First Farmers
(2 year old provision)
Welcome to First Farmers, Lower Farm Primary School’s provision for two year old children. We offer 3 hours a day (8:45 – 11:45) for children who are eligible for 2 year old funding.
Our aim in First Farmers is to engage with parents to provide the best care for our youngest children. We believe every child deserves an equal chance for success and we will achieve this by providing high quality care in an environment where they feel secure, happy and cared for.
Meet the Staff
Mrs. Coulson (First Farmers Manager), Miss Jhalli & Mrs Cooper
We look forward to welcoming you to First Farmers. We fully understand that finding high quality care for your two year old can be daunting, however here at First Farmers we strive to ensure your child receives the very best of care. We have experienced Early Years Practitioners who are knowledgeable of ‘Development Matters’ – the non-statutory curriculum guidance for Early Years Foundation Stage. We also understand that parents are the experts of their child – this is why we undertake home visits before your child starts the setting. Our home visits give us a chance to find out about your child, what things they like to do, what makes them feel happy. We can also answer any questions you may have. By working in partnership with parents we feel we can communicate more effectively, listening to your views and sharing information to build up a better picture of your child. We will also invite parents and their child into the setting for Play and Stay sessions – these sessions will encourage your child to feel relaxed and secure, getting to know our classroom and outdoor play area.
Throughout the year we post regularly on Classdojo and EvidenceMe apps. These apps are available for parents to download and you can see regular observations of your child and their progress. We also hold 3 Parent’s Evenings through the year where we can discuss your child’s achievements and progress. In First Farmers we allocate a Key Worker for your child, this Practitioner gets to really know your child and uses this information to develop an individual learning plan. These individual learning plans are shared with parent’s throughout the year, to empower parents to work on these targets at home too.
Our Curriculum
First Farmers follows the ‘Development Matters’ Curriculum Guidance and our planning is always flexible, ambitious and tries to engage in the child’s interests. We cover seven areas of learning:
Communication and Language
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Communication and Language
Language is vital to the development of your child’s understanding and communication skills. In First Farmers we do lots of singing, playing musical instruments to engage children in communicating. Your child’s Key Person will encourage communication by building up a relationship with your child, asking questions or giving simple directions to develop your child’s understanding. We also use a language screening programme called ‘Wellcomm’ which helps us assess your child’s level of understanding and spoken language. We can provide specialist ‘Wellcomm’ language interventions which supports your child’s communication skills. These Wellcomm targets are also shared on your child’s individual learning plan, to enable parents to work on targets at home.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Our philosophy in First Farmers is ‘A happy child is a healthy child’. Developing strong, caring relationships with adults enables children to understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. Two year olds may struggle sometimes to take turns, share toys or wait for their turn, this is perfectly normal; and the practitioners in First Farmers help support children through modelling how to play, praising turn taking and ‘good waiting’. By developing a strong relationship with their Key Person, your child will feel supported and comforted when necessary.
Physical Development
Physical activity is crucial to children’s all-round development. Here at First Farmers we provide stimulating indoor and outdoor physical activities for children to explore. Gross motor and fine motor skills are developed through daily experiences so that children develop core strength, balance, stability, special awareness and coordination. We use sensory experiences such as play dough, water, sand play to encourage the development of fine motor skills and control.
Literacy
In First Farmers we encourage a love of reading and writing for life. We engage children through the sharing of books every day and ensuring mark making tools and activities are freely available in all sessions. We have a ‘Book of the Week’ and a ‘Song of the Week’ which is shared on our classroom window and the classdojo app. We choose books which we hope will engage children’s interests and imaginations. Our weekly plans are related to the ‘Book of the Week’ to provide a more creative curriculum for the children. Our mark making area includes felt tips, paint, crayons, pencils, chalks, dry-wipe markers, etc, where practitioners will model ‘writing’ for children to explore themselves.
Mathematics
We wish to make mathematics a fun learning activity in First Farmers so we engage in lots of hands-on activities which supports young children in developing the building blocks they need to fully understand numbers, shapes and spaces. Through repetition of counting activities, practitioners modelling the language of counting and making it interesting to young children, they will develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
Understanding the World
In First Farmers we complete a topic ‘I wonder….’All About Me’. This topic engages children to think about themselves, their families and their community. We think about our similarities and differences. All families are asked to share a family photo for our display board where children can talk about who is in their family and how they help us. We also provide experiences which engage children in the world around them, exploring different materials, textures and shapes. We visit our Forest School area to explore natural materials and respond to nature around us. During our topic ‘I wonder…about growing plants and minibeasts’, children help to plant and grow a variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers and take care of them.
Expressive Arts and Design
Developing imagination and creativity is one of our core values in First Farmers. We love to explore! Hands on practical activities which encourage children to be creative and try new sensory experiences such as paint, glue, water, sand, shaving foam, gloop, cloud dough and lots more! Our small world area is changed regularly to engage children’s imaginative play and help develop communication skills. Practitioners actively engage in creative role play with the children, helping to develop imagination and expand language skills.
Our Daily Routine
The children’s interests and needs are paramount in First Farmers and our planning needs to be flexible to alter according to these needs. Our daily routine may change sometimes however we feel a routine is important for young children, it gives them security and confidence to know what is happening next.
8.45-8.55 a.m – Doors open (We are on the left side of school building, through the gate and take a walk up the sheltered ramp to the door on the right.)
8.55 a.m. – Registration (Children put their photo on a board for self-registration)
9.05 a.m.-10.00 a.m. Children choose from a variety activities on offer.
10.00a.m. – Tidy Up Time.
10.10 a.m. – 10. 40 a.m. – Outdoor Learning.
10.40 a.m. – 10.45 a.m. – Toilet and wash hands.
10. 45 a.m. – 11.00 a.m. Snack Time.
11.00 a.m.- 11.20 a.m. – Children choose from variety of activities on offer. (During this time your child will have their nappy changed by their Key Person or will be encouraged to use the toilet or potty.)
11.20 a.m. – Tidy Up time.
11.30 – 11.40a.m. – Story and Singing time.
11.40 a.m. -11.45a.m. – Coats and Home Time.
Snack Time
All children receive a healthy snack every day which comprises of fruit and another item such as toast, crumpets, brioche, noodles or cereal. The snack we have is displayed each day on the classroom window for parents to see. The children bring their own named water drinks bottles to school each day. We try to encourage healthy choices so water is preferable to squash, however please use ‘no added sugar’ squash if necessary. The cost of snack is £1.50 a week, which is payable on the SchoolMoney app.
Clothes
Children can wear their own clothes in First Farmers but please be aware that they will get messy! Simple tops and joggers are best for exploring. We ask that each child brings a named bag each day with a spare set of clothes, nappies, wipes and nappy bags.
Nappy Changing / Toileting Policy
Your child will be changed at least once every day, more often if necessary. It is our policy that there will always be at least two adults present in the room during nappy / toileting times for the safeguarding of children and staff. We have a clear screen in our nappy changing area and the toilet area is open to ensure effective safeguarding at all times.
Classdojo , Evidence Me and School Money apps.
In First Farmers we use all three of the above apps to communicate with parents. We will share weekly updates on Classdojo and EvidenceMe. We will only ever share photos of your child with your permission and they will never be used on our school website without your consent.
We hope you choose First Farmers for your child and look forward to welcoming you to Lower Farm Primary School. If you have any questions or wish to register your child, please contact the school office on 01922 710479.