EYFS
Intent
At St Anthony’s, we believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage is of great importance, not only as it’s our children’s first stage in learning, but also because it forms that strong foundation for their future learning.
We understand that all children are different and unique. They join us with their own individual needs, backgrounds and experiences, and it is our job to ensure that our staff and our curriculum meets each child’s needs and supports every child’s development. We value the different cultures and communities that make up our school family, planning an inclusive curriculum and experiences for all, whilst also recognising the importance of British Values.
Our curriculum covers the 7 areas of learning as well as RE. Staff provide a board and balanced curriculum that meets the pupils’ interests as well as their needs. We strive to provide a rich curriculum that enables children to reach their potential, teaches children how to become successful learners, inspires wonder through engaging and stimulating activities, is memorable and transferable and finally develops the ‘whole child’ holistically. By the end of Reception, we intend for children to be ready for Year 1 by being able to:
| Communication and Language | Physical Development | Personal, Social and Emotional Development | Literacy | Maths | Understanding of the World | Expressive Art and Design | RE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To communicate effectively by speaking, listening and responding appropriately and sustain conversation. | To understand the importance of physical activity and understand how to life a healthy lifestyle. | To form, develop and maintain respectful and kind friendships | To be confidently literate using their phonic knowledge to read and write, whilst also developing a love for reading and a passion for writing with a purpose. | To be increasingly confident and secure in their understanding of early maths. | To have an appreciation of the world around them, showing curiosity and wonder. | To be expressive and enjoy using arts to convey a meaning or narrative. | To be a party of a thriving Christian community, beginning to understand how the Gospel can influence our lives and actions. |
Our curriculum also covers the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’. We strive to develop these characteristics of ‘Playing and Learning’, ‘Active Learning’ and ‘Thinking Critically’ in order to give children the skills they will need to draw upon throughout their development and future life. We want our children to leave EYFS being independent, resilient and resourceful.
Implementation
Our Curriculum is relevant to our children and builds upon strong foundations for learning. These are underpinned by themes such as ‘Myself’ or ‘Hot lands’. Our curriculum overview includes suggested key vocabulary, concepts, texts and ideas that are taught within in topic, which ensuring progression and challenge.
Our curriculum is constantly revised based on the individual needs of the children meaning that we can meet the needs of all children including those with English as an additional language, special education needs or those at economic disadvantage.
Our Environment is also responsive to children’s needs. The learning environment is almost like another adult who supports the children through their development. Staff spend time reflecting and evaluating the learning environments to make sure they are enriching and inspiring and help children to develop their skills and knowledge.
Staff balance adult directed opportunities with uninterrupted child-initiated play to ensure the best outcomes for pupils. The routine across the day provides a mix of adult-led sessions; where skills are explicitly identified and taught, and child-initiated sessions; where children choose the direction of their own play alongside adults who provide skilled play partners and stimulating discussion.
Staff are constantly informally assessing children, alongside more formal assessments including the baseline assessment upon entry and half termly phonics assessments. By constantly informally assessing, staff can quickly adapt to each child’s needs.
Impact
Children will leave the early years as confident communicators, having had a wide range of experiences whilst in Nursery and Reception. Children will develop their characteristics of learning and be able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations making links and explaining their ideas and understanding. At the end of EYFS children will be confident to take risks, discuss their successes and failures, and suggest ways to improve or adjust what they are doing. They will accept errors with increasing resilience and demonstrate a positive attitude towards new challenges, which they will continue to use in Year 1.
Our ambition is for all of our pupils to access the full EYFS Curriculum. Children will leave Reception having achieved a ‘good level of development’ (GLD) and with the core skills needed to transition into Year 1. Where children do not attain the ‘good level of development’ we strive to help them achieve the prime areas of learning that will underpin their future achievement. Staff will have a sound understanding of where children are at the end of the foundation stage and communicate this effectively to parents and Year 1 staff.