EYFS

What does EYFS look like at Vicarage Park School?

N.Evans - EYFS Lead 

Intent:

At Vicarage Park Primary School we aim to offer an EYFS curriculum that is logically planned and sequenced and offers children a range of opportunities to experience awe and wonder.  We aim that all our children will develop physically, verbally, emotionally and academically in an inclusive learning environment which values all cultures, communities and people.  We would like our children to progress into confident, independent individuals who have self-belief and the ability to form positive relationships with others.

Our aims for our Early Years environment are to:

• Develop and provide a curriculum that offers children exciting opportunities to try new things whilst also sharing their experiences and interests with others.
• Provide an ambitious curriculum which gives all children the knowledge, self-belief and cultural capital they need to be successful in their lives.
• Provide an encouraging environment which develops confidence and independence
• Ensure that our learning environments are language rich and provide a range of exciting opportunities, promote challenge, exploration and a love of learning.
• Balance adult led activities and child initiated play to ensure the best outcomes for all children.
• Encourage talk as part of the everyday learning environment to help children to speak clearly, express their ideas and be able to understand and interact with others.
• Provide an environment that values and respects all cultures, communities and people.
• Create positive relationships between staff and children including the use of consistent routines and recognising that positive relationships with parents are key.

Implementation:

Our curriculum at Vicarage Park Primary School is implemented through the use of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and fits into our whole school curriculum development.  The EYFS curriculum is based on a range of quality interactions based on learning and development in order to equip our children for later life.

We provide our children with:

• Opportunities to become enthusiastic early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics.
• Topics based around quality texts to immerse them in a world of storytelling, fact gaining and language development. These texts are also carefully chosen to support the children speaking and listening development.
• A ‘language rich’ environment which uses songs, nursery rhymes, stories and quality interactions between adults and children and between the children themselves.
• Positive interactions with staff to allow children to flourish and become confident communicators.
• Opportunities to develop mathematical thinking through direct teaching and the chance to explore in provision. This also includes opportunities to link mathematics to real life experiences equipping them for later life.
• A school environment which strengthens children’s core muscles through physical play and children spend time outdoors in their natural environment in all weathers.
• Opportunities to explore through outdoors and create a sense of awe and wonder through ‘Forest Fridays’.
• A learning environment which we adapt to reflect their interests and need for progression. Through this environment adults facilitate play where the children are encouraged to work together, manage their feelings and ask questions.
• An EYFS curriculum which is taught through topics that are in turn enriched through careful use of resource enhancements, trips and visitors.
• Planning which is flexible and responds to the needs of the children so that plans can be changed and adapted as necessary.

Parental engagement is key to the success of our EYFS and we believe that parents play a crucial role in their children’s education.  We work to build strong relationships with parents built on mutual trust to enable strong partnerships between home and school.  In the Reception year parents receive half termly topic bulletins to inform them about what their child is learning each half term.  Ideas are also sent home to explain ways in which parents can support their child’s development at home.

As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed in relation to the assessment requirements in the statutory frameworks for the Early Years Foundation Stage and we use the non-statutory guidance Development matters to support us in delivering our curriculum and setting small steps for the children to achieve.  These judgements are made on the basis of accumulative observations and in depth knowledge of the children acquired through ongoing assessment. These ongoing assessments are used to inform planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all children throughout the year.