Early Years Foundation Stage

Intent:

At Worple Primary School, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is seen as an important first step in our school. Our aim is to provide a happy, stimulating learning environment where all children are celebrated and where we promote good learning, development and behaviour. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that helps them to fulfil their potential.

Our core values (challenge, motivation, integrity, resilience and curiosity) underpin everything in our school and curriculum, and start at the very beginning in the Early Years. The Early Years are the first step in developing these values, and building on children’s existing skills, attitudes and knowledge.

Implementation:

Our EYFS includes the Nursery, offering a morning session for children aged 3 and 4 and one full time Reception class for children aged 4 and 5. Nursery and Reception work in union as a unit and children have access to both the Nursery and Reception classroom and outdoor learning area.

Through our well designed, ambitious curriculum and nurturing staff, we support children in being happy and self-confident individuals with strong morals and a ‘can do’ attitude. Our children are encouraged to respect the rights of others, aspire for success, aim for excellence and achieve their full potential. We aim for our children to have a love of learning and to be ready for the future.

Children have access to a stimulating and inspiring indoor and outdoor learning environment with resources chosen to meet the children’s needs and promote learning. We encourage confidence, independence and a desire to learn.  Books are used to support learning in all areas of the indoor and outdoor learning environments and stories/poems and rhymes are read/sung aloud frequently. Children have opportunities to develop and embed maths skills in a wide range of contexts.

Impact:

The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1.  We measure progress and children’s learning across the year through formative and summative assessment which are based on the teacher’s knowledge of the child, their observations and interactions with others as well as evidence within their learning journeys which include photographs, pieces of work and comments from parents. Staff use ongoing observational assessment to identify children’s starting points and plan experiences which ensure progress. 

As a team, we carry out regular internal moderation sessions and also ensure that staff attend external meetings and training to ensure that we feel confident with our judgements and that these judgements are consistent with a range of other settings. By monitoring assessment procedures regularly, we can effectively demonstrate what learning is taking place and how each child is progressing in all seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. 

Additional links:

EYFS Phonics and Early Reading Workshop - October 24

EYFS Prospectus