Intent

At Elkesley Primary and Nursery School, we aim to provide motivating, first-hand experiences whilst encouraging children to build resilience, ambition and a lifelong love of learning. We aim to build on the wealth of knowledge and skills children already have when they arrive and are actively developing relationships with the wider community. We recognise that all children are unique, celebrating and welcoming differences within our school community. Therefore, our curriculum is child centred following the interests and fascinations of the children in the current year group alongside teacher led topics which aim to create awe and wonder. We are passionate about children leading and engrossing themselves in their learning and to achieve this we have a wealth of open ended, freely available resources carefully matched to our children’s needs. Following our children’s baseline line knowledge, the need to embed a language of learning is clear very early in their school lives. Our keen focus on characteristics of learning and the vocabulary that go with these skills are crucial in helping us do this and is practised daily.

We aim to:

• Provide a curriculum that offers children a wide range of opportunities ensuring that we do not expect children to aspire to things they have never encountered. We will work on broadening their experiences providing opportunities to try new things and encouraging them to relish a new challenge.
• Provide high expectations encouraging them to develop perseverance and self-belief so that they can problem solve and achieve far more than they expected.
• Provide a learning environment that helps children achieve their potential and support those who need additional help in order to maximise their chances of achieving the Early Learning Goals.
• Provide children opportunities to develop their sense of wellbeing and ability to regulate their feelings so that they feel confident in our community and are equipped with all the tools they need to transition to Year 1 effectively.
• Develop the skills and expertise of staff working in EYFS through regular and comprehensive professional development either run by the EYFS Lead or attending courses run by other providers.

Implementation

Our curriculum follows the Development Matters Framework and staff use this document to guide children’s learning and development throughout the year. Through our knowledge of each child and in the moment observations, the EYFS team plan exciting and engaging activities that will move the children’s learning forward, as well as ensuring the continuous provision on offer is challenging and accessible. This may involve following a class theme where we take advantage of cross-curricular links in order to combine transferable skills and develop a wide-ranging vocabulary, which underpins the children’s learning. This may also include following individual children’s interests and making the most of those focused moments where the teaching and learning can be maximised in a one to one way with teacher and child. Each year creates its own unique blend of whole class, guided, adult directed play and child-initiated play activities dependant on the nature and needs of the class of individuals. We look forward at the start of a year to see where the class will lead us. 

Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active and thinking critically and creatively and this takes place both indoors and in our outdoor area. Our outdoor area is open all year round and in all but the most challenging weather conditions. Children make their own decisions about where they learn best and teachers ensure that there are opportunities for all areas of learning both inside and outside. 

The school follows a SSP approach to phonics through Little Wandle. Every child has access to a phonics session every day with intervention opportunities for those who find this area of learning more difficult.  

We provide effective and focused intervention for those children who are finding learning challenging and are not on track to meet expectations at the end of the year. This will be provided in an inclusive way and support from parents is also enlisted at an early stage to ensure that the children have every chance to achieve the Early Learning Goals. 

The EYFS team collect evidence of children’s learning through photos and videos which are shared with parents using Dojo. This means that parents can engage with children regularly about their learning and can contribute to the knowledge we have of the child in school. Parents are very active and love to use Dojo to record the milestones children make at home during the year. 

We also record children’s on going through an observation format called ‘OPAL –Observation through play and learning’. Staff carry out a spotlight observation on children in the month of their birthday, highlighting strengths and areas for development. These are then reviewed and updated 2 months later. This is an on going process throughout the child’s time in early years and helps create an overview of development and learning.

The team in Little Acorns work tirelessly to ensure that children are surrounded by a kind, caring and happy environment which helps them develop the same skills in their journey through school. It is a positive place to be where resilience, perseverance and successes are celebrated and every child feels valued and respected. 

Impact

The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Class1. Our children are often amazing role models for others in school. 

Although moderation is no longer statutory for Early Years, we have good relationships with local schools and spend time moderating our judgements and sharing good practice throughout the year to ensure we are providing the best for our children. This means judgements are secure and consistent with government guidelines.

The Early Years provision features in all areas of the School Development Plan and has a rigorous plan for development each year. This is monitored and evaluated by the EYFS Lead and the Head teacher.

For our Curriculum, please see the following: