Foundation Stage Little Dragons Information Booklet - St.George's ...

St. George’s
The English International School
Foundation Stage
Little Dragons
Information Booklet

Foundation Stage Department – Nursery 2011/2012
Head of Department: Mrs. I. KLenina
Contact Information: St. George’s School
Husarenstrasse 20
50997
Koeln
Tel.: +49 (0)2233 – 80887-0
Fax: +49 (0)2233 – 80887-70
info@stgeorgesschool.de
r.hollow@stgeorgesschool.de
i.klenina@stgeorgesschool.de
The Little Dragons has its own entrance to the building which can be located at
the far end of the car park. The entrance is open between 8:00-8:45 and from
3:15 in the afternoon. It is also open for lunchtime collection at 1.15pm. At all
other times we ask you to use the Main Entrance for security reasons.
All absences should be reported to the Main Office and a letter should be
brought into school upon your child’s return. Please inform us immediately if
your child has caught head lice, chicken pox, measles or any other contagious
illnesses.
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Aims and Objectives
At St. George’s School we believe all children are entitled to develop to their fullest potential - academically,
socially, emotionally, physically, morally, spiritually and aesthetically, enabling each child
to grow in confidence, and able to participate in the wider community.
• We aim to develop and maintain in pupils lively enquiring minds, to promote the ability to ques
tion and discuss rationally, to encourage pupils to apply themselves to a range of tasks and to en
joy carrying them out.
• We aim to offer opportunities for learning, so that pupils can develop self-esteem, independence
and knowledge.
• We aim to emphasise the importance of language and mathematics, as well as the aesthetic and
physical areas of learning. Pupils are encouraged to develop competence in these areas and to appreciate
their importance.
• We aim to help pupils develop personal, spiritual and moral values, an understanding of religion
and beliefs, and a tolerance for others and their ways of life.
• We aim to promote equal opportunities for all children.
• We aim to value each child as an individual enabling them to develop a positive self-image. We
aim to encourage self-discipline and respect for others.
• We aim to make sure that the children receive the greatest possible benefit from their time at St.
George’s School and that they achieve their full potential. Pupils should appreciate their own
achievements and those of others.
• We aim to raise achievement through active independent learning and the vital support of parents.
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Little Dragons Staff and Groupings
The Little Dragons welcomes children from the age of 2. They usually spend one year in the Little
Dragons, prior to entering the Nursery.
The Little Dragons have a team of support staff led by Miss Alla, the Form Teacher.
It is the policy of St. George’s School that every child has equality of opportunity to participate in
every aspect of the curriculum regardless of race, ability or gender.
The Form Teacher is responsible for the organisation, planning of work programmes and the
monitoring and assessment of progress of the children in that class.
Teaching assistants are also based within the group to support both the teacher and the children.
We share our expertise and skills to give maximum benefit to the children in our school.
All teachers meet regularly with the Nursery staff to ensure the curriculum is being fully integrated
and also to plan ahead to ensure the smoothest of transitions into the Nursery section of the
Foundation Department.
Each subject area is carefully planned, resourced and delivered. Achievement is carefully monitored
across the school. Target setting for individual pupils, as well as for year groups and the
whole school support this.
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The Curriculum
We plan the curriculum following the guidelines contained with the ‘Curriculum Framework for children
2 to 3’. The curriculum framework refers to planned learning experiences based on five key aspects
of children’s development and learning.
We believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support to fulfil their potential.
In addition to the Foundation Stage curriculum we use the additional Four Foundation Stage Principles
to help support every child’s development.
A unique child - recognises that every child is a competent learner
Positive Relationships - recognises that secure and positive relationships between teacher,
child and parents are important.
Enabling Environments - recognises that a child’s environment plays a key role in their de
velopment and learning.
Learning - recognises that children learn at different rates and all areas of
and Development
learning and development are equally important and inter connected.
Key aspects—Early Learning Goals:
• Emotional, personal and social development – independence, sharing, turn
taking, and self-confidence.
• Communication, language and language – stories, books, listening, talking, and early writing.
• Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy – counting, matching and sorting.
• Knowledge and understanding of the world – discovering and exploring the environment.
• Physical development and movement – running, jumping, climbing, cutting, gluing and drawing.
• Creative development – role-play, art and craft, singing and making music.
These learning goals are implemented through a mixture of planned and play activities. This allows the
children to have fun whilst learning. We believe that children learn best when exploring topics that are
relevant and meaningful to their lives.
Little Dragons have a one year cycle of topics: “Colour Me Happy”, “Autumn”, “Birds and Animals”,
“Winter”, “All about Me”( my body), “All about Me” (my family and friends),
“Spring”, “Transport”, “Nursery Rhymes and Stories”, “Summer”, “Toys”.
In this we can help your child to:
• Learn to separate from parents
• Play cooperatively with peers
• Gain confidence and a positive self– image
• Begin to develop general and fine motor skills
• Become aware of world around us, seasons and holidays
• Experience other children and adults
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Settling-in Procedure
The settling-in of a both children and their parents is a most important process. It is part of our aims and
understanding that both the child and the parent should be given time to settle into the new environment.
The number of settling-in sessions will depend on your child’s needs. Some children may take longer to
settle into a new environment than others. We recommend at least two settling-in sessions where you stay
with their child.
For the later sessions as the child becomes more settled, we suggest that parents leave their child with our
team for a short period of time. Parents are more than welcome to retreat to the Dining Hall for refreshments.
This time can then be extended as your child becomes more secure.
Half and Full Day Sessions
Parents of children in the Little Dragons have the choice of opting for either half or full day sessions.
For those children who are staying after 1 p.m., sleep/quiet time is from 13:15 to 14:45. Please provide a
pillow and a blanket for them to use and any stuffed animal, dummy or comforter which they need. An extra
snack is also needed for them when they wake up.
Snack and Lunch Times
All children need to bring a snack with them every day in a named container. We will provide juice, milk or
water to accompany this. Please avoid chocolate, cakes and biscuits. We promote healthy eating throughout
the school and encourage fruit based snacks.
For lunch children have two options. Firstly a named packed lunch can be brought in to school every day.
Hot lunches can be provided by our caterers and these are paid termly. Once booked and paid for, your
child’s meal is delivered to them each day.
There are children who learn within the both Foundation and Early Years environments who unfortunately
have severe allergies. To support their individual needs and ensure safety we ask that no nut based foods
are to brought into the Nursery at any time and also for egg based foods to be kept to an absolute minimum.
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Playtimes
Outdoor play is a big feature in the day to day running of the Nursery. The Nursery has its own secure
play area that is open all day long. In addition to this space, the bobby cars, motorbikes and activity
boxes are also brought out each time.
Many “messy” activities are also completed outside. We ask for all children to bring waterproof clothing
and footwear to enable participation in these activities.
Accidents and Incidents
If your child has an accident we will inform you what happened and what action was taken. If the accident
is serious we will contact you immediately. Please inform us if your child has an accident at
home. If medicine is brought to school this is only administered after discussion with the Head of Department
and Form Teachers/Assistants.
Please inform us immediately of allergies, illnesses and changes in medication.
Sickness
Should your child become unwell, we will contact you immediately. We fully understand the demands
of working families; however, there are times when children are best kept at home. In the case of sickness
and diarrhoea children should not return until they have been symptom free for 48 hours to minimise
the risk of recurrence.
Policies
The department does have policies on the following areas: Play, Behaviour and Biting, Health and
Safety, Settling-In and Hygiene Related Issues.
These are working documents to protect and protect and support children, staff and parents. These
documents are stored in the Little Dragons classroom and also in the Head of Department’s office.
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