For many parents, the idea of sending their child to ‘big school’ is a daunting concept. Part of you feels excited, the other part feels sad. However, as the time comes, rest assured that at Safa Community School, our prime focus is to provide our children with a safe, caring and supportive environment.
Children at Safa Community School are noticeably confident, happy and inquisitive as they are encouraged to guide their exploration, engage in a play-based learning environment and explore concepts that are of interest to them as individuals.
This journey is not completed without partnership with parents, which is a key focus for us. We value and respect the knowledge our parent community holds for their individual child.
The child is always at the centre of our practice, supporting teachers and families in ensuring every child has the best start in life is a privilege.
I look forward to welcoming you into the Safa Family.
In the Early Years, we focus on fostering a love and excitement for learning at a young age while instilling a growth mindset, a passion for following their interests and leading their own learning.
Our aim is to nurture each individual child, finding and enhancing their strengths as well as supporting them to develop new skills. It is important that we encourage children to reach their full potential by taking individual needs, learning styles and interests into account through a play based approach to learning.
At SCS, children learn through exploration and play in our stimulating, exciting and well-resourced indoor and outdoor environments. Each Early Years classroom boasts a generously proportioned outside terrace that spans the length of the classroom and affords every class with instant access to the outdoors.
Our skilled Early Years practitioners plan enabling environments with a strong emphasis on using natural and familiar materials to explore, learn and play. Children are encouraged to take ownership over their environment with lots of opportunities for self-selection. Environments are warm, nurturing and inviting to ensure happy and settled learners.
The aim of the Flex-FS1 programme is to make the children’s journey into a formal educational environment easy, fun-filled and stress-free for parents. Every child progresses at a different rate and there should be no rush or anxiety for the parents to acclimatise their child into the school experience. The Flexi-FS1 stream is conceptualised to provide parents with exactly this flexibility while also providing them the option of switching to the mainstream when they feel their child is ready.
This is a parallel stream of FS1 that will have significantly more flexibility for the parents/children who need it. The flexi-FS1 will give parents the flexibility to:
Choose a 3 day option of Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for Term 1-2
Choose a 4 day option of Monday-Thursday for Term 1-2
Further supporting their children into full time education by Term 3.
Please note that all children will need to attend 5 days in the final term as they prepare for FS2.
Parents opting for the Flexi-FS1 option will have the choice of opting for 3 days or 4 days per week. These days are fixed by the parent at the start of the academic year based on the curriculum and key activities and are not flexible once the term has started (see note re pick up times above).
The 3 day/4 day options will be available in Term 1 and Term 2 and will not be offered in Term 3. By Term 3 all FS1 children must attend for 5 days up to 12:30pm.
All key curriculum related aspects will be covered in the 3 day/4 day options and the children will not miss out on any important educational/learning experiences.
Parents seeking to move from a 3 day/4 day option to a 5 day option can do so at the beginning of a term or at mid-term and the staff will advise the parents when would be the most beneficial time from the child’s perspective to do so.
There will be additional toilet attendants to further guide and support the FS children with their independence when going to the toilet. All children must be fully toilet trained upon entry into the EYFS.
Children will wear PE kit (Polo Top and Shorts) which will further enhance our commitment to child-friendly learning.
The standard FS1 classes will continue to run and parents opting for the standard 5 days can continue to do so.
All adequate measures will be taken to create a limited segregation between the standard FS1 classes and the Flexi-FS1 classes so that the elements of flexibility do not add to any disturbances to the standard classes, while ensuring that the children in the Flexi-FS1 classes are physically segregated to an extent but are still very much a part of the overall school.
There will be additional toilet attendants to further guide and support the FS children with their independence when going to the toilet. All children must be fully toilet trained upon entry into the EYFS.
Children will wear PE kit (Polo Top and Shorts) which will further enhance our commitment to child-friendly learning.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework sets out the standards for development, learning and care of children from birth to five. It is important that all children are given the opportunity to experience the best possible start to their education.
The Foundation Stage Curriculum is planned and resourced to take children’s learning forward and to provide opportunities for all children to succeed in an atmosphere of care and of feeling valued.
Children will wear PE kit (Polo Top and Shorts) which will further enhance our commitment to child-friendly learning.
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