Welcome to Foundation/Year 1  

Please see below some information for your child in Year 1/2. Our school Facebook page is updated regularly with photos of the fantastic learning and experiences that take place in this unit, so please make sure you visit the page and share updates with your child regularly: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/677601103092038 (or search Willowbank Primary School 2020 on Facebook)

We also communicate what your child is learning using S Plans, Tapestry and our school website. Information on these and other routines we have in school will be emailed throughout the autumn term through our Foundation Stage mini newsletter, which will be sent every few weeks. We are introducing our Foundation Stage mini newsletter this year in response to parent feedback as we appreciate that when your child starts school, there are many new systems and routines for us to share with you.

In addition, every half term, a whole school newsletter is emailed which gives information and celebrates learning across the school.

New starter pupil premium

The pupil premium is additional funding given to state-funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.

There are 4 elements to pupil premium:

Free school meal eligibility

service children

adopted from care, special guardianship order and residence order

children in care

Any qualifying family that registers their eligibility (based on the free school meal criteria) will help raise pupil premium money for the school. For 2022/23, the additional funding will be £1,385 for a primary school, for each registered child.

Do I need to apply for pupil premium? (based on free school meal criteria)

You only need to apply if you have a child in reception, year 1 or year 2 and both of the following apply:

you do not have an existing free school meal claim

you are in receipt of any of the qualifying benefits (see School meals for a list of the qualifying benefits).

How to apply

Through the Citizen Portal which is the quickest and easiest way to apply and will result in you getting an instant decision.

Parents and carers can also ring the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019.

During the Summer term, Mrs Jaworski has been given the opportunity to work at another school within our Multi Academy Trust. This means that we will be welcoming Mrs Davies back to EYFS on a Wednesday afternoon whilst Mrs Kyte and Mrs Staples take their planning and preparation time. On Thursdays, one of regular supply teachers will be teaching within our unit alongside Mrs Kyte. Mrs Staples will be working additional Fridays. 

Mrs Kyte – jo.kyte@firstfederation.org.uk

Mrs Staples – helen.staples@firstfederation.org.uk

Week Beginning 19.09.22

Wow! This week, we received a magic recipe from some of the characters who live in the Magic Village in our outdoor space. We were careful not to add the water to the recipe as Mrs Kyte was worried it would work and we would disappear! We then created our own magic recipes. Recipes that would make unicorns appear and recipes that would transport us to the seaside - with an ice cream! We then recorded our recipes and they are now in our sensory kitchen. 

We explored and shared our thoughts about different forces.

Why do balls fall downwards and not up?

How many different ways can we make the balls move?

How do we make the balls go faster/slower/higher and reach the place we are aiming for?

What could we do to check the balls stay instead the fence?

Continue developing positive attitudes about the differences between people

Identifying the similarities and differences between people in the photographs and between ourselves. Celebrating differences and sharing similarities - remembering that ‘It’s good to be different’

Forest School

Forest School sessions will take place either on a Wednesday (led by Mrs Staples) or Friday (led by Miss Mogford) morning, depending upon your child’s class – please see timetable below:

Learning Landscape

Within our learning environment, we have opportunities for children to explore 'loose parts'.

“When children interact with loose parts, they enter a world of “what if” that promotes the type of  thinking that leads to problem solving and theoretical reasoning.  Loose parts enhance children’s ability to think imaginatively and see solutions, and they bring a sense of adventure and excitement to children’s play”.

(Dale and Beloglovsky)

“A ‘loose parts’ toy, is open-ended; children may use it in many ways and combine with other loose-parts through imagination and creativity. Nature, which excites all the senses, remains the richest source of loose parts.”
(Richard Louv, Author)

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Reading

The importance of parents and carers supporting their child’s 'reading journey' through regular reading at home cannot be underestimated. Reading to and with your child can make a dramatic difference to their achievement within school. Developing a pleasure in reading involves giving your child the opportunity to talk about and share experiences relating to the events, characters and illustrations in their book. How long you spend reading at home, should be guided by your child. For younger children this may be around 15 minutes a day, while slightly older children may be ready to engage for longer.

Your child will also be sent home with a ‘choice book’, which will be selected by them and may be out of their reading range.  These will be books for you to share with your child and not for them to read themselves. These books need to be returned to school once your child has finished enjoying them.