Sun Hill Infant School

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are the years in which children begin to see themselves as learners.

They learn to read. They begin writing their own ideas. They develop mathematical understanding, discover science and the wider world, create, question, listen, solve problems and learn how to belong to a group. They also learn whether school feels like a place where they are safe, understood and capable.

 

At Sun Hill, we take both parts seriously. We want children to leave us having made excellent progress, but also as confident, curious young people who enjoy learning and know that the adults around them believe in them.

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Specialists in young children

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Our teachers and support staff work with children at the very beginning of their education. Their professional lives are centred on understanding how young children learn, how quickly development can change at this age and how important it is to get the foundations right.

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Teachers are watching language and communication, reading, number sense, physical development, confidence, concentration, friendships, emotional wellbeing and independence.Our teachers adapt teaching to individual starting points and, where additional needs emerge, work with families and the school's SENDCo to consider the right support. Equally, children who are ready to go further need to be noticed, interested and challenged.This is skilled work and it is one of the great strengths of an infant school.

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Reception builds on relationships and understanding that have already begun in Preschool. They arrive knowing the setting and already feeling part of the wider school. Staff have an understanding of the child behind the name: what interests them, where their confidence lies, where they may need reassurance and what helps them learn.

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Children joining us from other preschools are, of course, welcomed just as carefully. Our transition work is designed to make sure every new Reception child becomes known, settled and part of Sun Hill.

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Love to Learn 

Our curriculum begins in Preschool and Reception through a careful balance of teaching, play and first-hand experience. As children move into Years 1 and 2, learning becomes increasingly structured while retaining the curiosity, creativity and active learning that young children need.

Children develop secure foundations in reading, writing, communication and mathematics alongside science, history, geography, art, music, computing, PE and the wider curriculum. We want them talking enthusiastically about something they have discovered that day.

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Part of Alresford

Sun Hill has been part of Alresford childhood for generations.

That sense of community is still important. Friends made in the classroom become the children bumping into one another around town. Parents get to know each other at the gate. There are afternoons walking into Alresford together, stopping for a coffee while the children play at Arlebury Park, or heading off to see the ducks before going home.

School concerts, fundraising, FOSHI events, local traditions and everyday conversations at pick-up all become part of family life.

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You come here for your child's education. You very often find a community as well.

 

And when it is time for Year 3!

Our relationship with Sun Hill Junior School makes the next move another familiar step.

Around 90% of our children currently move on to Sun Hill Junior School. Regular contact, visits, shared activities and links between staff help children get to know their next school before the end of Year 2.

Most importantly, many move on with friendships already firmly established.

So a child who begins at Sun Hill Preschool at age 3 can spend these important early years growing, learning and moving forward alongside many of the same children