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EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)

Intent, Implementation & Impact

Intent

Our curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning, both from previous settings and their experiences at home. We are proud of how we work in partnership with parents, carers and other settings to provide the best possible start at Hampton Hargate Primary School. These partnerships ensure each pupil achieves their full potential from their various starting points. Every child is an exceptional individual and we celebrate and respect differences within our diverse school community. We inspire our children to become accomplished, happy individuals, ready to reach their full potential in an ever-changing world.

During the children’s first half-term in school, we place a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of learning; Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Communication and Language. It is essential that children achieve well in these areas as they lay a solid foundation for future learning, which we then build upon as the year progresses.

At Hampton Hargate Primary School, we recognise the importance of being a skilful communicator. We support the children to achieve this through using high quality dialogues and interventions. These create a vocabulary rich environment in which our pupils can thrive.

Our enabling environments and warm, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link learning to their play and exploration. We believe that high level engagement supports high level attainment. This is achieved through purposeful, meaningful and exciting experiences that are provided through teacher led activities and also our continuous provision.

We provide an engaging curriculum that maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences, as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We use carefully selected texts to support learning through all the areas of the curriculum. We follow children’s interests and ideas to foster a lifelong love of learning both in and outside of school.

By the end of the Reception year, our intent is to ensure that all children make excellent progress from their starting points and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to have a smooth transition into Year 1.

Implementation

Pupils learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities and challenges. The weekly timetable is carefully structured so that the children have rigorous directed teaching in Literacy, Numeracy and phonics every day. The EYFS team systematically check for understanding, identify and respond to misconceptions quickly and provide real-time verbal feedback.

The curriculum, which is based upon ‘Wow’ experiences and topics which engage the children, is planned for the inside and outside classrooms. Themes are based around the school year so that they are purposeful and meaningful for the children, providing as many hands-on experiences as possible.  The curriculum is planned in a cross-curricular way to enable all aspects of each child’s development including Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design as well as Literacy and Mathematics to promote sustained thinking and active learning.

The Early Years curriculum is made up of 3 prime areas:

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
  • Communication and Language (CL)
  • Physical Development (PD)

and 4 specific areas:

  • Literacy (L)
  • Mathematics (M)
  • Understanding the World (UW)
  • Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)

Teachers plan key objectives in a play-based approach to learning. This provides the children with opportunities to play and explore, actively create, learn and think critically. Through observations and play partnerships, staff are able to adapt their teaching and move learning forward, successfully enhancing the continuous provision, both inside and outside.

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to encourage a love of reading right from the start. We use carefully chosen texts to support learning in all areas of the of the curriculum. We follow the Little Wandle phonics scheme so that children meet good outcomes for reading with almost all children passing the Year One phonics screening. Children enjoy reading

Impact

Our Early Years Foundation Stage will demonstrate high levels of engagement in both Child-Led and Adult-Led activities. By developing their speaking and listening skills, we are enabling them to access more areas of learning and communicate with adults and other children. They will develop concentration, persistence, co-operation and most importantly become willing and confident to ‘have a go’.

The children will develop a sense of the wider world around them and will draw on these experiences during interactions with others, linking this to new learning. They will also be able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations, making links by explaining their ideas and understanding. The children will be confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with adults, drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing.

From their own unique starting points, we expect all pupils to achieve age-related expectation and/or make excellent progress academically and socially. All children will be given the best foundations to prepare them for a life-long learning journey

Ongoing assessment of phonics is carried out to quickly identify pupils that are not making expected progress and to allow additional intervention to ensure pupils have opportunities to make additional progress.

More formal assessments are completed across the school year and information is shared with parents during Parents Evening and their child’s end of year report. After completing these assessments, interventions are put into place for children when we identify that additional support would be beneficial. Any concerns are shared with parents and also strategies they can use at home to help support their child.

The impact of our curriculum is reflected in having well-rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1 and the progress they make from their starting points.