Our aims for Early Years become a reality for our children right from the start.

We start with the quality of our teachers, ensuring they are skilled in providing a curriculum which is ambitious, engaging, nurturing and relevant for all. Learning takes place in every part of the Early Years’ environment, within and beyond the classroom, in the outdoor areas and in the lunch hall. There is learning at every moment of the day, from sharing a  story, eating lunch, playing on the adventure playground to dressing up or building rocket.

We provide an excellent, well-resourced and stimulating Early Years Curriculum which fulfils our aims that all our children... 

...are safe

Our environment is carefully considered with safety first. Care and thought is given to the resources and activities planned throughout the day, and to all environments: the playground, the classroom and the outside areas. Children are taught how to keep themselves safe within the school setting and when to ask for help.

We place great importance on how safe the children feel in their relationships with school and their teachers.  All children must build secure and trusting relationships in order to learn. The quality of interactions is paramount and teachers ensure that all children feel able to take risks, make mistakes and ask for help. This is a safe climate for children’s learning with their emotional, mental and physical needs placed at the centre of our approach in Early Years.

...are excellent learners 

Developing independence, learning how to listen and working with others are key learning behaviours in Early Years, and we ensure every one of these is encouraged and articulated from the beginning. This feeds into our everyday language and our expectations for all children. For example: making sure children know that making a mistake is part of learning; encouraging creativity in finding different solutions to a problem; praising a child for asking questions to learn more.

Excellent learning behaviours are encouraged all the time throughout the curriculum, whether it is for putting on a coat, lining up safely, learning to write our name, taking turns in a game, asking to go to the bathroom or joining in a story. We make our language and expectations for learning clear and children understand that being an excellent learner is very important for everyone. Staff work closely with the rest of the school community, regularly meeting with other staff members and the SEND co-ordinator, to ensure that early identification of any additional learning needs takes place.

...have excellent social and emotional skills

Resolving differences, learning to listen, to share and to consider the needs of others are a core part of the personal and social development which is rightly a key area in our Early Years. Learning how to be an excellent communicator, to understand and be understood, is modelled throughout all learning situations.  Early language and vocabulary development underpin children's later achievement, and we focus on how our children develop the skills needed to interact well. In our early years, every interaction is considered a learning opportunity.   

...achieve and succeed

We follow children's interests to engage them in learning, balancing this with exposing them to new, exciting, hands-on experiences. This allows us to create opportunities for the awe and wonder of discovery, ensuring high levels of participation and engagement.

We believe in quality first teaching to ensure children achieve, so our focus is first and foremost on the effectiveness of our teaching and the curriculum. The curriculum is planned through a thematic approach, with six main themes each year.  We have structured, precise and highly successful teaching of early literacy skills, phonics and mathematics, through clear programmes of study, excellent resources and enthusiastic delivery.  This ensures that children leave Reception with a high level of core skills before they reach Year 1.

Please contact the School Office if you would like to arrange a visit on 020 8546 3879 or email us office@stagathas.school