At Springdale, we are proud of our reputation for high educational standards in a creative and caring environment. We are at the heart of the local community and have a strong sense of our individuality and history. Our outstanding school is growing to two form entry and we have lovely new facilities.
There is a highly talented team of staff, governors, and families at the school who ensure that it is a very special place to be. The school vision is: Learn Create Grow Together and our ethos is characterized by our focus on learning, our creative spirit, our commitment to health and wellbeing, and the community we belong to.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) applies to children from birth to the end of their Reception year aged 5. At Springdale, children can join the EYFS at the age of three turning four in our nursery, and at four turning five in Reception. The Foundation Stage is exactly that the foundation for lifelong learning. It’s about learning how to learn, developing a love of learning, and having lots of fun while you’re about it.
The EYFS is based on four core principles:
- A Unique Child: every child is individual and is born with the ability to learn.
- Positive Relationships: Children learn to be independent and confident when they have a base of secure, loving, and positive relationships with parents/carers, and/or key people.
- Enabling Environments: the environment is essential for supporting and extending children’s learning and development.
- Learning and Development: when the three principles above are recognized and in place, children are in a position to learn and develop successfully. Every child is different and learns in different ways and at different rates. All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected.
At Springdale, we aim to provide a safe, secure and happy environment where children can thrive, feel good about being themselves and begin the process of becoming independent, confident, active learners. In partnership with our families, we aim to provide children with a rich variety of teaching and learning experiences that take account of their current knowledge, understanding, and ability and target their ‘next steps for progress. We are keen to develop children’s skills across all areas of the curriculum, from their number knowledge and fine motor dexterity to key skills such as listening, developing perseverance, and learning how to cooperate and compromise with other people.
The prime areas are considered the most essential for healthy development and future learning. As children grow, a secure grounding in the prime areas will help them to tackle the learning and challenges and develop skills in the specific areas.
All of these areas of learning are delivered through a mixture of whole-class teaching sessions, smaller adult-led group or 1:1 activities, and child-initiated play experiences. The curriculum is designed to be flexible and personalized, enabling staff to tailor learning experiences to the needs of each individual and to follow the children’s interests and fascinations. Staff is experienced in joining children in their play and using these experiences to question and develop their thinking, scaffold and extend their learning and develop their enjoyment of the process.
For each area of learning, there is an ‘Early Learning Goal’ (ELG) that defines where children are expected to reach by the end of the EYFS. Throughout the year, records are kept of children’s experiences and achievements so that an accurate profile is developed of each child’s learning journey. At the end of the EYFS, teachers are required to assess the children against each ELG and judge whether they are at an Emerging, Expected, or Exceeding level.
At Springdale, our children enjoy a hands-on approach to History, using a range of artifacts and other information sources to investigate the past. Our focus for historical inquiry spans from The Stone Age to The Normans in Years 3 and 4. In Years 5 and 6, it takes a more thematic approach to British and world history. We recognize the ability of real-life characters and dramas from the past to interest and motivate children of all ages. We use this opportunity to develop children’s skills in interpreting, evaluating, and presenting the information. Our children benefit from visits to historical sites and museums. We also invite a range of visitors to the school, who can further enrich our children’s learning through presentations, re-enactments, and first-hand reports about life in the past.
At Springdale RE encourages children to learn about and learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions, and questions of meaning. We challenge our children to reflect on, consider and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith, and ethics. Our lessons also offer children an opportunity for personal reflection as well as spiritual development, enhancing pupils' awareness and understanding of religions and beliefs as well as the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities, and cultures. It is taught as a discrete subject, as well as through whole school assemblies. We follow the Wandsworth SACRE Agreed Syllabus.
