Early Years Foundation Stage at Mougins School: The LaunchPad

Our LaunchPad is made up of Nursery (age 3-4) and Reception (age 4-5) classes. 

Children’s experiences of school at this age should be happy, active, exciting, and fun. We believe every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in these early years and a child’s experiences before the age of five will have a major impact on their future life chances. We work very closely with parents to understand and observe the development of each child; we are a real partner to each family in terms of supporting the child’s growth. We believe that parents are the people who know their children best, hence we value our partnership with home in determining ways to support each child to ensure they reach their true potential.

Our learning environment

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) of the English National Curriculum, which prepares the children for Key Stage 1. We focus on learning through play, exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. We encourage children to develop important social skills, such as turn-taking, sharing and independence, which help them in the next stages of their learning.

The guiding principles that shape our practice in the early years are that children are born ready, able and eager to learn. They actively reach out to interact with other people and the world around them. Development is not an automatic process, however. It depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments.

We take all seven areas of learning into account in our daily lessons and activities. One experience may provide a child with opportunities to develop many skills and concepts across several areas of learning. As a school, we embrace a STEAM approach, encouraging hands-on experimentation, allowing children to make their own discoveries and develop critical thinking skills.

Phonics teaching and learning is a key part of the early years stage, to develop early reading and writing skills. French play learning is another key feature of our early years provisions. Pupils from Nursery onwards begin to learn French in a relaxed, immersion-style environment. Through free play and games they begin to develop their French language skills and grow in confidence in the language.

If you visit our Nursery or Reception classes, you will see a range of activities taking place such as role-play, practical games, painting, cutting and sticking and reading in the book corner. You will also see the outdoor classroom in operation, with equipment such as bikes, cars, sand and water.

Tapestry online learning journal

In our early years classes we use an online learning journal called Tapestry that allows us to build a picture of each child’s achievements and development throughout the school year. During the year, teachers upload notes on the development of skills, including communication and language and social and physical skills, along with photos, pictures of artwork done by the children and even comments and conversations, to build up a holistic picture of progress. The journal is collaborative and both parents and teachers can add comments, photographs, and observations. Are you considering Mougins School for your child?