Prospective families to FS2

 

Dear Prospective families,

May we take this opportunity to warmly welcome you to our school and share the wonderful learning environment and experiences that we can offer your child. We know that choosing the right school for your child is of crucial importance and we appreciate that before you can do this you may have many questions that you require answers to plus possibly some concerns that you need reassurance for. It is our intention to answer some of these here however if you have more specific questions we would be more than happy to provide support with these too. We strongly believe that ‘pictures speak a thousand words’ so we have included many photographs of our FS2 children learning, developing and enjoying their education with us in our marvellous setting. Hopefully this will give you an insight into life at Queens Crescent School and encourage you to come and visit us with your child before applying for their Primary School place.

How many FS2 classes do you have?

We have two Foundation Stage Classes, this means that we have two classes of 4 and 5 years olds in their first year at school. The classrooms have the benefit of being connected by a sliding door which allows flexibility in our learning environment. Both classes have access to our wonderful outdoor classroom which as you can see the children use in all weathers.

 

 

 

 

 

Are prospective Parents welcome to come and look around the School?

We would strongly recommend that you come and visit our school so that you and your child can experience it for yourselves. We hold an Open day in September/October of each year where we can guide you around the whole school and you can spend time in our FS2 Unit talking to our FS2 Teaching staff, Headteacher and a representative from our Governing body. These sessions are available within the school day and in the evening for your convenience. In addition to this you can contact our school office to arrange an individual tour of the school if you would prefer.

Which Preschool / Nursery settings do the children at our school normally attend before starting school?

We have children from many different Nurseries and Preschools from across Chippenham and the surroundings towns and villages. Over the years we have worked hard to establish and develop strong links with all of our feeder settings. We have regular contact with these settings throughout the year and also offer them the opportunity to attend our school for training in areas such as Literacy and Mathematics. We aim to visit all of the feeder settings prior to the children starting school so that we have a thorough hand over of information and begin to get to know the child in their familiar setting.

 

What are the transition arrangements like?

In June we have an Induction Meeting at our school in the evening where the Parents are invited to attend to meet their child’s new teachers and find out more information regarding arrangements for their child starting school. In addition to our FS2 teachers visiting the child’s preschool setting the children are invited to attend three afternoon sessions where they will get a taste of what ‘big school’ is really like. We also offer individual induction sessions for those children that we feel would benefit from this. Prior to your child starting school we can also come to your home in the form of a ‘Home visit’ or you can come into school and meet with us if you feel that would be of benefit to your child.

What Parental involvement is there in FS2?

We pride ourselves on the strong links that we have with our parents. Each term we hold a parent event where parents are invited into our school to share their child’s learning with them, this can take many forms and has included dance performances, oracy story telling, junk modelling and even PE workshops.

 

In order to continually improve upon our good practice we regularly ask our parents for their advice on areas such as transition and our induction arrangements. Each year we receive positive feedback of the experiences of our children and their families thus we know that our arrangements work well for our children.

Quotes from Parents 

What could the school have done to improve the whole induction experience for your child?

“My child is now more confident due to the induction”

“Nothing to improve upon, we found it all really useful and helpful”

“Very good, they were excited and enthused to attend”

“Nothing to improve, my child has settled in a lot better than expected. It is a lovely school”

“Cannot think of any improvements, it all went so well”

“It is really good the way that you do the induction because of it my child has settled really well”.

“It was all very positive, my child has loved QC from the minute she walked in on the induction days”

Did you feel that the induction sessions gave your child a reassuring idea as to what school life may be like?

“Helped familiarise my child with school”

“Enjoyable sessions”

“Good opportunity to meet teachers and other parents”

“Good variety of equipment and activities. Comfortable environment”

 

What does your child enjoy most at school?

Sports, Reading, Learning, Lunches, PE, Playtimes, The Outdoor Classroom, Music, Playing instruments, ICT.

Everything which I am sure is a testament to the hard work of all of the FS2 teachers and the whole induction process. Thank you.

What will my child’s day consist of in FS2?

The curriculum that we follow and rationale behind this are clearly detailed in the FS2 section of our website. We offer creative, play based learning opportunities that are inspired by the children’s interests and as you can see these take place both inside the classroom and outdoors.

We are very proud of the FS2 unit within our school and the children that thrive within it. The quotes from our recent OFSTED report reflects the successful start that our FS2 children have with us.

“Children make an excellent start to their education in the Early Years Foundation

Stage. They are very well taught and cared for and make good academic and personal

Progress”

 

“Good teaching from skilled practitioners promotes good progress over the Early Years Foundation Stage. Planning puts an appropriate focus on developing reading and writing and staff use every opportunity to develop children’s literacy skills”

 

“The Early Years Foundation Stage is particularly successful in developing children’s personal

skills so they learn to take turns, to be considerate of others and to collaborate when working and playing. This lays firm foundations for children’s continuing education and their excellent behaviour throughout the school”

 

We hope that this, plus an exploration around our whole website, proves both informative and useful in answering your questions. We very much hope that you will come and visit our school prior to applying for your child’s Primary School place.

Mrs Rachael Hynes and Mrs Claire Garton (FS2, Early Years Leaders).

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