Unveiling EYFS Principles: Nurturing School Readiness at Kids Planet

At Kids Planet, we have an excellent reputation for the quality of our 3-5 years group. We deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and help prepare your child for school.

But what is the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)?

The EYFS is a statutory framework setting out the standards for each child’s development from birth to the end of their first (Reception) year in school. The EYFS aims to ensure that each child is ready for school and that they each develop their knowledge and skills to equip them through their school life better.

The EYFS describes how your child should be kept safe and cared for and how practitioners can make sure your child achieves the most they can in their earliest years of life. At Kids Planet, we regularly assess each child using the Early Years Foundation Stage. Once we have an overall view of your child’s development, we plan activities to support a child’s stage of development and help them to progress to the next stage. We keep parents updated on what we are working on and what activities could be done at home to help support them further.

What does this all mean for your child?

• It is generally accepted and agreed that children learn best through play and firsthand experiences. Our qualified practitioners adopt this approach as they guide each child and teach them the skills they need to be school-ready.
• The activities we provide at Kids Planet underpin the skills they need to work towards achieving the early learning goals across the seven areas of learning.

Transition to school

At Kids Planet, we liaise with local schools to ensure a smooth transition for your child when starting school. We begin by talking to the children about their ‘big school’, what they are looking forward to and reading school readiness books. We invite teachers from schools to come into the nursery to speak to a child’s key person; building key relationships and finding out information to help build relationships.

Promoting Independence

Here at Kids Planet, we aim to support a child in becoming independent individuals and ensuring they are ready for school when they leave us.
We encourage children to self-serve at all mealtimes from a platter in the middle of each table, supporting their hand-eye co-ordination and allowing them to be involved in mealtimes. Many nurseries have introduced cookery lessons for the children to begin understanding the importance of healthy eating and the safety of preparing and cooking meals.
We also support the children in dressing and undressing themselves throughout the day by using the role play area to dress up in different costumes.

Mark making

The EYFS is tailored around play to keep a child’s interest while equipping them with skills they require to achieve the highest possible outcome in school. By introducing ‘mark-making’ books, children can express their writing and mark making. Our practitioners link these learning experiences to The Early Years Outcomes document and assess the development of each child’s pencil grip to plan for how to develop their writing skills further.

Speech and Language support

We use the ICAN toolkit throughout our settings, using the activities and guidance to support speech and language. ICAN activity cards, ‘Babbling Babies’, ‘Talking Toddlers’ and ‘Chattering with Children’ used during circle time support a child’s speech, listening and attention skills.

Healthy Lifestyles

Here at Kids Planet, we believe that a healthy lifestyle is a vital part of a child’s learning and development. Our health and wellbeing co-ordinators ensure children are healthy by participating in POW activities and planting fruit and vegetables to help learn about healthy eating. Our varied nursery menus, freshly prepared on-site, ensure our children are getting the right balance of nutrients within their daily diet.

How are we similar to a school nursery?

• We have qualified early year’s teachers who are specifically trained to lead practice to provide the best environment for learning and development.
• All staff are Phonics trained.
• We offer all the same facilities that any school attached to a nursery would offer.
• We use the same curriculum (The Early Years Foundation Stage) as any nursery attached to a school and any reception class, which is all taught through play.
• You can access government-funded free hours at our setting over a stretched period from the term after your child turns three.
• We offer 15 hours and the extended hours of 30 funded hours – which can be spread throughout the year or term time.
• We have highly qualified staff members up to level 6.

How are we different to a school nursery?

• We adopt a lower ratio than some nurseries for Early Years professionals as 1 member of staff to every 8 children rather than 1 to 13.
• Children are screened using the Wellcomm toolkit when they start in the Pre-School room and again before they go to school to ensure they are school ready.
• We have nursery cameras in all our rooms and gardens allowing you to see firsthand what your child is doing and learning while at nursery.
• Unlike school nurseries, we have extended opening hours with some nurseries opening 7 am to 7 pm, 52 weeks of the year.
• Monthly newsletters keep parents up to date on what we are teaching and what we are focusing on.

For further details about our preschool provision, please get in touch with your local Kids Planet Day Nursery – see the homepage for details.

If you are looking to find a nursery then why not use our simple tool to locate the nearest Kids Planet Day Nursery to your postcode?

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