The team in Aspen Room would like to extend the warmest welcome to our children and families.
In Aspen, we offer three hour morning sessions from 8:30am to 11:30am and three hour afternoon sessions from 12:10 pm to 3:10 pm. During these sessions, every child will receive a healthy snack and drink. For those parents who require it, we also offer full day sessions running from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Children attending these full sessions are welcome to bring a packed lunch, or parents/carers can order their little one a fresh hot meal from our school kitchen.
Aspen class offers a spacious environment with areas of continuous provision which reflect the EYFS framework, our school curriculum intent and school motto, ‘All Together, Aiming High’. At the heart of our classroom culture is the team’s dedication to promoting the wellbeing of every child and helping them to reach their full developmental potential whilst they are with us.
Do not worry if sometimes it seems quite bare in Aspen as we often purposefully reduce the resources in order to promote shared and social play, increased levels of attention and independence. We are very lucky to have a large experienced team with a ratio of 1:5. The team is skilled in providing children with the best learning opportunities and in nurturing every child. Each team member brings to Aspen unique strengths and we are privileged to have such a high quality team.
The Aspen team wants to see our children happy and engaged and in order for this to happen we challenge them and provide ample opportunities for the children to develop their resilience and perseverance whether it be improving balancing skills outside, hosting a tea party in the mud kitchen or building a tower on our construction site. Everywhere you look there is a learning opportunity.
We have several permanent areas of provision: Role Play, Small World, Story Area, Mathematics, Mark Making, Expressive Arts, Sand and Water, Construction and Malleable Area. There will always be a version of these areas available to explore as it is in these places that we get the most language and communication from the children. In addition, we provide provision enhancements linked to our core texts/rhymes to keep learning fresh and interesting.
We are extremely lucky to have beautiful outside areas. Aspen room has the use of a smaller outside area where the children can get messy, explore the resources and take those vital risks that are necessary for building resilience. Of course, there will always be staff members watching over the children to support and encourage. We have another larger outdoor garden which is kept free of resources as this is where we encourage our children to really notice the environment; children use the natural resources on offer, notice the insects crawling on the logs and the leaves changing colour.
For our children who simply need some time away from all the excitement or who still benefit from a nap, we have a small quiet room with a comfy area, sensory toys and a space for children to continue their play in a calmer space.
We love the free flow of our classroom. The children can move from space to space and are free to explore. We do not have ‘play time’ because every moment is about playing and learning and so there will never be a time when our team members are not engaged with the children.
In Aspen, we care about what our children are interested in; if something is not capturing their attention then we change it. We listen and follow the children’s lead and base what we do the following day on what we have seen the day before. Children learn best when they are interested and this is what every team member has at the forefront of their minds when preparing resources for their key groups. Each child will be assigned a ‘key worker’; a member of staff that each child has bonded with. Our key workers get to know their children, track their development and provide a personalised learning experience. Within these small groups our curriculum is broken down even further and tailored to meet the needs of those children. Our motto is ‘stage not age’.
Our goal is to help put all of the building blocks in place and close developmental gaps so that our children go on to the next stage of their journey confident and inquisitive.
The Aspen team looks forward to meeting you very soon and being a part of your journey.
