Early Years Foundation Learning

Our Foundation Stage nurtures children of 3 months until they start school. Recently awarded 'outstanding' by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, it aims to provide a strong foundation with an enabling environment to help little ones build positive relationships as it works towards the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. For more information, read about our Foundation Curriculum.

Our Early Years Foundation provision is divided into Queen's Kindergarten, for years 3 months to 3 years, our Chapter House Nursery for pre-school children ages 3-4 years and our Reception class which bridges the gap between nursery and school for 4-5 year olds.

In the early years, class sizes are small and each child has a Key Person within their room who is responsible for their wellbeing. Key Persons regularly contribute to a unique online Learning Journal, giving parents an insight into their experiences and development at Chapter House and enabling parents to add memories of their own. This is in addition to our parents’ evenings and end of term reports. 

Our on-site EYFS chef prepares fresh meals on a 3-week rotation. View our Foundation Stage Menu.

Queen’s Kindergarten is set within the grounds of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate and develops and cares for children from 3 months to 3 years old. It is open 51 weeks a year, Monday to Friday, 8 am – 6 pm, closing only for bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year (closes Christmas Eve at 1 pm). With 24 hours’ notice, you can drop your child off at 7.45 am.

Within the Kindergarten, we work towards the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Within the EYFS, there are seven areas of learning and development that mould and shape educational programmes in the setting. For more information, read about our Kindergarten Curriculum.

Read more about Queen's Kindergarten

Read the Queen's Kindergarten Blog

Chapter House Nursery and Reception continues to support a child's early development through the power of play and social interactions, capturing their individual interests and encouraging learning through them. 

Building upon the EYFS curriculum, the Nursery and Reception years provides the opportunity for children to learn a modern foreign language, to undertake expert music tuition and enjoy participating in sports, including regular swimming, dance and multi-skill sessions.Read more about our Nursery and Reception Curriculum.

Our Pre-prep department covers years 1 and 2 and encourages an increase in independence. As the children move into Year 1, the staff are focused on equipping the children with the ability to learn, explore and develop ideas. To ensure that the children are given a strong foundation in the core subjects, the staff teach primarily through topics, with dedicated time given to literacy and numeracy. This helps the children to make links across the Key Stage 1 curriculum and gives their work purpose.

Children start to learn Mandarin as an additional foreign language in Year 1 and are taught by a language specialist. In Year 2, children are taught to learn a musical instrument as part of their weekly music sessions. A dedicated ICT suite is used for weekly computing lessons, along with a bank of iPads that can be used in the classrooms to further enhance the curriculum.

At this key stage, regular response to marking feedback and a code of expectations for presentation are introduced and are built on in subsequent years. Children are encouraged at this stage to be more responsible and share duties such as Line Leader, special Helper and Table Monitor, taking it in turns to carry out these roles over the year.

Extensive communication is provided to parents through parents' information evenings, one-to-one meetings with teachers throughout the year and end-of-term reports.

Key Stage 2 Development

Higher up the school, staff are focused on equipping children with the means to learn, explore and develop ideas. Children are given a strong foundation in the core subjects, in a happy, active, fun and safe learning environment. They are also exposed to a wider range of subjects, and activities outside the curriculum, in which they can develop creative and practical abilities, build their confidence and nurture their enjoyment of learning.

Our Prep school department covers years 3, 4 and 5 and begins to encourage children to take ownership of their learning. Moving from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 is a big step and the expectations for children increase both in terms of work and maturity. As such, an increase in independence is encouraged within the approach to learning, with pupils being challenged to take a more proactive role in the achievement of their academic goals.

The Junior Department has a consistent focus on promoting reading, writing and numeracy skills which enables our pupils to make excellent progress in their Key Stage 2 curriculum. Detailed written and oral feedback assist in setting clear targets for improvement. The children become accomplished peer markers throughout this stage and can self-evaluate and make constructive suggestions for improvement. They value, and are respectful of, the opinions of others. 

We place an emphasis on the delivery of high-quality science teaching and promote curiosity and independent learning which assists our students in becoming adept at planning an investigation. Our Chapter House Juniors are enthusiastic about practical science and working collaboratively and productively in the classroom.

The preparatory pupils are taken on a wide variety of curriculum-based, learning trips and pupils in Year 5 can apply for Prefect roles to instill a sense of responsibility and help them to develop leadership skills.

Extensive communication is provided to parents through parents' information evenings, one-to-one meetings with teachers throughout the year and end-of-term reports.

Chapter House boarding is a caring, family-like environment, with experienced staff to support the children. It's a place where life-long friendships are made and each child is respected and valued, giving them every opportunity to flourish, developing their independence and confidence.

Our Trips and Activities team organise heaps of fun sports, games and days out for the children, all of which, day students can join in. Previous weekend activities include a trip on the Santa train, roller discos and visits to the local trampoline park.

At Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate we pride ourselves on the breadth of the Co-Curricular provision we offer to students to enrich their experience beyond the classroom. This provision runs alongside the academic curriculum to facilitate the holistic development of our students and their involvement in the Collegiate community.  Details of the colour-coding for the activities and more information on each activity can be found further down this page.

For more information, view the Enrichment Page.