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Early Years Area2025-07-18T07:52:52+01:00

Welcome to Our New Early Years Foundation Stage

Welcome to our Early Years page. Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) comprises of a Nursery and a 90 place Reception. In our Nursery, we can provide 15-hour funded sessions and 30-hour funded sessions for up to 39 children each session. We have 1 large Nursery classroom and 3 Reception classrooms accommodating 30 children in each class. Alongside our 4 stimulating classrooms, we also have a separate Nursery and Reception outdoor learning environment, which is used to further support children’s development of key skills. On this page, you will be able to meet the team, find out about our outstanding curriculum and events that take place in Early Years. We will be posting half termly home activities, which you can complete with your child. These activities aim to embed and develop the children’s understanding of the curriculum and key skills at home. We will also provide useful websites to support your child’s learning of phonics, reading, maths and much more. You will find specific Early Years letters which you can download, to ensure that you remain up to date with key information. Please take a look at our gallery to view our outstanding provision and teaching that takes place.

Jump to:  Meet Our Team  |  Curriculum  |  Events  |  Home Learning  |  Family Updates  |  Apply

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Meet Our Team

Mrs K Hill

Early Years Lead
Mrs K Hill

Early Years Lead

Mrs S Bretton

Reception Teacher
Mrs S Bretton

Reception Teacher

Mrs E Fitzsimons

Reception Teacher
Mrs E Fitzsimons

Reception Teacher

Miss O Blaymire

Reception Teacher
Miss O Blaymire

Reception Teacher

Miss S Daniels

HLTA Teaching Assistant
Miss S Daniels

HLTA Teaching Assistant

Mrs E Massarella

Nursery Teacher
Mrs E Massarella

Nursery Teacher

Mrs N Gartshore

Nursery Nurse
Mrs N Gartshore

Nursery Nurse

Mrs S Shahi

EYFS Teaching Assistant
Mrs S Shahi

EYFS Teaching Assistant

Miss E Layton

EYFS Teaching Assistant
Miss E Layton

EYFS Teaching Assistant

Miss C Hirst

EYFS Teaching Assistant
Miss C Hirst

EYFS Teaching Assistant

Miss E Scoines

EYFS Teaching Assistant
Miss E Scoines

EYFS Teaching Assistant

Miss J Newell

Nursery Nurse
Miss J Newell

Nursery Nurse

Mrs K Moynihan

Nursery Officer
Mrs K Moynihan

Nursery Officer

Miss Patel

EYFS Apprentice Teaching Assistant
Miss Patel

EYFS Apprentice Teaching Assistant

Curriculum

In Early Years we deliver a curriculum based on the framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This comprises of the ‘prime areas’ and the ‘specific areas’. The ‘prime areas’ of learning focus on Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Through our provision and lessons, the children learn the importance of making friends, solving conflict and being able to share their thoughts and opinions appropriately. Alongside this they also focus on the ‘specific areas’. This refers to the teaching and learning of Maths, Literacy, Understanding of the World and Expressive Arts and Design. We are committed to teaching the children vital skills that will underpin their abilities as a learner. The children are supported in the skills of Playing and Exploring, Active Learning and Critical Thinking. Teaching these skills promotes problem solving, reasoning and fluency, effective communication resilience; attributes that are necessary throughout their educational journey. Here is a breakdown of the 7 areas of learning and what your child will be taught throughout their time in Early Years and by the end of their Reception year.

Medium Term Plans

EYFS Medium Term Plan – Autumn 1
EYFS Medium Term Plan – Autumn 2
EYFS Medium Term Plan – Spring 1
EYFS Medium Term Plan – Spring 2
EYFS Medium Term Plan – Summer 1
EYFS Medium Term Plan – Summer 1

Curriculum Overviews

Nursery Curriculum Ovevriew
Reception Curriculum Overview

Prime Areas of the Curriculum

The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development.  The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children’s language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, story-telling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.
ELG Listening, Attention and Understanding

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions;
  • Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding;
  • Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.
 ELG Speaking

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary;
  • Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate;
  • Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.
ELG Self-Regulation

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly;
  • Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate;
  • Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions.
 ELG Managing Self

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge;
  • Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly;
  • Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices.
ELG Building Relationships

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others;
  • Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers;
  • Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs.

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practise of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.
ELG Gross Motor Skills

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others;
  • Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing;
  • Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.
 ELG Fine Motor Skills

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases;
  • Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery;
  • Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

Specific Areas of the Curriculum

Literacy

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).
ELG Comprehension

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary;
  • Anticipate, where appropriate, key events in stories;
  • Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.
 ELG Word Reading

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs;
  • Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending;
  • Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including common exception words.
ELG Writing

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed;
  • Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters;
  • Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
ELG Number

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;
  • Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;
  • Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.
 ELG Numerical Patterns

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;
  • Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity;
  • Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.
ELG Past and Present

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society;
  • Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
 ELG People, Culture and Communities

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;
  • Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and, when appropriate, maps. 
ELG The Natural World

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants;
  • Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter. 

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.
ELG Creating with Materials

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;
  • Share their creations, explaining the process they have used;
  • Make use of props and materials when role-playing characters in narratives and stories.
 ELG Being Imaginative and Expressive

Children at the expected level of development will:

  • Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
  • Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
  • Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and, when appropriate, try to move in time with music. 

Our Curriculum Threads

Environmental Health

Environmental Health

Read More

Human Migration

Human Migration

Rule of Law

Rule of Law

Events

At Morley Newlands Academy, we believe that it is important to provide a range of exciting events to make our curriculum even more engaging for the children. We also believe that it is pivotal to establish strong relationships with parents and carers and to give them the opportunity to be even more involved in their child’s educational journey. Here are some details of the key events that take place throughout the school year.

Parent Workshops

We hold parent workshops every term; during these sessions we model to parents different aspects of the curriculum and how they can support their child at home. These are focused on phonics, reading, number and writing skills. During these sessions, you will find out about the Early Years curriculum expectations, how we teach the subject in school and we will model different activities that you can complete at home. You will also get an opportunity to ask for further advice and guidance from our Early Years expertise.

We invite parents to different celebration events throughout the year. This includes participating in a Christmas craft day alongside your child. As well as watching your child complete a Nativity at Christmas time. Parents are also invited to sign up to our ‘Secret Reader’ programme. This is where either a parent, family member or close family friend is able to surprise their child at school to read a story to all the children. The children’s favourite time of the day is story time and they love it even more when one of their family member’s read them a story!

Hooks/Celebration Events

Each half term, we begin a new topic through launching a ‘hook’ event. This is used to develop the children’s intrigue and curiosity around the topic. This may be through a dress up day, a visitor to talk about their occupation or an educational workshop. We also have a range of celebration events throughout the year. This is through the use of celebration assemblies, class productions or trips.

Tapestry

Parents and carers play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes. In our Early Years we use a website called ‘Tapestry’ which documents children’s learning and gives you tips on how to develop your child’s learning. The most important part is that it also enables you to document their learning at home and any experiences that they have been exposed to. In order to access this website, we provide a Tapestry workshop at the beginning of the academic year. This workshop focuses on how you can access Tapestry, what tools are available to you and how to upload evidence of their learning and experiences from home.

Stay and Play Sessions

We hold regular stay and play sessions for our Nursery class throughout the year. These sessions are designed for you as parents to come and explore your child’s learning environment alongside them. During these sessions, children love to take ownership of the classroom as they show you around their favourite areas of learning and introduce their friends. These sessions are also offered prior to children attending our Nursery. Children and parents have the opportunity to explore their new classroom and meet their child’s key worker adult.

Class Dojo

Reception uses Class Dojo to communicate with parents regularly, set homework and reward home reading. There is also a school Class Dojo page where the Morley Newlands team communicate weekly events, advice and newsletters. Your child will receive a letter informing you how to access this learning platform. This will explain how to set up a parent account.

Home Learning

We believe that it is hugely important for parents and carers to be as involved as possible with their child’s education and we are committed to establishing an effective home school partnership to support this. Completing home learning allows you to understand what learning your child is completing at home and provides opportunities for this learning to continue at home. Each half term we will provide regular activities that you can complete with your child to help them practise and apply their skills using a real-life context.

Please click on the links below to access the home learning which has been set out so far this year. There is also a link to a Reception ‘Knowledge Organiser’, which provides further support for children to complete work independently at home. Any work completed by the children can either be posted to their Class Dojo portfolio or Tapestry account and stamps will be awarded.

Autumn Home Learning 1
Knowledge Organiser

Using technology is also a great way for children to be engaged in their learning and to continue to practise and apply their skills. Below you will find links to some useful websites that can be used to support learning at home.

Phonics Play

This website has a range of printable resources as well as fun interactive games that can support children through all phases of phonics. Please speak to your child’s class teacher to find out which phase of phonics they are currently working on.

Go to Phonics Play

Top Marks

This website has a range of interactive games that cover many aspects of the curriculum, particularly maths. If you search Early Years it will bring up a range of activities appropriate for children up to 5 years old.

Go to Top Marks

Family Updates for Early Years

Here you will find copies of half termly newsletters and any other letters or notices that have gone out to Early Years children.

View all Family Updates

How To Apply

Nursery

At Morley Newlands, we accept children into our Nursery from age three. We have a number of 30 hour funded sessions available as well as 15 hour funded sessions. The sessions we offer are as follows:

  • 15 hours taken over Monday, Tuesday full days and a Wednesday morning 8.30-11.00am
  • 15 hours taken over Wednesday afternoon 12.30-3.00pm and full days on Thursday and Friday
  • 30 hours taken over 4.5 days 8.30am-3.00pm: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday full day sessions and a half day session to be taken either on a Wednesday morning or afternoon.

We also have a limited number of ‘top-up’ sessions available in order to extend Wednesday to a full day session. There is a small weekly fee payable for this additional session.

New children enrol in September, depending on the availability of class spaces, a further intake may be available in January. If you would like to apply for a Nursery place for your child or place your child on our waiting list then please complete the application form below. We will contact you during the term prior to your child beginning Nursery to notify you of the available places. For details of our admissions policy, please refer to the Nursery Admissions policy.

Admissions Policy
Application Form

Reception

If you are applying for a Reception place for September, all applicants are made in advance. Offers are made by local authorities on national offer day. You must apply to the local authority who empties your bins. If this is in Leeds, please go to www.leeds.gov.uk/apply. Please note, attendance at the Academy’s nursery does not guarantee admission to the school for primary education. An application must be made for transfer from the Nursery to the primary school.

If you would like to be shown around our Early Years provision then please email the school at [email protected].

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