EYFS
We aim to ensure that the EYFS children at OLST:
- Have access to a broad and balanced curriculum that gives them the knowledge and skills needed to be Year 1 ready and also to make good progress through school and through life.
- Have good quality teaching and provision so that they make good progress with their learning.
- Have the benefits of school practitioners and parents working in close partnership to ensure that each child is happy, confident and supported to achieve their full potential.
- Are included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
Structure of the EYFS
The EYFS class at OLST is a mixed age Nursery/Reception class.
Curriculum Expectations
Our early years setting follows the curriculum as outlined in the 2021 statutory framework of the EYFS.
At OLST practice is led by the following four main principles:
The Statutory Framework for EYFS states that there are four main principles which should shape practice in EYFS. These themes are:
A unique Child: Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive Relationships: Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Enabling Environments: 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 carers.
Learning and Development: Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates
The EYFS framework includes 7 areas of learning and development that are equally important and inter-connected. However, 3 areas known as the prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.
The prime areas are:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
The prime areas are strengthened and applied through 4 specific areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
At OLST we support children to develop Characteristics of Effective Learning by providing an enabling environment and stimulating activities. We appreciate that children learn in different ways and planning is completed accordingly.
The children achieve with their Prime and Specific areas of learning through this important development of the Characteristics of Effective Learning which are:
Playing and Exploring - children finding out and exploring, playing with what they know and being willing to ‘have a go’;
Active learning – being involved and concentrating, keeping on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoying their achievements
Creating and thinking critically - children having their own ideas, making links between their ideas and choosing their own ways to do things.
Our Curriculum at OLST
The children are supported to achieve in all the above areas of learning through planned, adult led activities, purposeful play and child initiated activities. Each child’s needs and interests are taken into consideration.
Reading is a priority in EYFS at OLST as it is key to all other aspects of learning.
Writing is developed through daily opportunities both structured and child initiated.
Math’s skills and mathematical language is developed through daily teacher led activities as well as all the child initiated opportunities provided through our maths rich environment, both inside and outside.
In EYFS at OLST we follow a bespoke curriculum which we and the Bishop Hogarth Trust have planned for Science, Geography, History, Art and DT to learn about the world from their village to the wider world. This has been planned with our own children in mind in order to enrich their experiences.
As part of our curriculum the children have many opportunities for outdoor learning which includes forest schools activities. For these activities we use our EYFS outdoor area, our school field and our school garden which has a pond, fire circle, planting beds and wild area.
The children in EYFS are given specialist sports coaching each week.
We provide the children with many experiences to support and enrich our curriculum. These include activities such as visits from the zoo lab, music projects from County Music Services, theatre productions, class and whole school trips, links to other countries where Tanzanian and Chilean teachers visited our school.
A more formal approach is progressively introduced as the EYFS children progress through the year so that they are Year 1 ready.
Working with parents
At OLST we value strong relationships with parents. We promote this through our:
EYFS Induction Programme:
The children in Class 1 come to us from a wide range of nurseries and often these children and their parents don’t know anyone at all in school. For this reason we provide a comprehensive induction programme which ensures that families are confident, happy and comfortable to send their child in to us full time on the first day of school in September. The induction programme involves a meeting for all new families to introduce the school and the staff, two visits to school for the children, stay and play sessions for the new parents, 1:1 meetings for the parents with the class teacher and the class teacher visiting each new child in their nursery environment. This induction programme proves to be successful as the children come into school confidently on their first day, ready to learn.Introduction
At Our Lady & St Thomas RC Primary School, Willington we believe that every child is unique, talented and loved by God. We establish from the start how special and cared for each child is and we celebrate their uniqueness. In line with the Department for Education Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) we follow the educational programmes which shape all that we do in relation to our environment, our planning and our curriculum and providing the children with experiences. In the EYFS we prepare the children for kS1 by ensuring they have the skills, knowledge and understanding they need for the future. We ensure that every child is included, supported and cared for equally. Our children feel safe and confident to learn in their environment.
Intent in EYFS at Our Lady and St Thomas:
- Our induction process will prepare the children to begin their school life already settled and happy.
- Our rich and exciting EYFS curriculum will inspire our children to deepen their knowledge in all areas of learning through the opportunities provided.
- Our love of reading in EYFS will support the children to read in line with EYFS expectations by the end of Reception.
- Our children will participate in planned maths activities every day which follows a mastery approach. This ensures deep understanding of number and numerical patterns.
- Our stimulating learning environment, continuous provision and enhancements will support our EYFS curriculum. It will inspire and promote learning and retention of learning.
- Our partnerships and good relationships with our families will support each child’s learning.
- Our school and class ethos of caring for and respecting each other will support the children to excel in the Personal, Social and Emotional area of the EYFS.
- Our children will be assessed continuously in a range of ways of which the children will not be aware and will not take too much adult time.
Implementation in EYFS at Our Lady and St Thomas
Induction
The children in EYFS come to Our Lady & St Thomas from many different pre-school settings – school nursery, private nursery, child minders and some with no nursery experience at all. Our induction involves family stay and play visits, children visiting on their own, family meetings, one to one meetings with new parents and the class teacher visiting all the children in their nursery/home settings.
EYFS Curriculum
Through our broad curriculum the children’s vocabulary and use of language will be expanded. As a result of becoming geographers, historians and scientists they will deepen their understanding of the World around us by being taught, exploring independently within our continuous provision and by asking and answering questions. The children’s interests and ideas will also be developed to support their own personal learning journey.
Reading
The children will be inspired to read books, tell stories, describe characters, use story language, handle books correctly and even write their own stories. The book journey we follow will teach children aboutspecific authors. Planned guided reading sessions in Reception will provide varied reading experiences which will serve to widen vocabulary and support comprehension.
We will teach children to read in line with EYFS expectations by teaching phonics daily using the Read Write Inc scheme, by hearing children read several times per week, through the children participating in Guided Reading sessions and through our expectation that they read four times per week at home where they will have decodable books linking to our scheme, sharer books to read with an adult and library books to promote reading for pleasure. Our language rich environment will also support reading.
Maths
Maths will be taught every day. We follows a mastery approach at Our Lady & St Thomas, therefore ensuring a deep understanding of number and numerical patterns. Our curriculum is drawn from White Rose, Nrich and NCETM resources and provides challenge, fun and opportunity to develop a deep understanding. Maths opportunities are plentiful across our continuous provision.
Learning Environment/Continuous Provision
We will develop all areas of learning through our learning environment and continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors. Children will have the independence, confidence and curiosity to explore their ideas,deepen their thinking and enhance their knowledge.
In every area of our classroom and the outdoors there are reading, writing and maths opportunities as well as opportunities to learn about and understand the World. Enhancements within continuous provision will reflect topics being taught but every aspect of the ‘Educational Programmes’ will be supported and developed through the continuous provision.
Providing the children with experiences in and out of the classroom will also support progress. This could be learning to look after our stick insects, going on trips, welcoming visitors to the classroom and weekly forest school experiences.
Partnerships with families
Our families will support the children’s learning by being involved, both in school and at home. We will work in partnership to ensure each child achieves their potential and that the child and their family are happy and confident in their school life. Through this each child, regardless of their background and starting point, will be happy and feel safe at school and therefore become confident learners, caring friends andindependent explorers.
School and Class ethos
Our ethos of caring for and respecting each other will support the children to excel in the Personal, Social and Emotional area of the EYFS. This ethos is supported through the teaching of our RSE and RE curriculums. Good and long lasting relationships with adults and peers will be developed, children will learn to show respect towards each other and they will be happy and feel safe at school.
Assessment
Assessment in class will be ongoing and progress is constantly measured through a range of methods. Methods we will use include discussion in team meetings, observing children play, brief observations of special moments in learning journeys, recording in books, RWInc phonics assessment, staff’s professional knowledge of each child. We use our progression model to inform us if a child is not meeting expectations in any area and then address any area of concern promptly.
Through these methods and our knowledge of each child we can demonstrate the good progress that the children make. We strive for every child to meet the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception and to be Year 1 ready.
Impact in EYFS at Our Lady and St Thomas:
- Our induction process ensures a very smooth transition into Nursery and Reception. The children enter school on their first day ready to learn and already familiar with the environment and the staff. Parents are confident to leave their children as they too have already spent time in the environment and with the staff.
- Through our EYFS Curriculum our children become resilient, capable and confident learners. By the end of Reception their speaking and listening skills, use of language, breadth of vocabulary and reading and writing skills are vastly broadened. Through opportunities provided they understand so much more about the World. Maths skills and knowledge are embedded and the children have a deep knowledge of number due to our mastery approach.
- Our children can read, in line with the Early Learning Goals, by the end of Reception. The have a rich knowledge of a wide range of books and authors and can talk about and retell stories they have read. They all leave Reception with a love of reading and all have their favourite story characters. In phonics, by the end of Reception, the children know and can apply the Read Write Inc Set 1 sounds and will be able to read the Set 2 sounds. The will be able to read and spell a range of ‘red’ words.
- By the end of Reception the children will have a deep understanding of numbers to 10. They will be able to order, count, say 1 what is 1 more and 1 less, solve problems, represent number, subitise. They will know the names of simple 2D and 3D shapes and be ble to describe their properties. They will be able to compare size and talk about capacity. Their problem solving skills will be developed through the use of Nrich activities.
- Our school and class ethos of caring for and respecting each other ensures smooth transition of respectful, caring and confident children into Year 1.
- Good partnerships with families continue to support children to be Year 1 ready. • Use of a wide range of assessment methods ensure that progress takes place. This is evident in our data. We can demonstrate and talk about the progress that has been made and what the child is learning. Our children are Y1 ready by the end of Reception.
Safeguarding and welfare procedures
Our safeguarding and welfare procedures are outlined in our safeguarding policy. These are in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework 2021.