Hedgehogs

Hedgehog Class- Early Years Unit

At Langwathby School our Early Years Curriculum provides the foundations on which our young learners will grow and develop.

We place huge value in ensuring that we provide a Curriculum that is broad and enriching allowing children to explore and investigate in a stimulating environment. Learners are encouraged to make decisions, solve problems and to develop a sense of belonging and identity within our unit. Our Early Years curriculum has been carefully designed to ensure that pupils have a secure grasp of key concepts that will support their knowledge and development. 

Well planned continuous provision allows children to develop independence and to make choices whilst practising and consolidating new learning.  Children have the opportunity to access this daily whilst staff work with children in small groups, using direct teaching of knowledge and skills. 

Seasonal topics and festivals to celebrate are highlighted in our long term map whilst also allowing us flexibility to build learning around the children's own likes and interests.

Welcome to Hedgehogs Class!

Hedgehog class is a mixed nursery and reception unit. Led by Mrs Wilby, our staff team includes Mrs Wilkinson, Mrs Hay, Mrs Saxby, Mrs Ward and Miss Kirk.

We are very lucky to have two large classrooms, complete with our own toilets, kitchen and cloakroom plus a large outdoor area. 

Our brains develop fast in Hedgehog class, as we learn to read and write and work with numbers and shapes. We are learning how to be good friends, share and be confident, resilient learners. We enjoy being creative and finding out about the world around us.

We love to learn and explore new ideas and experiences. In the classroom we have lots of resources to help us learn through play. We have 'Busy Time', where we are able to follow our own interests and guide our own learning. This is a great opportunity to showcase our talents, drawing, building, creating and many more!

We are excited to learn more about the world around us, music, literacy and mathematics, in lots of different ways.

Each week we enjoy taking part in Action Ants, learning how to move and travel in different ways, and using a range of equipment, to build our muscles. Our weekly Forest School sessions offer lots of experiences of the world around us.

Our Class Blog

🌷 Spring Term Update: Growing, Learning and New Beginnings 🌱

This half term, our learning has been inspired by the theme of Spring, new life and growing. It has been a busy and exciting start to the season, full of hands-on experiences, creativity and developing independence.

🌼 Exploring Spring and New Life

As the weather begins to change, we have been learning about the signs of spring and what it means for the world around us. The children have explored how plants grow and what they need to survive.

We have started chitting our potatoes, carefully placing them in egg cartons and watching closely for shoots to appear. This has helped the children understand patience, observation and the early stages of plant growth.

Alongside this, we have been planting flower seeds. The children have learned about:

• What seeds need to grow (soil, water, sunlight and care)

• How roots and shoots develop

• The importance of looking after living things

We are excited to watch our plants grow over the coming weeks and will continue to observe and record the changes.

🐉 Celebrating Chinese New Year

We also greatly enjoyed learning about Chinese New Year and how it is celebrated around the world. The children were enthusiastic and curious as we explored traditions, decorations and celebrations linked to this special festival.

Our activities included:

• Tasting a variety of Chinese foods

• Making colourful dragons

• Creating beautiful lanterns

• Learning about the story behind the zodiac animals

These experiences supported our understanding of different cultures and celebrations, helping to promote inclusivity and respect for others.

🌟 Nursery Update: Building Independence and Early Foundations

Our Nursery children have made fantastic progress this term, particularly in developing their independence. We have been focusing on:

• Putting on coats and wellies independently

• Tidying away resources after use

• Selecting and leading their own learning

• Managing personal care routines with increasing confidence

We are so proud of how confidently many of our Nursery children are beginning to manage daily routines.

🔤 Phase 1 Phonics

In phonics, Nursery have been exploring the different aspects of Phase 1 phonics, including:

• Environmental sounds

• Instrumental sounds

• Body percussion

• Rhythm and rhyme

• Alliteration

• Voice sounds

• Oral blending and segmenting

Through games, singing, listening walks and sound-matching activities, the children are developing strong listening and attention skills, which form the foundation for later reading and writing success.

🔢 Early Maths and Subitising

In early maths, Nursery have been developing their understanding of number through practical, hands-on experiences.

A key focus has been subitising — the ability to recognise small quantities without counting. The children have been:

• Spotting how many objects they can see at a glance

• Using dice and dot patterns

• Exploring number through songs and rhymes

• Comparing small groups of objects

These early number skills are essential building blocks for future mathematical understanding.

📚 Reception: Developing Core Skills

In Reception, we continue to see excellent progress in reading, writing and maths.

In literacy, the children are:

• Growing in confidence with phonics

• Applying their sounds to reading and writing

• Writing simple sentences independently

In maths, they are:

• Securing number recognition

• Counting reliably

• Exploring addition through practical resources

• Investigating patterns and sequencing

The children are demonstrating increasing resilience and independence in their learning

🤝 Personal Development and Friendships

A key focus this term has been learning how to be good friends. Through play, group work and circle time discussions, the children are developing important social skills such as:

• Sharing and taking turns

• Working cooperatively

• Using kind words

• Solving small disagreements calmly

We are seeing lovely examples of teamwork and kindness in our classroom, which is wonderful to celebrate.

🌱 Looking Ahead

As we move further into spring, we look forward to continuing to nurture both our plants and our learning. This term is a time of growth in every sense — academically, socially and emotionally.

Thank you for your continued support. We are excited to share more updates as our learning blossoms! 🌸

Weekly Routines

Hedgehog class have Forest School on a Tuesday and take part in Action Ants/PE on a Thursday or Friday. PE kits, waterproofs and wellies stay in school.

Outdoor Provision & Forest School 

Our outdoor provision is central to our teaching and learning and allows children to develop resilience and confidence as they try new challenges and become engaged in different experiences.  Our outdoor area has a large sand pit, reading den, writing area, music area with resources, climbing frame with slide and mud kitchen. These areas are available for the children to use on a daily basis alongside the enhanced provision and resources that we provide.

We also have a weekly Outdoor Forest session every Tuesday morning. The skills children learn here become life long skills as they use new tools and equipment whilst learning about nature and our natural surroundings.  We place high value on learning outside of the classroom and understand the importance of allowing the children to take part in age appropriate challenges.  The children enjoy structured teaching activities alongside time to explore their surroundings led by their own personal interests.

Supporting at Home

Please help support your child at home by using your child's phonic pack and reading regularly at home. Your support at home is crucial in developing your child as a confident and enthusiastic learner. Please read your child's reading book regularly at home and comment in their yellow reading record book. Remember, reading to your child is just as important as them reading to you.

Statutory and Non-Statutory Guidance for EYFS