FOUNDATION STAGE
Learning at Arbor
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A warm, play-based start to school, with time to build relationships, develop independence and learn through first-hand experience.
At Arbor, children begin their education through play, skilled teaching and regular contact with the natural world.
Our Foundation Stage provides a secure and welcoming introduction to school, where children are known as individuals and supported as they become increasingly confident and independent. Through play, conversation and first-hand experiences, they develop their understanding of themselves, other people and the world around them.
Children learn across a range of settings throughout the Arbor campus. These include Foundation Stage classrooms, the Learning Garden and Outdoor Classroom, climate-controlled biodomes and specialist spaces for music, movement, art and food technology. Each provides different opportunities to observe, investigate, communicate, create and make connections between their experiences.
Our approach follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and is shaped by Arbor’s focus on Ecoliteracy. Children’s interests, questions and ideas inform teaching, while teachers plan for progression across all seven areas of learning.
Throughout FS1 and FS2, children develop the communication, physical, personal and social skills that provide the foundations for their education. As they progress through FS2, they also develop increasingly secure skills in reading, writing and mathematics, preparing them for the transition into Year 1.
Explore the Foundation Stage curriculum
FS at Arbor is a warm, play-based start to school, with time to build relationships, develop independence and learn through experience.
WHY CHOOSE US?
- The Early Years Foundation Stage framework, encompassing all seven areas of learning
- A play-based, inquiry-led approach informed by children’s questions and interests
- Daily opportunities to learn indoors and outdoors
- Purpose-designed Foundation Stage classrooms and outdoor environments
- Access to Arbor’s biodomes, learning gardens and specialist facilities
- Experienced Foundation Stage teachers supported by skilled teaching assistants
- Specialist teaching in Ecoliteracy, Arabic, Music, Physical Education and swimming
- Planned support for each child’s learning, wellbeing and development
- Freshly prepared optional snacks and lunches from The Farmhouse
- After-school care through the Foundation Stage Seedling Club
Ecoliteracy shapes how children learn at Arbor from their earliest days in school. It helps them recognise relationships between people, places and the natural world, ask questions about what they observe and begin to understand how their choices affect others and their surroundings.
Children encounter these ideas through everyday experiences such as growing plants, observing living things in the biodomes, working with natural materials and learning how to care for shared spaces.
Children also have specialist Ecoliteracy sessions. Across the wider curriculum, Ecoliteracy provides a framework for investigating the world, connecting different areas of learning and developing an understanding of their place within their community and the natural world.
Discover ecoliteracy at Arbor
- School hours: 8:00am-1:30pm, Monday to Thursday; 8:00am-11:30am on Friday
- Arrival: The school site opens at 7:30am and classrooms open at 7:45am. Registration begins at 8:00am.
- School transport: Arbor partners with STS to provide school transport that complies with KHDA and RTA regulations.
- Snack and lunch: Children have a snack and lunch each day. Families may provide food from home, order through The Farmhouse or combine both options.
- After-school care: Seedling Club provides supervised childcare from 1:30pm-4:20pm, Monday to Thursday.
- After-school activities: Additional activities are available throughout the year, with programmes, timings and fees shared with families.
Visit our Foundation Stage to see how play, direct teaching, outdoor experiences and the natural world come together across our living campus.
