Nursery & Reception

Children learning in Nursery and Reception classes are known as the Early Years.  We follow the national Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. In the Early Years at Comberbach Nursery and Primary School, our children are happy.

They are excited and motivated to learn through rich and challenging learning experiences; opportunities to explore and take risks, and first-hand experiences. We have high ambitions for all our children and recognise that children have different starting points for their learning.

We plan according to children’s stages of development so all can thrive and develop. We aim for children to be well-rounded individuals who are independent, resilient, and confident in themselves and with others.

Early Years Foundation Stage

The EYFS is a very important stage in a child’s life as it helps prepare for school ‘readiness’ as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. Children’s early year’s experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care and learning needs.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years, and a child’s experiences before the age of five will have a major impact on their future life chances.

The EYFS framework explains how and what children will be learning to support their healthy development and provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. The EYFS specifies requirements for learning and development and for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare.

Children will learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:

  • Communication and language;
  • Physical development; and
  • Personal, social and emotional development.

These prime areas are those most essential for a child’s healthy development and future learning.
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

  • Literacy;
  • Mathematics;
  • Understanding the world; and
  • Expressive arts and design.

All 7 areas of learning are used to plan children’s learning and activities. The professionals teaching and supporting your child at Comberbach Nursery and Primary School will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs.

This is a little bit like the curriculum in the rest of the school but it’s suitable for very young children, and it’s designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child’s needs and interests.

Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. It is very important that they develop social skills, such as turn-taking, sharing and independence, which help them greatly in the next stages of their learning.

The guiding principles that shape our practice in the Early Years are that children are born ready, able and eager to learn.  They actively reach out to interact with other people, and in the world around them.

Development is not an automatic process, however, it depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments.

Phonics teaching and learning are a key part of the Foundation Stage and help to develop early reading and writing skills.  If you visited the Nursery or a Reception class, you would see a range of activities taking place such as role-play, practical games, painting, cutting and sticking and reading in the book corner.

You would also see the outdoor learning environment in operation, with equipment such as bikes, cars, sand and water. Children work and play independently, with a strong emphasis on choice and being able to sustain concentration on projects, as well as joining a variety of nursery nurse and teacher-led activities. We encourage a partnership with parents so they are actively involved in their children’s learning.