Clare Youngs writes books, runs workshops and creates artwork with paper and fabric. Ms Higgins came across her beautifully fresh work and it made her smile, especially her illustrations that are found in her books for young children. Clare Youngs has had a lifelong interest in everything handmade since childhood when she made beautiful, handcrafted objects, and Ms Higgins hopes the children in Youngs class will feel the same.

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.