EYFS
Intent:
We have designed our EYFS Curriculum to ensure that all children are happy and successful learners.
As a school, we understand that children learn best when they are absorbed, interested and active. We understand that active learning involves other children, adults, objects, ideas, stimuli and events that aim to engage and involve children for sustained periods. We believe that Early Years education should be as practical as possible and therefore, we are proud that our EYFS setting has an underlying ethos of ‘Learning through play’. Play is essential for children’s development across all areas. Play builds on children’s confidence as they learn to explore, to relate to others around them and develop relationships, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play and by taking part in play which is guided and scaffolded by adults alongside the Core Principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
These principles are: Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers and children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.
We have fully embedded as a school the ‘Three Characteristics of Effective Learning’ which are:
- playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go,’
- active learning – children concentrate, keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements,
- creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Our skilled practitioners can develop all aspects of child knowledge and skills through the characteristics above, to give a memorable, enjoyable and effectively unique Early Years experience.
Implementation:
EYFS at Sessay is delivered by focusing on the 7 areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
The classrooms and outdoor areas are set up with ‘areas of learning’ that will help to support and develop the children. Independent work and activities will be set up for the children to access independently within these areas. These are adapted and changed to meet the children’s needs and to support the individual next steps. Staff will question and support the children to scaffold their play to enable them to be successful independent learners.
Children are statutorily assessed against the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception but our curriculum is broader than the Early Learning Goals. It aims to exemplify, broaden and balance the curriculum and in many cases, deepen it – encompassing key life skills, experiences and expectations, which are not explicitly part of the ‘Early Years Outcomes’ document. For example, the key aspects of early childhood of table manners, responding to greetings, cooking skills and fitness have all been interwoven into our curriculum. Understanding the World is a central driver to this curriculum. As such, the experiences and expectations detailed within our curriculum plan are seen as vehicles and contexts for learning across all areas of the curriculum.
Impact:
Children’s progress in our Early Years is monitored closely from the moment they start and their unique journey is closely tracked using ‘Target Children’ and the development matters allowing appropriate support and challenge to be put in place where needed. We react quickly to children at risk of falling behind and intervene to accelerate their learning. Our ongoing assessments are integral to our effective teaching and learning. We use both summative and formative assessments in conjunction with each other. Consequently, Good Level of Development in our Early years is consistently in line with National Average or above. Self-esteem blossoms in our Early Years, children are happy, confident and have a sense of belonging, a positive disposition to learning and are well equipped with a broad range of knowledge and skills to begin the next chapter of their educational journey.
We lay the right foundations for future success in school and life and see strong characters emerge who are able to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world.
