Intent
At Village Infants we provide our children with an inclusive curriculum that is designed to be flexible, engaging and challenging so that the children’s unique needs, passions and interests are embraced. We learn through play, exploration and real life experiences, both in the classroom and in our outdoor learning environment. We recognise children’s prior learning from previous settings and their experiences at home. We believe the first experiences of school should be happy and positive, enabling us to develop a lifelong love of learning and a growth mindset. Every child is an individual and we celebrate and respect differences within our diverse school community. Throughout their time in EYFS, the children will develop their confidence and a sense of belonging to our school community in readiness to transition for Year One.
We aim:
- To work collaboratively with parents and carers to encourage independent, confident and enthusiastic learners who thrive and reach their full potential.
- To have our school values (Perseverance, Resilience, Kindness and Curiosity) at the heart of our curriculum.
- To create a talk rich environment to encourage language development.
- To ensure pupils develop a love of reading to create life-long readers.
- To teach all children to read by following a synthetic Phonics programme called Little Wandle Letter and Sounds Revised.
- To create an indoor and outdoor environment which supports acquiring new knowledge and skill.
- To ensure all children are safe and settled.
- To prepare children to reach the Early Learning goals at the end of the Early Years and Foundation Stage and ensure children make at least good progress from their starting points.
- Give all children enriching experiences through the use of visitors, our local community and educational visits.
- To support the transition into KS1.
Implementation
At Village Infants we have developed a highly effective transition process. Prior to children starting, practitioners engage in meetings and visits with the children, parents and previous setting in order to gain an understanding of the whole child and begin the process of developing a positive relationship with the family. Parents take part in a curriculum meeting where our curriculum is shared giving the parents a greater understanding of their child’s learning journey. Pupils are then transitioned gradually into the school considering the individual needs as well as curriculum expectations.
During the first half term in Nursery and Reception, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and discussions with the child to complete a baseline assessment. Further information about the child is taken from the parent if required. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas of learning enabling practitioners to plan for progress.
At Village Infants we value the importance of the development of children’s vocabulary and language skills. In the first term all Reception pupils are assessed using LanguageScreen to identify any gaps in expressive and receptive vocabulary, alongside sentence repetition and comprehension. From this, needs are addressed using the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) Programme.
Each half term, EYFS staff introduce a new theme to provide inspiration for learning, whilst providing the flexibility for children to follow their own interests and ideas. Children learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities both inside and outside the classroom. The timetable is carefully structured to ensure all children are taught Phonics, Maths and Literacy daily. In Nursery children are taught the foundations for phonics where they will develop their phonological awareness, including understanding of rhyme, alliteration, syllables and oral blending. In Reception, we follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised expectations of progress. Children in Reception are taught to read and spell words using Phase 2 and 3 GPCs, and words with adjacent consonants (Phase 4) with fluency and accuracy. We have embedded regular PHSE sessions that focus on the development of C&L and PSED. Weekly lessons are planned that focus on the development of UW and EAD. The children then apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt through independent learning enabling them to make progress towards their individual targets.
Practitioners carefully assess all learners regularly across all areas of learning to track progress. This information is used to address gaps through future planning and personalised interventions ensuring all children are making progress towards their own targets. This includes structured sessions for developing Speech and Language, Social skills, Fine Motor skills, Phonics, and Mathematics.
Impact
The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year One.
- Pupils have developed a lifelong love of learning.
- Pupils have developed strong characteristics of learning.
- Pupils of all abilities reach their full potential.
- Pupils have developed confidence in speaking for different purposes.
- Pupils talk about their feelings and worries in a safe environment.
- Pupils have developed skills and knowledge in readiness for Year One.
- Staff have developed a strong relationship with Parents and Carers.
- Parents and carers have a good understanding of the children’s strengths and areas for development.
- Staff use ongoing assessments to identify and support children’s progress.
- Our children make progress from their starting points.
- The percentage of pupils achieving good level of development will be in line with national averages.
- There will be no significant gaps in the progress of different groups of pupils (e.g. disadvantaged vs non-disadvantaged.