As you will be aware recently, Her Royal Highness launched Shaping Us, a major new awareness-raising campaign to increase public understanding of the crucial importance of the first five years of a child’s life so we went to meet Mrs Brown and Mrs Metcalfe who sprinkle magic over our Nursery and Reception children and talk about what we are doing at Aysgarth.

We recently adopted Arc Pathway as our tracking software system within Early Years. Both teachers love it! The Arc Pathway includes Relating and Rapport Connection as a Characteristic of Effective Learning. Simply put, well-being must be at the heart of the learning process. If a child does not experience emotional and reciprocal connections and doesn't feels secure this will cause a barrier to that child's learning. So, the fact that Arc Pathway has added this to the assessment criteria to ensure that these factors are tracked is something welcomed by both teachers. It was a joy to spend yesterday hearing about how these two inspirational and passionate teachers create individual, interest-driven educational experiences for our children. As it becomes increasingly apparent, the first stages of a child’s development are so important is it clear that is never too early to invest in the learning environment our children begin their educational journey in.

This week our Reception class has been learning and exploring ways to keep a healthy mind and body; the Nursery children focused on feelings, using the Colour Monster book and an array of activities to engage and educate. According to one of our nursery children, this is what love looks like. 

Pictured - Sophia R (Nursery)