The Parish Magazine April 2024

around the villages — 5
Transformative education?
Hannah Saunders (right), the
dedicated head of early years at
Crosfields School, is committed
to ensuring a 'transformative
educational experience' for children,
which is something that the school
says 'makes her a beacon in early
childhood education'. We asked her
to explain ...
What is your philosophy on early
childhood education?
'Our philosophy on early years at
Crosfields School is to deliver the
richest early educational experiences
for our children, ensuring that we are
keeping up to date with the evolving
changes, latest research, and any
recommendations about early years
development, in order to offer a high
level of quality learning.'
How do you ensure the well-being and
safety of the children in your care?
'Children’s well-being and safety
is fundamentally one of the most
important aspects. In the school
day we ensure we have a good level
of structure and regular routines;
we ensure children have a good
understanding about healthy eating,
and ensure children are exposed
to a balanced diet. Alongside the
EYFS* statutory guidelines, we
also give children the knowledge,
understanding and opportunity to
be able to grow, develop, and take
appropriate risks through physical
play.'
* EYFS is the Early Years Foundation
Stage that sets standards for the
learning, development and care of
children from birth to 5 years old. All
schools and Ofsted-registered early
years providers must follow EYFS.
This includes childminders, preschools,
nurseries and school reception classes.
Can you describe your approach to
fostering a supportive and inclusive
learning environment?
'In every classroom we create
opportunities to ensure every child
has a voice. Every teacher is aware
of specific needs of each individual
child. We understand that children
have different learning styles and,
through effective planning, we
ensure we are meeting every child’s
need.'
What strategies do you use to support
and develop your staff?
'At Crosfields we pride ourselves
on developing everyone as an
individual. Each term we ensure staff
have regular meetings with their
heads of departments, to discuss
their own professional development,
in which they can create targets,
discuss further training as well as
having a chance to talk about their
own well-being.’
How do you engage with parents
and families to create a strong
partnership in the child’s early
development?
'Parents are their child’s first and
more enduring educators so, as an
early years department, we ensure
we create strong relationships with
parents.
We work together to support
parents with their child’s learning by
offering parents' evenings as well as
inviting parents into Crosfields for
presentations and events throughout
the year.
We also have an open door policy
and parents can talk to their child’s
teacher every day.
We use an online platform
where both parents and teachers
can upload important milestones
and share a child’s interest, which
enables the adults to engage on
these topics with the child and offer
similar experiences which will help
further a child’s development.’
The Parish Magazine - April 2024 25
Hidden Wargrave
history and WWI
29 March: Terry Grourk talks on 'The
Hidden History of Wargrave Hall'
26 April: Graham Horn talks on 'The
Thankful Villages of WWI whose
soldiers returned'.
23 May: Amy Stoke talks on 'The Great
Fire at Windsor Castle'.
The talks, hosted by the Sonning &
Sonning Eye Society are in Pearson
Hall and start at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £5 for members
and £6 for guests, and include a
complimentary glass of wine.
Tickets will be available on
https://sonning.org.uk or from Penny
Feathers on: 0118 934 3193 or
penny.feathers@btinternet.com
Sonning Village walk
There will be a Sonning Village walk
on Friday 17 May starting at 10am.
It will include places of historical
interest, St Andrew's Church, Sonning
Mill and various houses. The walk will
be limited to 20 people. Look out for
further details nearer the time.
80th D-Day update
The 80th D-Day celebration
organisers tell us that the Syd
Lawrence Orchestra, that had been
booked previously, said they cannot
be accommodated in the awnings
being used, so City Jazz has been
booked instead.
Parallel Windsor 2024
Me2 Club is joining Parallel Windsor
again this year and is seeking
volunteers to support them.
Parallel Windsor, on 7 July, is a
festival of inclusivity with challenge
events for all ages, health conditions
and abilities.
There will be 100m, 1k, 5k or 10k
courses which can be walked or run
while fund raising for Me2 Club.
Me2 Club will also have a stall
on the day and are looking for
volunteers to help with it!
If you are interested in taking part
in the challenge event, volunteering
or learning more about Me2 Club
email: info@me2club.org.uk