Kingswear Primary - The Little School on the Hill

Kingswear Primary - The Little School on the Hill

Kingswear Community Primary School set up a new Foundation Stage Unit in September 2011.  We take children from 3 years old through to 5 years old.  Within our Foundation Stage Unit we have a full time qualified teacher and a full time experienced Teaching Assistant.  The ethos within our unit is that each child feels safe and secure and happy to come to school each morning.  We believe that if a child’s personal, social and emotional well being is looked after then they feel ready and able to learn and take on challenges.

We use our indoor and outdoor area for well planned play opportunities for the children, which is a key way for children to learn with enjoyment and challenge.  We provide learning experiences and activities throughout the day that allow the children to access all the areas within the new Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. 

The children’s interests and ideas form the basis of a balanced adult led and child initiated curriculum.  It is our philosophy that children learn best when the curriculum is relevant and meaningful to them. 

As well as lots of school based activities, the children have lots of opportunities to engage in out of school enrichment within our local environment and also the wider community. 

For example, we regularly take advantage of the beautiful creek and marina we have in Kingswear.  We have been on a bear hunt, minibeast hunt, Gruffalo Walk, seasonal walks (experiencing the change in our environment), and we sent a message in a bottle to Pirate Pete, who later came to visit us at school once he had received our message.  The children really enjoy our trips on the passenger ferry over to Dartmouth where we regularly visit the library for story telling sessions and to Coronation Park which provides the children with further opportunities to practise and develop their physical skills.

Daily opportunities are planned to ensure children develop as active independent learners.  In our classroom we have a ‘Learning Wall’ which provides every child with their own display space which they have complete ownership of and responsibility for.  Children decide if they are proud of a particular piece of work and therefore choose to display it on their section of the ‘Learning Wall’.  This has proven really successful in building the children’s self esteem, as it ensures that every child feels that what they have produced is celebrated and valued.

Parents and carers are encouraged to take an active role in their child’s education and are welcome in the unit regularly.  We operate an open door policy where parents are welcome to come in to look at their child’s learning diary and friendly staff are always on hand to answer any questions. 

In addition to this I provide a number of information/support sessions for parents and carers, such as ‘How to help your child with phonics and reading at home’.  The feedback from these evenings has been really positive and meetings are always well attended by the majority of parents.

We frequently invite parents, carers and families to come in and share and celebrate the children’s successes.  For example, parents joined us recently had for the Gruffalo’s 4th birthday that the children had planned and organised.  The children also entertained our visitors with their very own version of their favourite story – The Gruffalo!!

All the children at Kingswear Community Primary School not only belong to the school community but are very much part of life in the village.  Children in the Foundation Stage Unit are always involved in community gatherings and events.  We recently held a Bonfire Night on our school land for all the children, parents, carers, families and people in the local community. Christmas in Kingswear is a particularly magical time for the children.  The children in the Foundation Stage Unit write a letter to Father Christmas. We then walk down to the village post box to post our letters. Every year the children sing carols at the light switch on and Father Christmas makes an appearance to deliver a present to each child.

If you are interested in your child coming to Kingswear School please visit our website http://www.kingswear-primary.devon.sch.uk/ or call 01803 752356 or email admin@kingswear-primary.devon.sch.uk

First Published December 2012 By The Dart