Early Years Foundation (Reception & Nursery)

Intent

In our EYFS classes at Salisbury Manor we intend to ensure all children’s interests and needs are met throughout the curriculum. Our intent is provide a safe secure learning environment for children to grow and develop through play to a high standard.

How do we promote these intentions?

We can all learn from one another.
We want children to develop self-confidence: to be proud of who they are and what they achieve.
We work closely with parents to help children reach their potential throughout the year, teaching those skills, concepts and values which will serve them well in future life.
Whenever possible we provide first-hand experiences which make our curriculum purposeful and relevant.
We encourage children to form positive relationships with others and to work cooperatively in groups, developing their social skills.
We encourage independence by allowing children to make choices and drive much of their own learning in a stimulating and nurturing environment where it is ok to make mistakes along a learning journey.
We want our children to feel part of our school community and our wider community and to begin to understand their role in contributing to this.

Implementation

In EYFS we support children to learn and develop by teaching, encouraging and promoting all aspects of development across the seven areas of learning. These are split into Prime areas and specific areas;

Prime Areas

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

Specific areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

As a school we use these areas alongside children’s interest to ensure we celebrate each child’s uniqueness and individuals' different learning styles, skills and abilities. We follow The Early Years Foundation Stage which state the characteristics of effective learning. These are: playing and exploring, active learning, and creativity and critical thinking.

Playing and exploring

We provide daily opportunities for children to learn through play. Adults support children by holding high quality discussions around children’s independent and shared thinking. When learning through play children are given opportunities to explore and develop learning experiences, which help them make sense of the world. They learn how to control themselves and understand the need for rules. They can think creatively alongside other children as well as on their own, communicate with others as they investigate, solve problems and learn.

Active Learning

We have a balance of adult-initiated and child-initiated activities. Phonics, maths, reading and literacy lessons are adult-led, and opportunities are followed up with a rich provision of activities and resources for children to consolidate and extend their learning through play. This encourages independence, control, and most importantly, enjoyment: developing a love of learning. We provide children with challenges to advance their learning and encourage them to use the new skills and knowledge they have been taught.

Creativity and Critical Thinking

When children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations, and with a variety of resources, they discover connections and come to better understandings and develop new ways of doing things. Adults support this process and enhance their ability to think critically and ask questions. Children are given time to test out their ideas and discuss their discoveries with others, sharing their understanding and knowledge. Children are observed carefully by adults: learning and progress is tracked and next steps are identified for all children. We plan a broad and balanced curriculum which covers all 7 areas of learning, and have an enriching and diverse learning environment including our indoor classroom, outdoor provision and woodland area. We visit our woodland area regularly throughout the year which allows children to learn about the world through first-hand experiences beyond a classroom environment.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is measured by assessment procedures which allow us to measure outcomes against all schools nationally. We measure the percentage of pupils achieving a ‘Good level of development’ (GLD) by the end of the Reception year. The impact of our curriculum will also be measured by how effectively it helps our pupils develop into well-rounded individuals who uphold strong positive values and carry the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens. The children are assessed through focus group activities, phonics and observations through play. We strive for pupils to have all six of our school’s core values embedded by the time they leave Reception. These are: Respect, Ambition, Creativity, Determination, Confidence and Enthusiasm. When children leave Reception, not only are they ready for Year One, but they are well-rounded individuals with positive attitudes towards learning and future life.

What does our EYFS year look like?

Reception: Each term, children will have a subject focus and theme that correlates with the curriculum and phonics program (Read write Inc.) Children will have 4 core lessons daily including; Phonics, Literacy, mathematics and Wider curriculum. Between these lessons children will have the opportunity to learn through play with child initiated and adult led activities. These are implemented in both the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Children will complete focus groups activities weekly to build on new and previous knowledge.

Nursery: Each term the children will have a subject focus and theme that correlates with the 3 main areas and checkpoints for 3-4 year olds. These include; communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. The children take part in small group sessions early maths, early literacy and wider curriculum. The children will focus on phase 1 environmental sounds leading into phonics in summer term to prepare them for reception. Each child is assigned a key person who will assess the children through observations in child initiated and adult led activities in both the indoor and outdoor provision.