Integration Of Nursery And Reception Classes

[Guest JudithU]

This is the first time I have done his but I am hoping that someone out there might have some good ideas for me.

I am the Early Years and KS1 coordinator in a small independent school. I am taking over the Reception class in September and would like to make better links between the Nursery and Reception classes. At present the classes work quite independently of each other but I feel a better link could be made in terms of space, movement of children and staffing requirements. I have already started a better link with planning and now we will plan across the two classes on a two year cycle of topics.

I will have to win over the staff and make sure I don't alienate parents especially if they perceive that their Reception aged children have been in Nursery!

I think I will have to keep the mornings separate but would like to explore a more fluid structure between the classes in the afternoons.

Is there any one out there who is running a unit like this or has tried different things that have had worked?

[Guest cat33]

Judith are your nursey children full time?

Am in a similar position but our FS1 and 2 are in different buildings. We do share planning and we start the FS profile (not the scale booklet) in FS1. I also try to give the FS1 Practitioners time in the FS2 classrooms.

The biggest stumbling block is my FS2 teachers. They have enough pressure from Y1 and don't really want to link more with FS1.

Will be interested in how you develop your links!

Chris

[Guest]

Hi Judith

 

I have been in a placement where the school had recently opened a pre- school annex. The reception class staff have helped with the planning for the pre school and the staff have visits into pree-school on a regualr basis. Before Xmas when one teacher had afternoon time available she spent this in preschool getting to know/work with children who would be moving up in january. the pre school also had use of the school computer suit and visited once a fortnight. this gave pre=school children a chance to enter the junior side of the school.

 

Pre-School children are always part of school assemblies and whole school activities. The children were involved in the xmas play. i have been in schools where pre-school is kept very seperate and the children there never see what goes on in the infant/junior sections.

 

These are only very small links but they do help with the transition to reception/ KS1. Im not sure how independant schools work with the amount of intergration between key stages but i think the more the better for the children!

 

julie