The Early Years Department at Park Community Academy is a welcoming, stimulating environment where your child will be inspired and motivated to learn. Children develop and achieve through commitment, team work and a sense of belonging to a caring school community.
Our strengths are:
- The happy, safe and secure learning environment.
- The close relationships that we build with parents, carers, Speech therapists, occupational therapists, physio therapists and other professionals that enable us to fully understand the needs of each child.
- The positive relationships established between staff, governors, children and the school community as a whole.
- The high quality of teaching and learning within the department.
- The purpose built provision and extensive range of appropriate equipment within the department.
The Early Years Department of the school is housed in the purpose built Jubilee Building, where we cater for the needs of our young children who have an Education and Health Care Plan.
The Jubilee Building comprises of:
- Three classrooms - with attached pupil-centred toileting, washing and changing facilities;
- A Sensory Studio - this newly developed room provides an immersive learning environment. This allows the children to be totally "immersed" in a self-contained simulated environment while experiencing it as real. It is a highly visual and engaging experience for all our children to further develop their technical, creative, problem-solving and speaking and listening skills.
- A Soft Play Room - this is an enclosed space where the walls and floor are padded and the layout consists of multi-levels connected with steps, slopes, wedges, tunnels and blocks. Physical exercise, expression and interaction are encouraged whilst children enjoy playing and learning within this safe environment.
- A Therapy Room - a space for our multi agency teams to work quietly and safely with pupils in school. This includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and education psychologists.
- An Art Room - this is a newly developed room providing a space for all expressive art and creative work. This includes purpose built storage for all art equipment and hand washing/ equipment cleaning sinks at both an adult and child level.
- A Forest School – a large natural environment accessible directly from our EYFS classroom. The forest area allows for learner-led outdoor play encouraging curiosity and exploration.
- Secure outdoor play areas - with a safety enhanced surface. This includes purpose built storage for all outdoor play equipment and a range of static wooden climbing frames to further develop gross motor skills.
- A meeting room - with two-way window, available for the use of meetings with families and staff etc.
- Separate food preparation area and washing machine facilities.
Help is also given by visiting professionals, whose contributions enrich the children's experience and learning. These may include Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, School Medical Officer, School Nurse, Dentist, Audiologist, the Physical/Sensory/Complex Needs Co-ordinator, Social Workers and the Education Welfare Officer.
All staff work in close liaison with each other in order to provide a happy, caring, stimulating and secure learning environment for your child. Liaison between staff and parents/carers is also essential to enhance the learning process.
How my child will be learning
At PCA, our EYFS curriculum enables pupils to prepare for the rest of their learning journey at PCA and into adulthood. Children will be equipped with a readiness to learn and an understanding of how to be a member of the school community.
We follow the EYFS Framework which explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. During their earliest years, children form attitudes about learning that will last a lifetime which is why our curriculum focuses not only on what children learn but also how they learn i.e. process over outcome. We support children to learn by:
- playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’;
- active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements; and
- creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.