Early Years
Starting School
Children can join our Early Years class from the age of 3.
All 3 and 4 year olds are eligible for up to 15 hours a week of free nursery provision from the term after their 3rd birthday. Some children may be entitled to an additional 15 hours of full nursery education (where parents are eligible - find out more from the Cumbria County Council website). We also have places available in our Reception year group.
More information about applying for a place can be found here.
For more information about your child's earliest experiences at Langdale, please see browse the page below as well as the Oak Class page of our website or contact the school directly.
Early Years at Langdale
Every Langdale Learner deserves the best possible start in life. At the heart of our Early Years curriculum is a commitment to ensuring that pupils enjoy a secure, safe and happy start to their time at our school. Staff are committed to enabling high quality, stimulating environments, that take advantage of our unique geographical setting, to provide the foundations that children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow.
Early Years children at Langdale are offered a variety of broad and enriching opportunities to discover and create their own learning. Staff are highly-trained and navigate learning to run seamlessly alongside the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Every day, children enjoy learning more about the world around them, utilising the outdoors wherever possible.
The outdoor curriculum that is central to teaching and learning at Langdale allows children in the Early Years to develop into the unique child who is resilient, self-assured and confident in their own abilities. Essential risk management is promoted through our indoor construction area, where children independently use saws, hammers and screws safely, and via weekly forest-based sessions. The positive relationships staff build with children ensure that children feel trusted and safe to explore their learning across our setting.
Our weekly Out and About sessions, where children enjoy an off-site adventure to a local library, trip on a train or scramble by a tarn, have built strong links with our local community. These inspire children to make meaningful connections across their learning, given the real life contexts they have experienced. Early Years children enjoy independent exploration in their own, private outdoor area which includes a mud/texture kitchen, sand and water play, under-cover role-play area, gross-motor bike play and a quite reading area.
Our indoor and outdoor provision, alongside high-quality taught sessions, provides
children with the foundations for success in KS1. Our EYFS curriculum has been carefully designed to ensure that pupils have a secure grasp of key concepts that will support their knowledge and development. Through engaging half-termly topics, key concepts are taught in depth, ensuring that pupils build a strong understanding and retain their new learning.
Phonics and early reading is central to children's learning experiences. Reception children participate in daily 'Read Write Inc.' phonics teaching that runs alongside sharing multiple broad and diverse texts across the curriculum. For more information regarding phonics teaching, please see the English curriculum page of our website.
Staff take the time to get to know every child and their unique interests. This allows for highly effective planning directly targeting children's interests and needs.
