Pre-Prep

The Early Years Foundation Stage staff at Finborough is a team of people whose task is simply to educate children in a safe, caring environment, which allows the child to learn at their own pace, where play is at the centre of their learning journeys.

The staff team across the Early Years are individuals who are very passionate about developing the child as a whole. All members of staff are Early Years specialists. It is essential that any member of staff working within the early years have the correct qualifications. This enables us to have a great understanding of child development to support them at this crucial stage of learning.

We are fortunate enough to have a generous staff: pupil ratio, which enables all staff to have an in-depth knowledge of each child and the ability to have the time to work closely with every child, allowing them to reach their full potential. We teach the children through a variety of techniques; we take on some aspects of Montessori, of the Early Learning Goals, of the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ Philosophy and of Learnability. Combining these techniques allows us to have a unique creative curriculum, ensuring that each child feels confident to take a risk and is happy to make a mistake.

At Finborough there are three educators in a child’s life: primarily, the parents, secondly the teachers and thirdly the environment. A good home-school partnership is essential in Early Years. At Finborough we have an excellent relationship with our parents. We do this through our online learning journeys, recorded on ‘Tapestry’. Tapestry is a tool that all staff use in Nursery and Reception. It gives the staff the opportunity to capture a child’s ‘Wow!’ moments, through photographs and videos, which are then posted to parents on the child’s individual online learning journey account or site. Parents are then involved continuously in their child’s school experience.

Children at Finborough are fortunate to learn in beautiful surroundings. In Early Years we see the benefits of ensuring that the child learns inside and outside the classroom. We have a wonderful play area where the children spend part of their day. This enables them to understand that their learning process is continued outside and they have the freedom to express themselves in a way that is not limited by the classroom.

Each week the children have a whole afternoon dedicated to our Forest Schools’ programme. We have two staff trained in Forest Schools, at Level 3 and Level 2. The children look forward to this session every week. Forest Schools activities enable the child to develop a variety of skills including social interaction, turn taking and problem solving. The children do not see their experience in our outside space as learning but more an opportunity to truly be themselves. Often, we find the quieter children in the classroom are the more vocal ones in the forest.

Finally, it may be of interest that at Finborough we accept children from 2-5 years and have recently taken part in the thirty hour government scheme. We have found that not only Nursery children but also Reception children have been eligible.

We welcome visitors to Early Years at any time, as well as to our open days, so please do contact the office to arrange a visit.
I look forward to meeting you.

Mrs Rachel Bridgeman,
Deputy Headteacher (Pre-Prep)