Our Vision:

Our mission within the Early Years at Ellen Wilkinson Primary School is to be a caring school that enables children to succeed as unique individuals and celebrate their achievements.  A place where the children are inspired and develop interests in learning for life, within a happy, creative and secure environment. We have the highest expectations and aspirations for all our children with a genuine commitment by all staff to ensure that our children get the best possible start to their learning journey. We aim to develop children’s interests with the aid of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and build them up to be independent and enthusiastic learners for life.

How we teach in Early Years:

We have Nursery sessions in the morning and afternoon that run from 8:30am to 11:30am and then at 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Each Nursery session has a maximum capacity of 39 children. We also have two fantastic reception classes which run from 8:45am to 3:15pm, each holding 30 children.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework sets standards which ensure early years settings; like ours, provide a rich and personalised experience for every child.

In Ellen Wilkinson Primary School, we teach the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework through the support of:

Three prime areas

• Communication & Language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Four specific areas

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive Arts

We also ensure that the holistic characteristics of effective teaching and learning opportunities are developed and nurtured from the Big Question that drive the learning each quarter.

How we ensure access for all:

In our early years, every child is valued and at the centre of the education we provide. Every child is able to develop their interests and personality through child led activities in our continuous provision. We use these interests to offer our children a unique learning experience which supports their attainment of the Early Learning Goals and end of year expectations. Our children with English as an additional language are always supported in early years, through interventions to support their communication and language skills and personal, social and emotional development. These approaches include Shared Reading and Attention strategies, Early Talk, Early Talk Boost and Nuffield Early Language Interventions. Children with additional needs have the opportunity to learn in a way which suits their needs, this is done through daily time in the sensory room, attention autism interventions and support from outside agencies to ensure every child is given an education which aids their individual learning journey. 

How we develop cultural capital:

We aim to provide opportunities to explore and deepen our understanding of our geographical location in our local area by having several visits to our local parks and places of worship. We also value the people who help us in our community and due to this our children have regular visits from community police officers, firefighters and air ambulance paramedics. Our children are also given the opportunity to explore The Arts in and around London by having an annual trip to the theatre, and they also take part in several performances within our school throughout the year. Here at Ellen Wilkinson Primary school our rich language ethos also means we look to access local libraries and the Discover Storytelling Centre in Stratford. In Early Years, we also value the natural world and believe every child should be able to explore it in a safe way. Therefore, we spend parts of our day in the outdoor provision building dens, investigating plants and discovering mini beasts. We aim to also provide forest school approaches as part of our outdoor learning so that children can take risks in their play whilst engaging in purposeful learning.

How we know your child is succeeding:

At Ellen Wilkinson Primary School we observe and track all children’s development thoroughly. We set long term targets for children and provide opportunities for children to exemplify their skills and abilities. Children are also set next step targets, to help secure and embed any new learning that takes place. Parents are equally involved with emailed updates on the children’s learning and outcomes with reports from our online children’s profiles. We offer parents opportunities to come in regularly throughout the year and be involved in the stimulating activities on offer through Stay & Play sessions, Parent workshops to support parents at home and Family Fridays.

How you can support your child:

Keep up to date with all the amazing events taking place in the Early Years via our newsletters and come along and join us when you can. It will really give you an insight into what we do on daily basis in Nursery and Reception. Ensure your child is well prepped for the week with a water bottle and a clean PE Kit to support their physical education and health and self-care. Your child should complete their homework every week, and we ask that reading and home learning takes place at home with an adult for 10 minutes each day. Home learning should include phonics or reading. If you would like advice on how to support your child's learning, please speak to your child's class teacher, they will be more than happy to help you. 

Curriculum map and key documents

*Celebrations are webbed throughout the quarters as and when they occur throughout the year.

Sheleena Laskar
Assistant Head Teacher

Early Years