We try to involve parents and carers as much as possible in their children's life at school! This includes 'Open Days' and opportunities to come into Reception and Nursery to join the children with their learning, and for special events such as our Sponsored Obstacle Race, Easter Hat parade, Country Dancing display, Sports Day and Christmas Show. We post lots of photos on our Facebook page to show all of the activities, learning and fun that the children are having and we send out the child observations from our online tool 'Evidence me' daily/weekly that show which EYFS 'Development Matters' statements have been taught.

The best learning for children takes place when home and school work together to support a child and to share their learning, targets and their achievements. We send out a piece of A3 card every school holiday and ask parents to help their children to create a poster based on their next half term's 'Question-based Learning Project'. Children love to share and talk about their posters and we then display these in the EYFS buildings and find out what the children would like to learn more about. All activities parents do with their child at home are important in supporting their learning and development, and have a really long lasting effect on the child’s learning as they progress through school.

We keep parents updated with everything going-on by using our 'Parent Hub' message facility which parents can access via an app on their phone. We can also attach letters, posters and photos to the messages.

Our EYFS staff meet and greet parents at the beginning and end of every session and are always available to contact face-to-face or by email or by phone. We welcome any support parents/carers/grandparents can provide to help their child progress and achieve away from school and in school.

In Nursery we send home an A4 page called 'My First 5 sessions' which includes a photograph of a child and lots of information about what they have done/said/enjoyed in their first days with us. There is also a 'Feedback from parents' section so that parents can let us know if their child has settled in ok and anything else we could do to help their transition into our Nursery.

Opportunities are given for Nursery children to take home school 'library books', story sacks and travelling bears. Special 'Wow moment' certificates are given out to encourage home/school links and for children to talk about their achievements.

In Reception we send weekly homework with activities related to what the children are learning in school at the time. We also send home reading books so that this can be supported and parents can see more clearly the development in their child's phonic and comprehension skills and abilities. A home achievement book is provided for parents to record any observations they see their child doing at home that is an achievement for them, however small, and these experiences all help with the overall assessment of your child’s learning.

How can our parents help to support children in the EYFS?

Even when your child is very young and is not yet able to speak, talking to them helps them to learn and understand new words and ideas. Communication & Language is a huge part of a child's development and a small amount of time everyday to do activities such as the following with your child will make a real difference to your child’s confidence as a young learner.

• Sing and tell nursery rhymes.
• Talk about the numbers, colours, words and letters you see when you are out and about.
• Allow your child to cut out and stick pictures from magazines.
• Cook / bake together.
• Plant seeds or bulbs in a pot or garden patch.
• Use the weather – shadows, rain puddles, snow, wind, mist and sun – to extend your child’s vocabulary.
• Explore the park at a different time of the year – go off the beaten track.
• Share a book.
• Talk to your child at every opportunity – e.g. what you are doing that day.
• On a trip to the supermarket, talk about all the different packaging shapes.

If you would like any more ideas please ask us!

We look forward to working with you as parents alongside your children!