Noreen. They are also supported by Teaching and Learning Partners Miss Nazli and Miss Abid.

If you need to contact school in an emergency, please call on the school telephone number: 01274 495934.

We look forward to partnering with you on this exciting journey of learning and discovery.