Early Years Foundation Stage
In our Foundation Stage we aim for each child to live, love and learn. We recognise each child is a unique, special individual who brings different skills, abilities and experiences from home. We acknowledge their individual needs and interests and start from the strengths of what a child can do. We believe children’s learning should be limitless, unhindered by their background, circumstances or needs. It is vital that we nurture, safeguard and care for each individual. We see ourselves as an extension of the child’s family.
We aim to develop the whole child. We want the children to…
- Be curious, confident and caring children.
- Respect themselves, each other and their environment.
- Develop a ‘sense of self’, recognising their own needs, wants and interests.
- Self-regulate by playing and learning within clear boundaries and expectations.
- Develop self-belief by motivating and encouraging a ‘have a go’ attitude.
- Know and feel God’s love.
- Feel safe and secure within our Foundation Stage. To feel ‘at home’. We value all of our families and welcome them in to our setting to take an active part in their child’s learning.
- Develop personally, socially and emotionally. We recognise the vital importance of this prime area of learning and place it at high priority.
- Develop relationships by fostering cooperation, kindness and respect.
- ‘Be the best they can be’ through motivation and challenge, setting high expectations for behaviour and learning.
- Be life-long learners by fostering a love of learning and teaching key skills for independent learning.
- Lead their own learning through play, exploration and discovery.
- Gain a deeper understanding of their world, making learning real and relevant.
We are guided by the EYFS framework and Early Excellence Assessment Tracker (EExAT) milestones. Our Foundation Stage has been purpose built to create a calm, stimulating environment where curiosity, play and open-ended enquiry are at the heart of learning. We promote high expectations to be held of all children.
Through a balance of adult direction, child-led play and sensitive interaction the children develop essential knowledge and progressive skills. We have planned a responsive provision which evolves throughout the year. We believe in the development of the whole child and that play is a child’s work. Through engaging, exciting and fun experiences the child will discover more about the world around them. We provide experiences in a relevant, meaningful context allowing the children to gain a deeper understanding of their world. We use the local environment to explore the world around us and make learning real and relevant. We welcome visitors in to school and also engage in visits within the local area for example the church, the park, the library.
The children will learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate understanding through the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum.
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development,
• Communication and Language,
• Understanding the World,
• Expressive Arts and Design
Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. Our outdoor areas are used all year round and in all weather conditions.
At this stage in a child’s life learning through play is vital. We recognise the changing needs and interests of our pupils and we are responsive to this. Learning is planned around exciting topics as well as seasonal exploration. A topic focus will typically run for a half term and will include specific skills and challenges that we will support through our use of continuous and enhanced provision. We are aware that young children are stimulated by many unplanned, impromptu situations that arise and we allow for this.
We use Early Excellence Assessment Tracker (EExAT) which is a fully integrated online assessment system designed to accurately record children’s knowledge, skills and learning dispositions. We use it to establish starting points on entry and to track, document, report and moderate evidence of children’s learning. EExAT promotes partnership with parents. Parents are able to view observations that we release, make comments and send information about experiences their child has had while out of school.
We support parents to take an active part in their child’s learning. We provide regular opportunities for parents and carers to come into school and work with their child, share their work and celebrate successes. This includes transition days, nursery or home visits, stay and play sessions, parent workshops, song and rhyme time sessions, reports and parent consultations as well as more frequent informal communication to suit individual families. Suggested home learning opportunities are shared half termly with information about what will be taught, allowing parents to build on their child’s school experiences at home.
We respect the experiences and prior knowledge that children bring from home and extend this within school. The children are involved in preparing and sharing food on a daily basis and are encouraged to sit together and enjoy the communal element of sharing a meal. We promote active discussion and model conversation. Talk is a key element of our learning in the early years. We promote enquiring minds and encourage the children to ask questions and engage in discussion, extending vocabulary. The children are encouraged to have a voice and feel safe to make themselves heard, by adults who take the time to listen.