Intent

The best for Every Child

We recognise the unique child and celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. We aim to provide learning activities that have cultural relevance to each and every group of learners that attend our setting, and that every child’s experiences and interests are of equal value. We seek to ensure that no child is excluded or disadvantaged. We believe that early identification and early intervention is key. We believe all children should have a high level of self-worth and pride, giving them the confidence to believe that their own opinions are important and valued in our school. In the early years, we promote independence and enable children to play, explore, be active in their own learning, create and think critically.

High Quality Care

We understand how important it is that children feel happy and safe in our early year’s environment. We pride ourselves on developing purposeful relationships with our children based upon mutual respect.

Curriculum

The Early Years curriculum has been designed to ensure that it caters for each unique child, from their differing starting points. The curriculum is rich and provides depth, ensuring there are ample opportunities to meet the Early Learning goals by the end of the Reception year. Our detailed progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary specifies everything we want the children to learn by the end of Reception. Our curriculum maps feed directly into the National Curriculum in Year 1, to ensure a smooth and secure transition to KS1 and beyond.  

Pedagogy

The curriculum has been designed by making careful pedagogical choices, ensuring that decisions made by leaders are founded on a well – researched evidence base. Children’s play is valued and is used to teach many aspects of the curriculum. Play based learning is enhanced by skilful, well – timed and sensitive interactions. Guided play is carefully planned for, providing irresistible learning opportunities for the children with clear knowledge and skills-based outcomes in mind. Short periods of direct instruction are used to introduce new knowledge such as in phonics, whole class English in Reception, maths and topic (which encompasses many aspects of Understanding the World).  

Assessment

Formative assessment is on-going and is used to shape the teaching and learning experiences for each child, based on knowledge of the children. Reliable summative assessment grows out of formative assessment where the teachers make a judgement on the seven areas of learning based on their professional judgement of the child.  

Provision for the children is swiftly adapted based on both formative and summative assessment judgements. The environment is adapted to support the needs of the cohort, provision planned to support skill gaps and further intervention planned for specific individuals and specific groups. Reasonable adjustments, and at times, bespoke provision, is in place for those children identified with SEND. These children achieve to a high standard, on their own learning paths.  

Self-Regulated and Executive Functioning

We build secure, independent learners by creating an enabling environment which facilitates learning during continuous provision, even in the absence of an adult. We aim to instil positive learning behaviours through the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning – Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking.

Parent Partnership

The school works collaboratively with parents and carers to encourage independent, enthusiastic learners who thrive and reach their full potential. Developing and maintaining positive engagement with parents and carers deepens a class teacher’s knowledge about each child, enriching the teaching and learning experience.  

Parents/ carers are kept up to date with their child’s progress and development, through online learning journeys and parents’ evenings. We offer workshops to provide parents with an insight into how we teach specific areas of the Early Years Curriculum, detailing ways in which they can support their child’s learning at home. 

Implementation

Structure

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) applies to children from birth to the end of the Reception year. Our Early Years Foundation Stage accommodates children from the age of 3 to 5 years. Our Nursery and Reception classes are housed in the original Grade II listed building, as a separate EYFS setting. We have space for 30 Nursery children and 30 Reception children. We offer 30 hours for all our Nursery children. We have a Reception classroom, a large Nursery classroom that is also used for learning through play, an additional classroom used from small groups and interventions, and our own kitchen and outside area.

Curriculum

Our Nursery and Reception follow the curriculum as outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) document. This framework defines what we teach, and we use the Development Matters guidance alongside birth to 5 to support our curriculum.

The EYFS framework includes seven areas of learning and development, all of which are seen as important and interconnected. Three of the areas are referred to as the Prime areas. These are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving (Early Years Framework 2021)

Engaging topics have been designed to immerse children in their learning, maximising opportunities for cross – curricular links and meaningful experiences. A love of learning is further fostered by following the individual interests of the unique child. We identify children’s skill’s gaps and dress continuous provision by interests to ensure utmost engagement. 

Our coherently planned and sequenced curriculum is built around half termly topics with flexibility built in to respond to the children’s individual interests. The ambitious curriculum is broken down into component chunks allowing children to be highly successful in achieving the composite learning. Our curriculum is responsive to our children’s needs and reflective of the families and communities in our setting. Our children’s cultural diversity is visibly celebrated.   

Prime Area: Communication and Language

Communication and language is at the heart of everything we do. All Early Years staff have undertaken a series of CPD modules focusing on interaction techniques which are used expertly to support learning. Frequent, high-quality interactions between children and practitioners play a fundamental role in building knowledge and skills, creating a language rich environment for our children.

Communication and Language is taught through all areas of the curriculum, in both adult led sessions and continuous provision. We have developed a ‘Story telling Centre’ as part of our continuous provision, where children have the opportunity to explore and create small worlds and use open ended resources to create their own characters and roles, developing communication and developing narratives.

Prime Area: Physical Development

This involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food. Gross motor skills are taught through both carefully planned continuous provision and PE sessions delivered by a specialist PE teacher. The EYFS outdoor area benefits from its own climbing frame and zone for wheeled toys. To develop motor skills in preparation for writing, the children participate in ‘Busy Fingers’ and ‘Dough Disco’ activities.

Prime Area: Personal, Social & Emotional Development

This area of learning involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. Children in Nursery and Reception participate in adult led sessions following the ‘SCARF’ scheme of learning. The use of adults during continuous provision is imperative in helping children problem solve and deal with conflict resolution.  

The Prime areas are strengthened and applied through the further four areas which are referred to as the Specific areas:

Specific Area: Literacy

A systematic, synthetic phonics scheme (Little Wandle) has been embedded from Nursery to Year 6. The teaching of phonics is highly effective. All staff have been fully trained in using the scheme and are able to deliver consistent teaching to a high standard. Phonics attainment is carefully tracked and ‘keep up’ phonics groups implemented for those at risk of falling behind.  

A love of reading is developed through a variety of different approaches. Class reads happen daily, with teachers immersing children in a wide variety of authors, genres and styles. A core text approach drives our topic learning and allows plentiful opportunities to practice oral comprehension skills, story map, retell and role play a range of engaging stories. Texts have been carefully selected to represent our diverse community.  

Many children participate in our daily ‘Book Club’ during learning through play, where practitioners expose children to new vocabulary and expertly support skills gaps. A discrete English lesson in Reception is based around a core text, which fully immerses children in story and explicitly teaches high level vocabulary. A progression of Nursery rhymes from Nursery through to Reception further supports communication and language development.  

Writing is incorporated into all elements of play. We have developed a message centre which encourages children to mark make at the start of their school journey, moving on to writing full sentences as part of their play. More structured writing opportunities based on interests are also carefully planned for – for example writing accident reports in the police station or appointments in the hairdressers. involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write by the end of Reception year. By the end of Reception year, children participate in small group, adult lead writing activities, linked to a topic.

Reception children take home a fully decodable reading book each week that links to their phonics learning, alongside a book for sharing to develop a love of reading.

Specific Area: Mathematics

This area involves providing children with opportunities to develop the six key areas of learning in mathematics (NCETM). These are: cardinality and counting, comparison, composition, pattern, shape and space and measure. An adult led maths session is taught daily in Nursery and Reception. In Reception, we follow the NCETM Mastering Number Scheme and White Rose Maths for shape, space and measure. High quality learning environments and meaningful interactions with adults, support children in developing mathematical thinking and discussion. Pupils learn through games and tasks using concrete manipulatives and pictorial structures and representations which are then rehearsed applied and recorded within both adult directed maths groups and their own child-led exploration.

Specific Area: Understanding the World

This area involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people and communities, the past and present and the natural world. Understanding the World is taught through a topic based approach and learning is built on and consolidated through enhancements in continuous provision.

Specific Area: Expressive Arts and Design

This area involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role- play, and design and technology.

Assessment

Baseline: Prior to children starting, staff spend time speaking to the child’s parents, previous settings and reading previous learning journeys to gain an understanding of the whole child. During the first half term in Nursery or Reception, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure progress.

The following baseline assessments are also carried out:

• The RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment): This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from Reception until the end of KS2.
• Ongoing Observation: These are then used to move children’s learning on ‘in the moment’, as well as to inform weekly and half termly planning meetings. This formative assessment does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paperwork. Practitioners draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgements through discussions with other practitioners, photographs and physical examples such as a child’s drawing / making. Wow moments are uploaded using Tapestry and shared with parents/carers.
• Phonic Assessments: are carried out using the Little Wandle Tracker every half term to quickly identify pupils that are not making expected progress. Our aim is for children to ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’.

Parent Partnership

We believe that education is a shared responsibility between school and home. We therefore work very closely to ensure that parents/carers are involved in their child’s education and provide them with a weekly ‘Noticeboard’ detailing what we are learning and how they can support their child at home.

We ensure that parents/ carers are kept up to date with their child’s progress and development, through online learning journeys (via Seesaw) and parents’ evenings. We understand the importance of parents/carers views, so provide opportunities for feedback throughout the school year.

We offer workshops to provide parents with an insight into how we teach specific areas of the Early Years Curriculum, detailing ways in which they can support their child’s learning at home. These sessions also give parents/carers the opportunity to work with their child in the school environment.