EYFS & Little Berries Preschool

In April 2019 we opened our Little Berries Preschool. We have worked hard to create an exciting, stimulating and creative environment to enable children to develop and learn through explorative play.

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Our Early Years provision is made up of Little Berries Preschool and Reception children within Wayland class, which includes Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children in four age ranges: Preschool (ages 3-4), Reception (ages 4-5), Year 1 (ages 5-6) and Year 2 (ages 6-7). Our provision is built on playful, purposeful learning with communication and language at the heart of our curriculum. Every child is valued as a unique individual, and we work hard to ensure that they feel a strong sense of belonging from the moment they join us.

Our EYFS Approach

A Place where every child belongs

We nurture each child’s personality, interests and strengths. Children learn in a warm, caring environment where adults know them well and help them grow with each other in confidence and independence.

The joy of play!

Children learn best through meaningful play. Our curriculum blends child-led exploration with carefully planned teaching, ensuring every child has the strongest foundations for their future learning.

Communication and language at the core

Language development underpins everything we do. We use interactions, conversation, storytelling and the Wellcomm toolkit to track children’s progress and identify early support where needed.

Real experiences and community connections

At Ashbury, we know that children learn through experiences that matter – from visiting the local farm, regular walks up to St Mary’s Church, or Christmas craft mornings with our families. These opportunities help children understand their place in the world and build confidence beyond the classroom.

Having a mixed Early Years and Key Stage One class means that Early Years is closely connected to the rest of the school, allowing children to learn alongside older pupils and benefit from positive role models.

Outdoor Learning          

Children access our outdoor learning space throughout the day. They build, explore, investigate and enjoy open-ended play that strengthens physical development, creativity and curiosity.

We believe children thrive outdoors in all seasons – there is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing!

Our outdoor area supports large-scale building, imaginative play and close observation of the natural world.

Through research it has been proven that when children have attended a Preschool, in a school setting, transition can be smooth into full time education. The benefits of attending a Preschool are:

• Happy confident children who are already familiar with their school surroundings.
• They have made good relationships with school staff, not only in Preschool, but throughout all Key Stages.
• Children have begun to develop an understanding of our school values.
• Expectations in school are already embedded and children will have a clear understanding about what is expected from them.

Ashbury school grounds are full of opportunities. We have a large playground and patio area – suitable for games as well as quiet areas to read or be calm. EYFS has a lovely area outside of their classroom to explore and learn through play. This area is constantly being updated and changed to stimulate and engage all learners. Currently you will find a lovely play house, a blackboard writing shed, construction, investigation station, maths area, sand and water play as well as access to a lovely story telling area and music station.

Our school grounds have a fabulous trim trail for all ages to climb and explore. This is situated opposite our developing Forest Schools area. Children experience outdoor learning throughout the week with one session specifically in the Forest School area.

Little Berries’ Uniform

It is important for children to feel part of Ashbury Primary School and therefore we would like Little Berries’ children to wear a red polo shirt and an Ashbury Primary School jumper. Children may choose their own trousers to wear to keep them comfortable throughout their time in school.

Uniform can be purchased from: www.pmgschoolwear.co.uk

For more information please see our Preschool Information booklet: