Virtual Tours Get Prospectus Book a tour Apply Now

How to help your child thrive in Foundation Stage 1

Starting FS1 can be nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. How can my child and I learn to embrace it?
FS1 is a magical time in a child’s life and an opportunity for him or her to develop into a lifelong learner. We work closely with parents to ensure children are provided with a strong foundation for learning as they move towards FS2 and beyond. Children in Foundation Stage at Kings’ will experience personalised learning, as they will have educational opportunities planned for them based on their interests and next steps. Children in FS1 build up very close relationships with their peers and adults in school and become confident in themselves as individuals in an environment in which they feel safe, happy and loved. We challenge them and plan real life learning experiences that ensure children make rapid progress while also giving them the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them for the high expectations of FS2 and beyond.

Describe a typical day in the life of an FS1 student at Kings’.
Our school day begins at around 8am, when FS parents will bring their child to the classroom and have an opportunity to speak to the class teacher and share any important messages. Upon arrival, children are encouraged to independently put away all of their belongings and get ready to start the day. We then register all the children and sing the UAE National Anthem. Next, our children wake-up their brains and bodies by engaging with ‘squiggle while you wiggle’ or ‘dough disco’, which promote gross and fine motor skills to get us ready for writing. During the rest of the day, the children will have some teacher-led phonics and maths sessions and participate in ChiL (child-initiated learning) time, where they can access our indoor and outdoor learning environments. Children in FS1 also have weekly music, swimming, PE and library sessions. Our day finishes with a story time and children are collected from the classroom at 1pm.

How long does it take to settle, on average, and what can parents do to help?
Joining a school is a huge learning transition for children. They are exposed to new and high expectations and it can often take time for them to respond to those boundaries in school. Children may take some time to settle and there may be some issues in the beginning as children are learning how to manage their own emotions and behaviour. As a school, we will communicate any issues with parents and work together to ensure we are supporting the child to build relationships and manage their own behaviour in and outside of school. With regards to academic issues, children often come to school writing in capital letters and saying alphabet names for sounds. Parents work with them at home and have good intentions to support their reading and writing, however this does often mean we have to un-teach and re-teach content in school. We would ask that parents only model writing in lower case letters and when learning letter sounds to only teach them the ‘pure’ sounds. We can recommend a good sound pronunciation guide to use for support, if needed.

What can parents do at home to help children thrive in FS1?
It’s a saying that the best gift we can give to anybody is our time, but this is especially true for our young children. A child’s brain is 85% developed by the age of five, so it is incredibly important we give them a strong foundation to become lifelong learners. We would ask all parents just to spend time with their children – talking to them, listening to them and sharing experiences with them. Children who are exposed to different experiences and people can then refer back to this breadth of knowledge and apply their level of understanding in their learning. It is also so important that parents encourage children to be independent and have high expectations of them. If we believe that children can be successful at something then they will achieve and believe in themselves. Please encourage your children to feed themselves, dress themselves and take ownership of their belongings, as we expect this of all children from the very beginning of FS1. Parents should read to their children and model using imaginative and rich language as children can only ever say words they hear and are exposed to. Finally, it’s also important to encourage your child to spend time outdoors and build up their core strength in their bodies.

Rebecca Munday
Deputy Head of Foundation, Kings’ School, Al Barsha

 

BACK