EYFS

Curriculum Statement for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

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At Wincle Primary School, we believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage is crucial in securing solid foundations that children are going to continue to build upon.

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It is our intent that the children who enter our EYFS have a safe, caring environment where they can learn and grow in all areas of their development.   We believe that all children deserve to be valued as an individual and we are passionate in allowing all children to achieve their full, unique potential. With all of this in mind, we begin each new year by looking at the individual needs of our children and – taking into account their different starting points- we then carefully develop our flexible EYFS Curriculum which enables them to follow the path of their learning journey, at a point, that is suitable for their unique needs and stage of development.

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Children in both our Nursery and Reception classes follow the EYFS curriculum, which has seven main areas of learning.

The Prime Areas:-

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Communication and Language

• Physical Development

The Specific Areas:-

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts

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The teaching of these areas of learning is practical and playful with support and challenge from adults in class sessions, small group sessions and working with individuals. There is a combination of adult-led, teacher taught sessions as well as a wealth of stimulating continuous provision opportunities. Throughout all of these areas of learning and at the heart of the EYFS Curriculum are the “Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning”.

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At Wincle Primary School, we strive to develop these key characteristics of “Playing and Learning”, “Active Learning” and “Thinking Critically” in order to give the children the skills that they will continue to draw upon throughout their development. All of the crucial skills, knowledge and vocabulary that we teach are presented to the children throughout the year through a range of topics within a mixed Year 1 and Reception class.

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Our learning environments, both inside and outside are also adapted regularly to meet the different and developing needs of the children in our care. We aim to ensure that these areas are always stimulating and exciting and that, importantly, they are accessible to all children, regardless of where they are on their learning journey. The environments are developed to promote independence within our children and allow them to access the curriculum independently and confidently with the necessary level of support and challenge.

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Within our EYFS Curriculum, children are assessed continuously through accurate and important observations. We record the observations in a class folder and we also use Tapestry, an online learning journal , to record the observations and share them with the parents .These observations provide us with information for future planning, not only for our individual classes but also for individual children’s next steps in their learning. They enable us, as EYFS practitioners, to ensure learning is embedded and consistent and that all children continue to make outstanding progress within our EYFS setting.

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Our reception children are taught in the same class as Key Stage One, meaning that they benefit from the older children's learning whilst being supported by specialist, early years staff at all times. The majority of their learning takes place outside in our multi-sensory, canopy-covered garden, complete with sandpit, willow den, reading area, writing desk, chalk boards, mud kitchen, large construction area and water play.  

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Reception are taught in accordance with the Early Years Framework Standard. We use Tapestry Online Learning Journal to share learning between home and school.