EYFS

Welcome to Early Years at Maple Court Academy

At Maple Court Academy, we help your child grow into a happy, confident, and independent learner. Our Nursery and Reception classes offer a safe, warm, and exciting environment where children love discovering new things every day. We spend time getting to know each child individually—their unique personality, interests, and what makes them thrive.

What Your Child Will Learn & Experience

Our curriculum is built around our school values: being Moral, Adaptable, Proud, and Learners. We focus on helping children make friends, build confidence, and connect what they learn at school with their life at home and the wider world.

• Developing Strong Speaking & Listening Skills: Learning to communicate clearly is at the heart of everything we do. We help children expand their vocabulary through fun activities, storytelling, and playing.
• Exciting Termly Topics: Children explore six themes throughout the year that cover the changing seasons, nature, and special celebrations. Every topic starts with a fantastic storybook to nurture a love of reading.
• Flexible to Your Child’s Interests: While we plan exciting themes, we also follow the children’s lead and adapt activities to what sparks their curiosity.
• Special Events & Workshops: We bring learning to life with visiting speakers, hands-on workshops, and our popular Wonderful Wednesday enrichment activities.

Early Reading & Writing (Phonics)

Reading is a huge priority for us! We use a proven step-by-step reading program called Little Wandle, Letters and Sounds:

• Nursery: Children focus on foundational listening skills, learning to spot repeating sounds, recognise rhymes, and blend sounds together in spoken words.
• Reception: Children learn the letter sounds (phonics) and practice putting them together to read and write words. They also have small-group reading sessions to build confidence and fluency.
• Home-School Partnership: We love working together with parents! You will be encouraged to practice reading books at home with your child to support their learning journey.

Early Maths & Numbers

We want children to feel confident with numbers from the very start:

• Hands-on Learning: Children use real objects—like blocks, counters, and shapes—to explore numbers and solve problems visually.
• Learning Through Play: Mathematical ideas are built directly into our everyday play areas so children can explore math naturally throughout the day.

Our Classes & Support

Our curriculum follows the national Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines, focusing heavily on three key areas: Communication & Language, Personal & Social Development, and Physical Development.

• Reception: We have two Reception classes—The Rainbow Fish and The Hungry Caterpillar’s. Each class of up to 30 children has a qualified teacher and an experienced teaching assistant. Children learn through a mix of play, group activities, and teacher-led lessons.
• Nursery: Our Nursery class has 36 places with a qualified teacher, two experienced early years specialists and an associate teacher who give our youngest children tailored care and support.

Working Together & Extra Support

• Tracking Progress: At the start of Reception, teachers complete a quick, friendly assessment with your child using fun, interactive tasks. We track progress through daily conversations and observations, keeping you updated through parent meetings, open events, and regular updates.
• Extra Help When Needed: Every child learns at their own pace. If your child needs a little extra help with speaking, listening, or language, we step in quickly with gentle, small-group support programs (such as Talking Time in Nursery or NELI in Reception) to keep them moving forward with confidence.
• SEND Referrals & Specialist Support: Where additional or specialised needs are identified, we make prompt SEND referrals to ensure your child receives the right support, resources, and expert guidance tailored to their needs.