Stepping Out - Early Years

The Early Years Department provides each and every child with a caring, supportive and fun start to their school life.

Our staff are a dedicated, experienced and supportive team who have expertise in delivering The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. We have a genuine love of teaching young children and we strive to provide them with a caring, happy, fun, secure and nurturing environment in which they can thrive.

Key Person

Each child has a designated “Key Person” (a fully qualified Form Teacher) who has the main responsibility for the children in their class. Whenever required, these “Key People” provide support for pupils and parents.

We have three Nursery classes (age 3 & 4 years) and three Reception classes (age 4 & 5 years). All our classes have full time teaching assistants, two in each Nursery class and one in each Reception class. We also have one further supporting teaching assistant and two fully qualified teachers who work across the department.

Best Possible Start

Our nursery classes are mixed in age. We tailor our teaching styles and activities to suit our children’s individual needs, thus providing the best possible start for each child. When the children reach school age (Reception) we aim for them to have laid strong foundations in the seven areas of learning for them to build on as they progress up the school.

Each September any new children are welcomed into Reception and these pupils are spread amongst the children who have already progressed through our Nursery to form three mixed ability classes of no more than twenty-two pupils. The children new to the school have great support from peers who have already experienced a year at Lady Barn. Our incredible team of teachers and teaching assistants help our new arrivals to quickly settle into their new learning environment through kindness and care.

Close Monitoring

Throughout the Early Years Department, each child is closely monitored and observed to ensure they are reaching their potential in all seven areas of learning. We strive to provide exciting and challenging activities which allow each child to progress and achieve at a level appropriate for their development. We ask parents to involve themselves in their child’s learning and provide information about what they have achieved. We then advise the next steps for their child. We see school and home as a vital partnership to aid each child’s development. Simple homework tasks are set to support learning and we encourage parents to play an active role in practising new skills.