Michael Wall is an artist based in London. He has said that early in school he used drawing as a way to socialise, and that art gave him a way of communicating when he found writing difficult. Miss Saxby chose Michael Wall as her class artist because of his use of bright and bold blocks of colour, which she thought the children would find fun to look at and be able to use as examples for their own art.

Reception at Parkside

The EYFS curriculum sets out seven areas of learning and development that shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the prime areas, are:

• Communication and language

• Physical development

• Personal, social and emotional development.

At Parkside we also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the world

• Expressive arts and design.

In Reception, children are given the opportunity to investigate and explore the learning environment both inside and outside. There is a balance of child-initiated and adult-led learning. Children are encouraged to find solutions to problems through experimentation and exploration but are also taught specific skills in small groups, pairs or 1:1.

We also focus on the basic skills of reading, writing and counting. Phonics is taught everyday through a systematic approach and parents are encouraged to play a large part in their child’s development of reading in partnership with staff.

At the end of the Reception year, children leave Foundation stage to start Key Stage 1 and each child is assessed in 17 areas of learning including Managing Feelings and Behaviour, Understanding the World, Being Imaginative and Technology.