Sir Henry Fermor Church of England Primary School
Content Slideshow
Weekly News
Friday 27th February
Welcome back to Term 4! Owls and Hedgehogs have settled very well back into school and it has been wonderful to have some sunshine this week! During Discovery Time the children have been enjoying riding the bikes, creating their own nursery, building rockets and exploring our Maths resources pretending to be the teacher!
In Maths we have started our new topic called 'Length, height and time'. The children have been exploring what measure is, why it's important and how to measure things using non-unit measures (e.g. how many hands long is...).
We had great fun with the FOFS Pancake Flip challenge and even had one child flip the pancake 35 times!
We are continuing with our topic 'People Who Help Us' and are taking a wider approach, discussing what the children's aspirations are! We have had some great responses - firemen, vets, skiers!
Next week:
Wednesday 4th March - Church service at All Saints. Please drop your child off for 8:45.
Thursday 5th March - World Book Day!
Thank you for your support,
The EYFS Team
Term 4 timetable changes
PE
The children will take part in a PE lesson every other Friday and will alternate with a Forest school session.
On Friday’s children will come into school wearing PE kit, or Forest School clothes, depending on their session that week.
Forest School
Forest School will now take place on a Friday afternoon. Each class will alternate each week between Forest School and PE. This session very similar to our ‘outdoor learning’ sessions that the EYFS team have been leading, however this term we have a qualified Forest School teacher leading the sessions, so the name of the session has changed.
Swimming
Swimming lessons continue to take place every other week on a Thursday, children will need to come into school on a Thursday wearing school uniform.
Term 5 | Hedgehog Class | Owl Class
|
Week 1 | PE Friday PM | Swimming Thursday PM |
Week 2 | Swimming Thursday PM PE Friday PM | Forest School Friday PM
|
Week 3 | Forest School Friday PM
| Swimming Thursday PM PE Friday PM |
Week 4 | Swimming Thursday PM PE Friday PM | Forest School Friday PM
|
Week 5 | Forest School Friday PM
| Swimming Thursday PM PE Friday PM |
Friday 13th February
The last week of Term 3 has been so much fun! During Discovery Time we have been created lego worlds and animals from carboard tubes (inspired by some home learning). Lots of children have been keen to innovate the story 'The Little Red Hen' and have been performing them to their friends in groups. We had one group where the characters changed to a cheeky monkey, bossy horse and angry goose! It has been so lovely to see how much the children have enjoyed working on their stories and how well they can articulate themselves.
In Maths we have been finishing our learning on the composition of 6,7,8 and have moved on to learning about pairs, odds, evens and doubles.
Our topic next term continues to be People Who Help Us. Our parent flyer is on the year group page under 'Curriculum'.
Thank you for your support this term with your child's learning. We hope you have a restful half term week. We return to school on Tuesday 24th February. The first Friday back is the FOFS Pancake Flip - letters went home on Tuesday with more information.
Friday 6th February
This week has been so busy but we have had so much fun! On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have Mr James, our school site manager, come down to Early Years and talk to the children about his job around the school. This was a great learning opportunity for the children and they asked Mr James some amazing questions such as:
- What is your favourite thing to do around school?
- Do you like your job?
- Do you really do the soap for us?
On Friday it was Number Day and it was great to see the children in their number outfits. We played lots of number games, including composition using numicon, roll, stack and write, playing bowling and so much more!
Throughout the rest of the week we have continued with our story 'The Little Red Hen' and it has been wonderful to see the work that has come from this story. The children are eager to draw their own story maps and caption what the characters say!
We hope you have a restful weekend.
The EYFS Team
Thursday 5th February
Unfortunately, due to staff absence, Hedgehogs were unable to have their Outdoor Learning session today. We thank you for your understanding on this matter.
Friday 30th January
This week Owls and Hedgehogs have started looking at a new story in their English lessons, 'The Little Red Hen'. We have listened to a version of the story and drawn a whole class story map. We will upload these next week for you to share with your children at home. During Challenge Time, the children have enjoyed writing captions for what each of the animals say throughout the story. We have discussed about what we like and don't like about the story and the children have been using full sentences to explain their feelings.
In Maths we have been exploring mass and capacity. The children were part of an experiment where they had to compare the capacity of different containers and make predictions before testing them out.
During Discovery Time we have continued to see some wonderful junk modelling of cars, castles and boats. It is wonderful to see the creativity and thought behind these creations. We have also had fun creating texture maps of our classroom which inspired by some home learning!
Next, Wednesday, we have Church. Please drop your child off at All Saints Church for 8:45.
Friday 23rd January
This week we have continued learning our story 'Little Red Riding Hood' however we innovated our story by changing the character to be a big bad wolf and a ferocious fox instead! We then challenged the children to create their own story change and some some wonderful ideas. We even had suggestions such as Miss Holczimmer becoming the big, bad wolf!
We have been really impressed by the children's learning during Discovery Time. This is their child-led learning and we have seen challenge themselves to write, copy difficult drawings and create super long repeating patterns. During Challenge Time (adult-initiated learning) we have continued with our story maps and the children have enjoyed making number and subitising books.
Before the end of term we will be sending home the subitising books your children have made during Challenge Time. The idea of this is for them to be used at home to consolidate the skill of subitising. Subitising is being able to recognise objects in a group without having to count them. You or your child could hold up the cards and test each other!
Despite the rainy weather we have still enjoyed lots of time in our outside spaces, creating houses, obstacle courses and reading stories during Outdoor Learning.
Polite Notice:
Please could we ask that umbrellas go home at the start of the day with the adult dropping off. This allows us to keep our areas free from dripping umbrellas. Thank you for your understanding.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
The EYFS Team
Friday 16th January
This week Owls and Hedgehogs have continued learning the story 'Little Red Riding Hood'. We have been using story maps and actions to help us learn and the children are showing a love for the story. On our class page you may have noticed a new page called 'Story Maps and Model Texts'. We will be uploading our maps and texts to this page for you to show your child at home and perhaps they can recite the story to you!
We have been also been learning about the role of a doctor and how they help us. In Maths we have been exploring numbers 0-5 and they ways of representing these numbers. During Discovery Time we have had lots of wonderful learning happening with children choosing to create and write cards, designing car parks and race tracks and so much more! Please see the slideshow for pictures of our learning this week.
Despite the rain on Thursday, Owls put on their waterproof gear and enjoyed time splashing in puddles and bringing the story of Little Red Riding Hood to life! Hedgehogs enjoyed a successful swimming session in the warm! Thank you to our volunteers who supported with both of these sessions.
Our topic this term is, 'People Who Help Us'. This topic is a great opportunity for the children to learn about the roles within our community that help us and start to learn how to ask questions. We explore with the children may different roles nurse, doctor, vet, shop worker, hairdresser, builder, painter, police officer and more. If you would like to come in and talk to the children about your job, we would love the opportunity for you to share and the children to ask questions. This could be at the end of the day from 2.30 on any day that suits you (apart from Thursday!). Please do get in contact with your Class Teacher if you are able to come in this Term.
We hope you have a restful weekend.
The EYFS Team
Friday 9th January
What a fun week we have had so far this term! All children have settled back really well!
We have been busy exploring our new topic and enjoying the new role play areas we have. There have been lovely conversations about our community and who helps us within this space.
We have also enjoyed some time in the snow where we worked as a team to collect as much snow as possible and build snowmen! There was lots of ice in our blue area and this allowed for lots of experiments to see how long it would take different size blocks of ice to melt in the sun.
We had a lovely outdoor learning session on Thursday where children explored the area for items that were different colours and textures, as well as playing hide and seek games with some key artefacts from our story 'Little Red Riding Hood'. This has also inspired some children to recreate the characters from the story which has been lovely to see.
A small plea: The children have been loving junk modelling - we are looking for some more supplies. Please can we have some recycling of cardboard boxes in all sizes, toilet and kitchen rolls, milk bottles and egg cartons. Thank you.
Please view the slideshow below to see more pictures from our learning this week. We hope you have a restful weekend.
Tuesday 6th January
Happy New Year! We hope you had a lovely half term break. Please see below for the updated swimming and outdoor learning timetable for Term 3. We will continue to alternate weekly with outdoor learning taking place Thursday mornings and swimming in the afternoons. All children will continue to wear their own clothes on a Thursday. As we enter the colder months, please ensure your child has appropriate clothes to keep them warm as we are often outside for longer periods of time. If you would like to support with either swimming or outdoor learning, please let us know.
Date | Owls | Hedgehogs |
Thursday 8th January | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 15th January | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Thursday 22nd January | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 29th January | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Thursday 5th February | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 12th February | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Other Important Notices:
We will be keeping all reading records and books at school on Monday. This allows us time to read your comments and change the books. We will be returning books to the children on Tuesdays.
Wednesday 14th Jan - Church
Please check back on this page weekly for regular updates.
Thank you for your support.
The EYFS Team
Friday 19th December
The end of Term 2 has arrived and we cannot believe how quickly it has gone! We have had a successful second term and have seen all children make such amazing progress! Below is a round up of our first term:
The first day at school (which feels forever ago)
Meeting our Year 6 buddies for the first time!
Our first swimming and Outdoor Learning lessons
Performing our Nativity to Key Stage 1, buddies, parents and carers
Christmas dinner day, Christmas jumper day, Father Christmas day
Thank you for your continued support with your child's education. Over the Christmas break it is important to rest, however if you would like to engage in some fun learning activities, we have put together some ideas you might like to complete. You can find the attachment on our 'Home Learning' part of the EYFS page, labelled 'Christmas Holiday Activities'. If you complete any of these, please feel free to bring them in when we return to school on Monday 5th January.
Our topic for Terms 3 and 4 is 'People Who Help Us'. Each week we will be exploring a different occupation/profession that helps us in the community. We will use this to develop the children's understanding of the world and community around them. For more information please view the parent flyer which is found on our 'Curriculum' page. We welcome volunteers to come and speak to the children about their job! If this is something you would like to do, please speak to a member of the team to arrange a suitable time!
Thank you so much for your generosity with presents and cards. We are very grateful.
However you spend the half term, we hope it is filled with peace, joy and happiness. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The EYFS Team
Friday 12th December
Christmas has certainly arrived in Early Years at Fermor! We have had such a fun week filled with lots of Christmas crafting, eating Christmas dinner with our buddies, meeting Father Christmas, dancing to Christmas music and toasting marshmallows!
We have been so impressed by the children's learning this week, they have really shown great pattern skills, ordering numbers and many have blown us away with their word and sentence writing! Please see the pictures below for an insight into our week.
Next week is our final week of Term 2! We cannot believe how fast it has gone. On Tuesday we have the 'Secret Present Room' and on Friday 19th December there is a whole school Church service at All Saints. Early Years will be sharing some artwork and singing 'Hey Ewe' from our Nativity. If you would like to stay and watch, please feel free to.
We hope you have an enjoyable weekend,
The EYFS Team
Friday 5th December
This week, Owls and Hedgehogs have been busy preparing for our Nativity performances. All of the children have worked so hard, whether they have been learning a dance, lines or songs. We're proud of all of them and really hope you enjoy watching our performance.
When we haven't been practising, we have been having lots of fun creating Christmas crafts, playing snowball bingo games and decorating our very own Christmas tree in Early Years! In Maths we are learning about the composition of 4 and 5 and in Phonics we have been recapping and consolidating early Phase 3 sounds and tricky words.
As a reminder, please record every time you read with your child in their reading record. We only change reading books when it has been documented that they've been read 3 times. Library books continue to be changed on Fridays.
Please have a look through the slideshow below for some pictures of our learning this week.
We hope you enjoy the weekend,
The EYFS Team
Christmas Nativity Performances
Friday 5th December 2pm - Hedgehog class parents and carers (x2 adults per child)
Monday 8th December 2pm - Owl class parents and carers (x2 adults per child)
Please wait by the Year 4 entrance (by the swimming pool) and we will sign you into the school here.
If you are unable to attend the performance on the day for your child's class, please speak to your child's class teacher to discuss watching on the other day.
Update
We do now have some additional availability for both performances for EYFS. If you would like up to 2 additional seats for grandparents, please contact your child's class teacher to enquire.
Friday 28th November
This week has been all things dinosaurs! We have continued with 'Dinosaurs Love Underpants' in Drawing Club and been busy recreating dinosaur fossils too! In Discovery Time, the children have been inspired to make aquariums and farms which have been wonderful to see. In our Outdoor Learning session, the children made bird feeders that are now hanging around the outdoor learning area and some have even made their way into our blue area! We will be keeping our eye out for winter birds!
We have been busy practising for our Nativity and cannot wait to share our performances with you very soon! All children have been sent home with a letter explaining their role and costume. If you do not think you have had this letter, please contact your class teacher and we will provide you with the relevant details. Costumes will need to be brought in next week prior to the performance as we have dress rehearsals earlier in the week.
Key Dates:
Saturday 29th November - FOFS Christmas Fair
Friday 5th December - Hedgehogs Nativity
Monday 8th December - Owls Nativity
Thursday 11th December - Christmas dinner and jumper day
Friday 12th December - Christmas jumper day and Father Christmas visiting!
Tuesday 16th December - FOFS Secret Present Room
Friday 19th December - Whole School Christmas Service and last day of term
Have a lovely weekend,
The EYFS Team
Friday 21st November
This week has been a great week with lots of fun activities! Our Drawing Club book has been 'Dinosaurs Love Underpants' and the children have thoroughly enjoyed designing their own underpants and retelling the story using our small world set ups.
In Maths we have been learning all about the numbers 4 and 5 and have been consolidating our learning from last week on circles and triangles. The children have enjoyed making illustrations using only circles!
Our topic this week has been all about hibernation. We have been reading a lovely book called 'Winter Sleep' which follows the story of animals that hibernate and what changes occur each season. We were even lucky enough to experience some snow on Wednesday, making us feel very wintery!
The children have been busy rehearsing for our Nativity. We thank you for your patience whilst we waited for confirmation of dates. Letters have been placed in bookbags/contact books regarding your child's role in the Nativity and information about costumes. Hedgehogs parents/carers are invited to attend on Friday 5th December. Owls parents/carers are invited to attend on Monday 8th December. Both performances will begin at 2pm. If you are unable to attend the date allocated, please speak to a member of the EYFS Team and we can arrange changes. ALL children will be in both performances.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
The EYFS Team
Friday 14th November
This week Owls and Hedgehogs have been super busy! We started the week learning about Remembrance Day, then towards the end of the week spoke about the ways we can give back to the community and people in need!
Alongside this we have been busy finalising our wacky race cars, practising our reading and writing and going on shape hunts in the wooded area to find objects that reminded us of circles, triangles, squares and rectangles.
Next week we are reading 'Dinosaurs Love Underpants' in Drawing Club and will be learning about animals and hibernation as the season begins to change!
Key Dates for your diary:
Wednesday 26th November - Church Service (please drop off at All Saints at 8:45am).
Saturday 29th November - FOFS Christmas Fair (1-4pm)
Friday 5th December - EYFS Nativity (2pm)
Monday 8th December - EYFS Nativity (2pm)
We will be giving more information about the Nativity shortly.
Have a lovely weekend,
The EYFS Team
Friday 7th November
Welcome back to Term 2! We are continuing with our topic 'All About Me' and this leads us to our first plea! To link with the 'Understanding the World' strand of the EYFS curriculum, we will be looking at pictures of us as babies and of us now to see and discuss the past and compare how we looked then vs now. We are asking that if you have any photographs of your child as a baby or perhaps an event they enjoy from the past (1st birthday, 1st Christmas, 1st holiday) to please send them in for us to have a circle time about our past and how we have changed!
This week we have been discussing all things Bonfire Night, including why we celebrate it, how to stay safe and what traditions there are. The children have been busy creating their own firework pictures inspired by photos and videos of fireworks displays.
In Maths we have been looking at one more, one less and are beginning to explore the composition of numbers. Our Drawing Club focus this week has been the cartoon 'Wacky Races' and the children have been busy designing and junk modelling their own cars and racing tracks. Please see the pictures below for an insight into our week!
As a reminder, reading with your child is crucial to support their early reading skills. We understand that afternoons and evenings can be busy, but even reading just one page with your child will support them with their blending. We will continue to change Phonics books once they have been read and recorded 3 times in the contact book.
Thank you for your continued support.
The EYFS Team
Friday 23rd October
We cannot believe that Term 1 has finished! It has been a fun first term back to school and we are so proud of each child for the effort they have put into their learning so far. We will be continuing our ‘All About Me’ topic into Term 2 whilst also learning about some key celebrations that fall within this time of year such as Bonfire Night and Christmas.
From Thursday 6th November we will be beginning swimming and outdoor learning. Classes will be alternating sessions each week. The table below shares when your child will be swimming/outdoor learning.
| Owls | Hedgehogs |
Thursday 06/11/25 | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 13/11/25 | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Thursday 20/11/25 | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 27/11/25 | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Thursday 04/12/25 | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Thursday 11/12/25 | Outdoor Learning | Swimming |
Thursday 18/12/25 | Swimming | Outdoor Learning |
Regardless of whether your child is swimming or outdoor learning, we are asking ALL children to be sent into school on Thursdays in their own clothes. Please ensure these are simple clothes that your child can identify themselves and change into and out of. We are asking for no laces/buttons/zips (unless on coats) to ensure children can dress themselves for their session as quickly as possible. Please make sure all clothes are clearly labelled with your child’s name and class.
Outdoor Learning Clothes:
- Warm and comfortable clothes that you do not mind getting wet/muddy.
- Wellington boots/outdoor boots.
- No laces
- Waterproof jackets, trousers or one pieces.
Swimming:
- Children to wear own clothes during the day and change into swimming wear before their session. Clothes should be warm and comfortable and easy for your child to take off/put on. No laces please.
- A one piece swimming costume for girls and swimming trunks for boys.
- A swimming hat
- Goggles
- Towel
- Pool shoes to walk from the classroom to the pool (crocs, jelly shoes, flip flops).
Volunteering:
We rely on volunteers to enable swimming and outdoor learning to continue for the children. If you would like to volunteer to help with outdoor learning, swimming or reading then please do contact the office. All volunteers will need to undergo safeguarding training (provided by the school).
Other information:
We have a church on Wednesday 5th November at All Saints Church. Please drop your child off at church between 8:45-8:55. We will walk back to church with our Year 6 buddies.
We are politely asking that from Monday 3rd November, parents/carers do not enter the blue area during drop off/pick up. Please drop your child off at the picket fence. A member of EYFS staff will be available to take any verbal messages and any other messages can be put into the contact book. Thank you for your understanding.
Please refer to the whole school newsletter for key dates this term.
Have a fantastic half term and we welcome you back on Monday 3rd November.
Friday 17th October
We cannot believe that we only have one week left of Term 1! Where has the time gone? We have had another exciting week at school and have begun a new activity called 'Squiggle While You Wiggle'. This is a fun, active session which focuses on making big body movements (such as up and down, side to side) with fabric to mimic letter writing. The children have thoroughly enjoyed Squiggle!
In Phonics our next 4 sounds have been h, b, f and l. In Maths we have been looking at repeating patterns and one more and one less. As part of our topic we have been looking at body parts and what they do! Please see the slideshow below for some pictures of the fun we've been having this week!
As a reminder, parent consultations are now live via Arbor. Please ensure you have booked a meeting with your child's class teaching to discuss how they settled at school and an update on their progress. If you cannot attend, please speak to a member of the EYFS team and we will work together to find an alternative.
Next week has some key dates to remember:
Tuesday - parent consultations evening 1
Wednesday - individual professional school photos
Thursday - last day of term, early reading phonics workshop pyjama day (please donate some chocolate for our Christmas fair) and parent consultation evening 2
Friday - we are not in school on Friday as this is a staff INSET day.
Have a lovely weekend.
The EYFS Team
Friday 10th October
This week we have been reading the story 'Pumpkin Soup', which is a lovely story about sharing and being kind friends. It has also lead nicely to discuss the season we have just entered, Autumn. Some of our afternoon sessions have been spent in the wooded area, observing and collecting autumnal objects such as acorns and conkers. We have created some autumnal art to support our learning. Please see the pictures below for an insight to our learning this week.
Our sounds in Phonics this week have been ck, e, u and r and we have been recapping all of Phase 2 sounds in our 'Colour Splat' game. In Maths we have started looking at patterns such as spotty, stripes, flowery and have been noticing these patterns in our environment!
Some parents/carers have been asking about phonics reading books. To clarify, phonics books will be changed once the book has been read (and recorded in the reading record) 3 times. We check reading records twice a week and will change once the book has been read 3 times. Library books will be changed once a week. Please keep both phonics and library books in your child's bookbag all week. Sorry for the confusion this has caused.
Thank you for your continued support and we wish you a restful weekend.
The EYFS Team
Friday 3rd October
This week our Drawing Club focus was on 'The Three Little Pigs'. Owls and Hedgehogs have been busy creating their own paper plate pigs and have been retelling the story using puppets and story spoons. We have also been constructing our own houses for the big bad wolf to try and blow down!
In maths we have been comparing size, using words such as big, medium and small to differentiate between the size of objects. Our phonics sounds this week have been g, o, c and k. We have also been creating some autumnal artwork ready to go on display too and will be creating even more next week! Please see the photos below for a summary of our learning this week.
We were so impressed with all of the children during the Church service and the walk back to school. A really big well done for walking so sensibly and sitting so well for the Harvest service. We hope you enjoyed listening to our Harvest song.
Next week we will be reading to story 'Pumpkin Soup' as part of our topic, All About Me. This is a lovely story all about friendships and will allow us to discuss the new friendships the children have made at school.
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
The EYFS Team
Friday 26th September
What a wonderful week of learning! This week we started Drawing Club which the children really enjoyed! We had a go at creating our own colour monsters and making them do some really silly things with our codes! Our Drawing Club book next week is 'The Three Little Pigs".
In Maths we have been looking at sorting and creating sets. Next week we will be explore capacity! Please see some of the pictures for an insight into our learning this week!
We have also been busy practising our song for our Harvest festival on Thursday 2nd October. We would love to see you all there! Your children will need to be dropped off at All Saints Church between 8:45-55 and then their Year 6 buddy will walk them back to school.
We have updated the 'Home Learning' section of our newsletter with the parent newsletter from our phonics scheme, Supersonic Phonic Friends. This is to inform you of the sounds and words we have been learning at school. As a challenge, can you see if your child can say the sounds?
Other ways to help your child at home, especially as we enter the colder seasons, is to ensure they can put on their own coat and do the zip up independently.
We wish you a restful weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Monday.
Friday 19th September
Welcome to our first full week newsletter update! We are so proud of how well the children have settled and cannot wait to share some of our learning this week.
This week some of our challenges have been:
Literacy: listening to stories and recalling what has happened
Maths: learning how to match objects and sorting objects into different categories.
Phonics: learning the sounds s, a, t and p.
Fine motor: using a knife and fork to cut up playdough dinners, using tweezers to sort and match pom poms.
Gross motor: exploring our bikes, trikes, sports trolley equipment and large scale construction blocks.
Please view the photos below to see some more amazing learning!
The children have been exploring our environments during Discovery Time (child-led learning). We have had great fun making boats out of the large wooden blocks to take us to France and South America! We have also explored our middle area where some children have been junk modelling and making birthday cake crafts!
On Friday afternoon we met our Year 6 buddies and had a lovely time together, sharing stories and learning about each other.
Next week, we will begin Drawing Club as part of our Literacy curriculum and our first story is 'The Colour Monster'.
We hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday.
The EYFS Team
Friday 12th September
Welcome to the Early Years newsletter! Here we post updates about the learning we have done at school, alongside some photos for you to look at! We also post reminders and important dates, so please make sure to check back regularly!
This week the children have made an excellent start to school! They have been enjoying exploring all of our learning areas and have been showing us how fabulous they are at tidying! We have enjoyed sharing our 'All About Me' boxes as a class, meeting our class pets (Hetty and Owlee), as well as exploring paint, playdoh, skittles, footballs, lego and so much more!
Each child has now been sent home with their first picture book and reading record. Please ensure these are kept inside the bookbags as we will be changing them weekly.
We hope your children have had a great first few days at school. We look forward to welcoming them back on Monday.
Have a restful weekend,
The EYFS Team