Today at the academy, pupils and staff were excited to celebrate the opening of our new Early Years outdoor activity and discovery space following months of development.
The new outdoor facilities represent a significant investment that will benefit the early development of children from the ages of 3-5 years old within our foundation stage. The fabulous new foundation area includes a range of large-scale wooden play equipment such as sandpits, a shop and construction hut for role-playing, mud kitchen, outdoor crafting area and resources such as stepping-stones, ladders and tyres to support children’s physical development.
Mrs Spacey said, ‘We are delighted to open this today for our existing pupils and those children looking to join our academy in the future. It is so important to be able to offer children the chance to explore and play outdoors – we have worked with Early Years education experts to create a bespoke environment that supports early childhood development. It will help children to develop key skills in areas such as communication, turn taking, writing, number as well as developing physical and core motor skills too. All of these are linked to the curriculum and support children as they move into year 1 and beyond.
It has been very exciting seeing our children take to the equipment for the first time today – we hope they enjoy it as much as our staff have enjoyed developing it!’
Together with the improvements to the outdoor space, our foundation stage classrooms also boast an impressive range of resources including space for creative and messy play, interactive whiteboards and tablets, water play, musical instruments and dedicated reading and role-play areas.
For anyone looking for places for their children, we currently have availability within the nursery and foundation provision and are supporting the government’s 30 free hours childcare scheme for 3-4 year olds. Call 01623 662110 and speak with our office team to arrange a visit.