We follow ‘Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework’ and work towards a set of statements called the ‘Early Learning Goals’. Each child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. These are the ‘Prime Areas’. These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. At this stage in their development special attention is paid to speaking and listening as this lays down a solid foundation for future and further learning.

There are seven areas of learning and development that shape our Early Years curriculum. These are split into two important and interconnected sections – prime and specific:  

The ‘prime’ areas of learning and development are: 

Communication and language: 

• Listening, attention and understanding  

• Speaking  

Physical development:  

• Gross motor skills 
• Fine motor skills 

Personal, social and emotional development: 

• Self-regulation 
• Managing self 
• Building relationships 

The ‘specific’ areas of learning and development are: 

Literacy: 

• Comprehension 
• Word reading 
• Writing  

Mathematics: 

• Numbers 

• Numerical patterns 

Understanding the world:  

• Past and present 
• People, culture and communities 
• The natural world 

Expressive arts and design: 

• Creating with materials 
• Being imaginative and expressive

Characteristics of Effective Learning

In organising and implementing our curriculum, we ensure that a broad range of activities and experiences are planned, having regard to the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning in the EYFS: 

• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, use what they know in their play and are willing to try new things.  

• Active learning – children concentrate, keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements.  

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• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and use what they already know to learn new things, and develop strategies for doing things. 

Assessment

Assessment plays an important part in helping Early Years staff to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs, plan activities and assess the need for support. 

Ongoing formative assessments are used to assess the day-to-day learning and development of children in the EYFS. We gather information from a range of sources; observations of the children in play, in adult led activities, through discussions with parents and carers and through talking to the children. We use this information to help us build up a picture of children’s strengths and achievements and to help us plan for children’s next steps in learning.

Parents and carers are encouraged to add their own comments to Seesaw and also to upload their own photographs and comments to show us what the children are able to do at home.

The children’s progress is reviewed continually. Throughout their time in Nursery and Reception parents and carers are welcomed to share their children’s learning journey. Parents and carers will be invited into school to ‘Stay and Play’ sessions and parent consultation meetings each term to discuss their child’s progress.

Any pupil who is not currently working at the expected level is offered additional interventions to support their progress and development. If a child’s progress in any area of learning gives cause for concern, staff will discuss this with the child’s parents/carers and agree how to support the child.

In Reception staff will complete some key assessments with the children.

These are: 

• Reception Government Baseline Assessment – a short assessment which is taken within the first six weeks of a child starting Reception year. 

• The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile – a comprehensive assessment completed at the end of the EYFS to provide a well-rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, attainment against the early learning goals (ELGs), and their readiness for Year 1. 

The EYFS Profile is used as a summative assessment at the end of the Reception year. It summarises and makes statements about the child’s progress towards the revised Early Learning Goals. (September 2021)

At the end of the year the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile provides a summary of every child’s development and learning achievements including whether they have reached a ‘Good level of development’ (GLD). Children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals by the class teacher who uses the Department for Education exemplification and their knowledge of the children to make a ‘best fit’ judgement.

The children are assessed as achieving a 1 or 2 against each area of the EYFS curriculum:

2 = Expected ELG- meeting the expected level

1 = Emerging ELG- not yet meeting the expected level (working towards)

Parents/carers will be given information about their child’s achievements in a written report at the end of the Summer Term.

Long Term Curriculum Planning

Early Years Curriculum Documents