EYFS
The Foundation Stage
Children in Reception access the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. They engage in learning through first hand experiences that foster investigation and enquiry. The Early Years curriculum is made up of 7 areas of learning; 3 prime and 4 specific.
Prime Areas
The prime areas of the EYFS are: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development is vital in the Foundation Stage. Through every day learning, we support the children in making strong relationships with their peers and familiar adults and encourage them to become confident and independent young people. At all times, adults support and model appropriate behaviour to promote positive relationships within the classroom; this is reinforced during carpet sessions and small group activities. The children are encouraged to recognise and celebrate personal achievements, however small, and those of their peers.
To promote a rich and varied vocabulary, we provide a language rich environment, which gives opportunities for children to experience new and imaginative vocabulary. We plan specific activities to upscale the children’s vocabulary which is illustrated through our daily phonics teaching (ELS) Talk for Writing, book sharing, role-play, child-initiated activities and when using the outdoor area. To further deepen the understanding of children’s learning, staff in the Foundation Stage are encouraged to use questioning to allow children to talk about their experiences. The use of questioning also encourages children to use a wider range of vocabulary to form longer, more complex sentences.
Physical Development, is a fundamentally important skill which underpins all aspects of children’s early experiences. If children learn to move with control and coordination; to balance and climb; to move with agility and self-expression they are likely to be more successful learners throughout their school lives. We teach a weekly PE session in one of our sports halls to further develop children’s physical skills and abilities.
Our outdoor areas give the children opportunities to climb, balance, hang and manoeuvre in and out of equipment. All children in EYFS have access to bikes and wheels.
We provide several opportunities to develop and refine fine-motor skills throughout our provision areas. This provision includes a fine motor area with a weekly focused activity, daily movement to practise the shapes required for writing and a range of different tools to promote the use and development of hand, arm and larger body muscles. These experiences and opportunities are vital for children to build and strengthen their muscles, in readiness to write clear, correctly formed letters.
Specific Areas
The specific areas of the EYFS are: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design
Reading
As soon as children join our school, we being to develop their pre-phonics skills through a range of activities, which are underpinned by LaunchPad for Literacy. This approach develops all of the skills that children need, to be successful in phonics, reading and writing. For example, auditory and visual discrimination are key skills that children will need in order to be able to hear and read sounds and letters as they progress through school.
In Reception we have daily phonics sessions using the ELS programme. We use a review, teach, practise, and apply structure to embed learning. We also use daily 1-2-1 interventions to support children who need further support with blending sounds, recognising letters and reading words.
Phonics - please click here to read more about our phonics programme.
Writing
Mark making is the first step towards successful early writing. Children are encouraged to use a selection of different writing materials on a variety of scales. This could be writing on a post it note or making gigantic marks on the playground; it could be using brushes or magic wands. The importance of this mark making practise is to embed fluent movement which will eventually lead to forming recognisable letters. This is further supported by daily dough disco sessions. In addition to this daily practise, the children participate in Talk for Writing and have purposeful writing opportunities throughout the learning environment.
By the end of the Foundation Stage, many children can write short, simple sentences independently and read simple words and sentences.
Maths
Early maths is taught through games, song and exploration. In Reception, we build on the children’s early experiences through a mastery approach to maths, which encourages children to use manipulative resources, like cubes and counters, to solve a range of problems. We ensure that children are fluent with: counting, ordering, adding and subtracting, doubling, halving and sharing before we challenge them to use their reasoning and problem-solving skills. Children also explore 2D and 3D shapes, measuring equipment and start to use the language for a range of mathematical concepts like time and money.
Understanding the World
In Understanding the World, children are encouraged to be curious, explore natural materials, learn about living things and compare different places. Our topics are chosen carefully to exploit the children’s own experiences which are vast and varied. They learn about how things have changed over time and use photographs and objects to support and develop enquiry skills. Moreover, they learn about people and communities; how they are different or similar to their friends and they learn about and celebrate other cultures.
Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)
Expressive Arts and Design is a fundamental area to develop in Early Years as it gives the children the foundations to underpin their own identity and enables them to develop self-expression and self-confidence.
Children are given the opportunity to use their skills imaginatively in Expressive Arts and Design. They are given the opportunity to explore and use media and materials such as paint, clay and construction equipment. Children are also encouraged to be imaginative in areas such as role play, art and dance. Our outdoor area has a stage where children can perform stories, dance or sing.
Children in the Foundation Stage engage in high quality learning experiences both indoors and outdoors. Their learning and progress is tracked through a range of different means including practitioner knowledge, photographs and written work produced by the children.
Transition to Year 1
Transition to Year 1 from EYFS is an important phase of education. We have planned our curriculum to ensure that we have linked the learning and there is progression between the phases.
Please see how our curriculums link between the key areas of learning.
