Early Years at Mount Stewart Federation

At Mount Stewart Schools, we are dedicated to ensuring the finest start for our children's education journey. Our Early Years team, committed to nurturing a secure, supportive, and joyful environment, tailors learning experiences to each child's unique interests and needs, fostering readiness and achievement. Our approach to Early Years education is crafted to be vibrant and varied, aimed at sparking a lifelong passion and enthusiasm for learning among our young learners.

Mount Stewart Nursery

At Mount Stewart Schools, our Nursery welcomes children from 2 years old, offering flexible session options including morning, afternoon, or full-day attendance. This flexibility caters to diverse family needs and ensures a nurturing start for our youngest learners. Upon reaching 4-5 years old, children smoothly transition from our Nursery into our Reception, continuing their educational journey within our supportive and enriching environment.

Our Vision for Early Years Development

At Mount Stewart Schools Federation, we are committed to giving children an exceptional start in their educational journey. Led by a team of experts, including Charlotte Carey, a DfE EYFS expert, our Early Years environment is designed to be a nurturing space where children feel safe, supported, and eager to learn. We focus on individual interests, fostering a love for learning through creative, challenging, and active experiences.

We aim to cultivate a learning atmosphere where each child's strengths and interests are identified and valued, building confidence and independence. By developing strong relationships with our children and their families, we nurture attitudes of self-motivation, curiosity, and responsibility. Our curriculum, enriched with innovative teaching methods like Read Write Inc phonics strategy, ensures exciting and meaningful learning experiences. This approach is validated by our contribution to national EYFS standards and Ofsted's recognition of our teaching.

Our goal is to support each child in confidently transitioning to the next educational stage, well-prepared and enthusiastic about learning.

Our Aims

• Identify and value each child's strengths, interests, and learning styles.
• Develop confidence, respect, independence, and high self-esteem in children.
• Build strong relationships with children and their families.
• Foster self-motivation, curiosity, self-confidence, and responsibility in children.
• Encourage curiosity, reflectiveness, creativity, and resourcefulness.
• Provide exciting, creative, real, challenging learning experiences.
• Encourage risk-taking and fun in learning.
• Offer high-quality teaching that aligns with children's interests and developmental needs.
• Support first-hand, purposeful, resilient play for learning.
• Facilitate a confident transition to the next educational stage.

'The outstanding teaching and support from staff in the Early Years provision mean the majority of children make rapid progress to meet or exceed the early learning goals. As a result, the children are exceptionally well prepared to enter Year One.' Ofsted.

DfE Exemplification Case Studies: Mount Stewart Infant School has significantly contributed to the wider educational community by participating in the filming of DfE case studies. These studies are integral exemplification materials designed to support teachers nationwide in assessing children's development at the end of the EYFS. The impact of this participation extends beyond the school, as it helps establish national standards and provides practical, observable benchmarks for EYFS assessment across various educational settings. This involvement demonstrates MSF's commitment to and leadership in EYFS education