EYFS Vision

Intent

Implementation

Impact

At Etchells Primary school, we provide a high-quality EYFS education giving children a secure and confident start to their school life. We are committed to nurturing a lifelong love of learning alongside the aims of the EYFS Statutory Framework. We strive for high standards, consider the development of the whole child and seek to foster resilience and independence. We are inclusive and welcoming to all and our core values are embedded in all that we do. We aim to provide the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success and to give children the best possible start to their early education.

Our curriculum is the cultural capital our pupils need to gain the knowledge, skills and understanding they require for future success. They can only achieve this if we embed the right behaviours for learning through the EYFS Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning – Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking. Our enabling environment and supportive, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link their play and exploration to learning. In EYFS, we invest time into helping pupils set and reflect on their own goals by aiming high and developing a love of reading, writing and numeracy.  This is delivered through a holistic curriculum which 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 following children’s interests and ideas.  We value imagination and creativity and seek to create a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning through vibrant indoor and outdoor provision, alongside trips, visits, visitors and forest school sessions.

Pupils learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities. The timetable is carefully structured so that children have rigorous directed teaching in literacy, numeracy and phonics, with regular circle time sessions to focus on PSED. Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the variety of experiences carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and importance is given to learning in both areas. The curriculum is planned in a cross-curricular way to include all 7 areas of learning and to promote sustained thinking and active learning.

Our curriculum will meet the needs of our children, including disadvantaged pupils and those with EAL and SEND. We spend time observing and evaluating how children are learning. This is achieved through talking to children, looking at their work, observing their learning experiences and analysing data and progress by class, groups and individuals. We assess children on-entry alongside the National Baseline Assessment and previous setting  transition information to identify children’s starting points. At the end of each term, teachers update the progress children have made which allows us to assess the impact of teaching and identify those children needing extra support & interventions.  Photographs & details of activities in school are posted on Class Dojo for parents to see and keep informed about what we are learning. Our curriculum and its delivery ensure that children make good progress and that as many as possible meet the national expectation for GLD at the end of the year.  Pupils also make excellent progress toward their age-related expectations before transitioning into Year One.  We believe our high standards are due to the enriched play-based exploration alongside direct adult led teaching. A rich diet of varied and balanced learning experiences is undoubtedly the best way to develop happy, curious children.