Welcome to Sunflowers Class

Sunflowers Class is taught on our Snape school site. Nursery and Reception are taught within Sunflowers. Within our safe, vibrant, and purposeful learning environment we build strong foundations, engaging our youngest learners. Interests are carefully followed and activities are enhanced regularly to ensure learning is personalised and supportive of our characteristics of learning. 

Our class teacher, Mrs Harper, guides our fantastic little Sunflowers to grow as individuals and as a team.  Mrs Lapthorne enhances our learning and supports small groups with their knowledge and understanding as well as supporting the children’s learning, running catch-up programmes and ensuring that the children’s well-being and individual needs are met. Mrs Mason and Mrs Morley support an individual child but we work together as a team to make sure every child is challenged, is happy and is having fun.

Both our indoor and outdoor environments encourage independence and support our children to become inquisitive learners. We teach children to learn using metacognitive development methods which help children understand how they learn and how to keep trying when met with a new challenge.

Foundation Stage is all about fun and learning through active, collaborative play. We make time to play with our children and model good quality interactions. Play is fundamental to every child’s development and we aim to develop every child’s play in a positive and constructive way. Children learn best through their own interests. Our role is to provide activities that motivate and inspire our learners whilst preparing children for a smooth transition into KS1. We recognise that the value of every individual is central to our Christian vision. We value our partnership with parents, grandparents and the local community.

The 7 areas of learning within the Foundation Stage are:

• Communication and Language (CL)
• Physical Development (PD)
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
• Literacy (L)
• Mathematics (M)
• Expressive Art and Design (EAD)
• Understanding the World (UW)

PE

PE sessions take part on Monday afternoons and Friday mornings.  Please make sure that your child has both indoor and outdoor PE kits in school.

PE kits should consist of blue or black bottoms and a white T-shirt. Please ensure that earrings are removed for both days, as jewellery must not be worn for health and safety reasons.  Hair should also be tied back if long enough.

Home Learning

Home learning is an essential part of being a successful learner in life.  At school, we value it as it helps our children to practise and perfect their skills, master key concepts, as well as deepen their knowledge and understanding through regular short bursts of repetitive tasks.  It also gives parents/ carers an idea of what your child is learning about in school. Spelling Shed, White Rose Maths’ Minute Maths App and Times Tables Rock Stars will be introduced to our oldest children for extra challenges.

Reading 

Children are expected to read with an adult for 10 minutes most nights.  To help them become more able to segment and blend, it is essential that they re-read a book several times, read it aloud, and are encouraged to try expression. Please sign your child’s reading record book, giving details of pages read and how you have read and discussed the story together. If you have any concerns about reading, please speak to Mrs Harper or put a note in your child’s reading record. 

Maths

We use White Rose Maths throughout school and study Mastery of Number to embed core skills. White Rose Maths have an app named, ‘One Minute Maths’ which you can download. It is a useful tool to enable children to subitise or see a pattern within number before they move onto addition and subtraction. We also use Numberblocks.

Creative Homework

We also set a list of creative homework tasks linked to our topic, which runs for the half term. These homework tasks are all designed to enhance your child’s learning in school each term. Children will earn points for each task completed; children who earn the required number of points over the half-term will be awarded a Headteacher’s Star. Children will also have their work celebrated and shared with the class. Please support your child to complete the tasks to the very best of their ability. 

As Sunflowers are given lots of practical, fun tasks which do not always need to be recorded; homework can be uploaded onto Seesaw, shared and celebrated with peers with immediate celebration. This encourages everyone to take part. 

Early in the Autumn Term, we send information home regarding phonics, reading and number, and we hold information meetings for parents/ carers.  We hold other parent/ carer information meetings across the school year, encouraging parents/ carers to let us know what they would like support/ information about.

We have an open door policy and encourage parents/ carers to speak to us whenever they have any questions or concerns.