Welcome to our Foundation Stage!

Teacher – Mrs Louise Proud

Teaching Assistants – Miss Emma Dunn and Mrs Sharon Bradshaw

 

We aim to:

  • Provide a happy, secure, well-ordered and stimulating environment, where children can develop as independent individuals through interaction with sensitive adults and other children.
  • Offer a broad and balanced curriculum which extends previous learning and covers the seven areas of learning as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
  • Ensure that children develop positive attitudes to learning, self-motivation, curiosity, confidence and responsibility.
  • Provide children with first hand learning experiences rooted in purposeful play in which they can become actively engaged, expressing thoughts, ideas and feelings.
  • Develop the whole child socially, spiritually, emotionally, physically and intellectually

Develop and maintain partnership with parents and others including other professionals who are involved with the development of the child.

EARLY YEARS CURRICULUM

There are seven areas of learning and development which shape educational programmes in our foundation stage class. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected.

The three prime areas of learning are crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

These three areas, the prime areas, are:

  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

There are four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

Planning in all topics includes the following:

  • Communication and language development which involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
  • Physical development provides opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children are also helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
  • Personal, social and emotional development which involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
  • Literacy development which involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
  • Mathematics which involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
  • Understanding the world which involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
  • Expressive arts and design enables children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

The staff set high expectations for children’s attainment and progress. Sessions are organised so that there is a balance of teacher initiated and child-initiated activities. The children’s own interests and experiences are valued. Teaching always allows for the opportunity to explore the unexpected!

What will the impact be?

Our curriculum and its delivery ensure that children, from their own starting points make good progress. During their time with us children make rapid progress towards the national expectation for a good level of development at the end of the year. Pupils also make good progress toward their age-related expectations both academically and socially, developing a sense of themselves before transitioning into Year One. Children develop their characteristics of learning and are able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations making links and explaining their ideas and understanding. Children are confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with peers and adults drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing. We believe our high standards are due to our carefully planned environment, enriched play-based curriculum, quality first teaching and the rigour of assessment.

We will know each individual child holistically through all of these experiences. We will learn more about their strengths, areas for development and plan how we will continue to support each child on their learning journey to achieve their potential.

Our topics are…

About Early Years

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old.

All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.

Assessments

There are assessments when a child is aged between 2 and 3 years and at the end of the academic year when they turn 5. These are not tests for the child – the assessments are based on EYFS practitioners’ observations.

Information from these assessments is used for parents, practitioners and teachers to support children’s learning and development.

Early years learning concentrates on 7 areas split between prime and specific areas of learning.

The prime areas of learning are:

  • communication and language
  • physical development
  • personal, social and emotional development

The specific areas of learning are:

  • literacy
  • mathematics
  • understanding the world
  • expressive arts and design

Teaching is often done through play, where the child learns about subjects and other people through games.

Early years foundation stage profile

At the end of the academic year when a child turns 5, the practitioner records each child’s development by watching the child playing and in the classroom. The completed assessment is known as the ‘early years foundation stage profile’. This is used to help the year 1 teacher plan lessons for the children.

Ref – https://www.gov.uk/early-years-foundation-stage

Development

Children develop quickly in the early years, and early years practitioners aim to do all they can to help children have the best possible start in life. Children have a right, spelled out in the United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child, to provision which enables them to develop their personalities, talents and abilities irrespective of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties, disabilities or gender. This guidance helps adults to understand and support each individual child’s development pathway. Other guidance is provided at www.foundationyears.org.uk. The EYFS statutory framework is available on the Foundation Years website as well as the Department for Education website: www.education.gov.uk/publications

EYFS Statutory Framework (2014 Update)

Following the Government’s response to the consultation on ‘The Regulation of Childcare’ published 13 February 2014, the EYFS statutory framework has been updated and will be in effect from 1 September 2014.

The revisions reflect changes which apply to Section 3 on Safeguarding and Welfare.

There have been no changes to the areas of learning and development, including the early learning goals.

Please click the link below for more information:

The Statutory Framework

Let’s get learning at home! 
Use this brilliant resource to have fun with your children at home. Each activity is planned to promote communication, learning and of course fun! If you complete any of them at home, please tweet the pictures and we can see how much fun you are having…