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Brenzett Primary School

BrenzettChurch of England Primary School

'The Lost Sheep' Luke 15:4-7

EYFS

At Brenzett C of E Primary School, we aim to create a nurturing and inspiring environment, underpinned by a strong Christian ethos which reflects the beliefs of all pupils, staff and governors. Collectively we build the aspirations of our pupils and instil in them the skills and learning experiences to achieve their full potential, whilst exposing them to “wow” experiences to take on their journey through life. Our Christian Values underpin all aspects of our community as we strive for the children to develop a broad understanding and enjoyment of the world that enables them to be outward looking, resilient and effective citizens of the future.

Trust  *  Compassion  *  Friendship  *  Community  *  Forgiveness  *  Respect

EYFS Statement of Intent, Implementation and Impact Intent

Intent

Through a positive caring environment, we provide the opportunity for every child to reach their full potential. We embrace Christian values and ensure all children are ready for their next steps. In the Early Years Foundation Stage at Brenzett C of E Primary, the curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning from previous settings and their experiences at home, and provide first hand learning experiences.

Our delivery of the EYFS curriculum aims to provide a variety of opportunities for children to develop as independent, resourceful, and positive learners. We want our children to have a desire to learn new things and challenge themselves each day. We work to develop their independent learning skills and their approach to challenge.

We work closely with our parents and carers to provide positive and engaging learning experiences and provide the children with a strong support network. Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. Our learning is led by the interests of the children and is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values.

We provide enhancement opportunities to engage learning and believe that children’s first experiences of school should be happy and positive, enabling them to develop a lifelong love of learning. Throughout their time in EYFS, the children develop a sense of belonging to our school community, ready to transition to Year 1 the following academic year.

 We intend to:

 · Work in partnership with parents and carers to encourage independent, happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential from their various starting points.

· Understand and follow children’s interests and provide opportunities throughout our EYFS curriculum to support learning, consolidate and deepen knowledge and ensure children meet their next steps.

· Create an indoor and outdoor learning environment that inspires the children to investigate, question and challenge themselves. The children can explore the different areas throughout the day and access a wide range of continuous provision opportunities incorporating sensory, physical, writing, number work and creative role play activities.

· Provide our children with every opportunity to fulfil their potential and work on reaching the Early Learning Goals at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and ensure that the children make, at least, good progress from their initial starting points.

· Support transition into KS1 by ensuring our children leave us ready and excited to take on new challenges. We actively support our children throughout their final term in Reception with transition opportunities to aid their move into KS1.

 Implementation

As children make the transition from nursery to school, we recognise the importance of working with parents, carers and previous settings to make this journey as smooth as possible. We have close links with our local nurseries and at the end of the Summer Term we visit these nurseries to meet the children, play alongside them indoors and outdoors, and share stories and songs for several whole morning sessions. Children are then invited to visit the Reception class to join in with play and share stories and songs for several sessions towards the end of the Summer Term. We hold transition meetings to discuss children’s transition records in July. Also in July, a meeting is held by the Head teacher and Reception teachers to introduce parents/carers to the school.

Throughout the EYFS at Brenzett C of E Primary, we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage by the DfE. This framework specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years and provides prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. We have a curriculum that is child-centred, based upon the children’s interests and experiences, along with themes which engage the children. We encourage active learning to ensure the children are motivated and interested. We take time to get to know children’s interests and their likes to support learning.

All areas of the EYFS curriculum are followed and planned for to ensure there is a broad, balanced and progressive learning environment and curriculum. The children will learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate understanding through the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum:

· Personal, Social and Emotional Development

· Physical Development

· Communication and Language

· Literacy

· Mathematics

· Understanding the World

· Expressive Arts and Design

These 7 areas are used to plan children’s learning and activities. Planning for this curriculum is designed to be flexible so that a child’s unique interests are supported. During each week, the children will work with an adult to complete 1:1 reading sessions as well as adult led literacy tasks, adult led maths tasks and a range of child initiated tasks through both the indoor and outdoor continuous provision. This allows children opportunities to engage in child-initiated play and develop their next steps in learning.

Staff observe and question where appropriate, to ensure they have a deep understanding of the learning needs of each child and can plan accordingly to stimulate further progress. Continuous provision practise and principles begin in EYFS and support children to develop key life skills such as independence, innovation, creativity, enquiry, analysis and problem solving.

During the school day, children will have an opportunity to work independently, work collaboratively with their friends and with members of staff. Through observation and discussion, areas of need and next steps are identified for all children to ensure good progress is made. There are also a range of stimulating and engaging activities which the children can access independently. In planning and guiding children’s activities we reflect on the different ways that children learn and reflect these in our practise. Staff in the EYFS make regular observations of the children’s learning to ensure their next steps are met. These are uploaded onto the online journey, Evidence Me.

At the start of the year, base-line assessments take place, alongside input from nursery teams, and conversations with parents and carers. These allow staff to understand children’s first steps, and to ensure progression across the year, working towards the end-of-year Early Learning Goals (ELGs) and a Good Level of Development (GLD) for each child. In December and March, we assess where the children are using ‘Development Matters’ and then ensure our planning, adult interaction and learning environment, including continuous provision, supports children to reach their next steps. We will include interventions for groups or individuals if and when necessary.

Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. Our outdoor areas are used all year round and in most weather conditions. We ensure activities support the Characteristics of Effective Learning to ensure learning takes place. These are:

· Playing and Exploring – children investigate and experience things, and have a go;

· Active Learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements;

· Creating and Thinking Critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.

We share a range of healthy snacks and learn about the importance of a healthy balanced lifestyle to maintain our own wellbeing. All of our children perform in a Nativity, receive certificates in assembly, contribute to ‘good work’ in whole school assemblies and participate in trips, for example, a trip to a local cathedral, or a trip to the local zoo or beach. They are visited by a vast range of People Who Help Us, including the police and the fire service. They participate in a weekly Forest School session in a designated area within the school grounds. Parent are involved in two-way communication, which include Seesaw, reports, parents evening twice a year, as well as more frequent informal communication to suit individual families.

We also support the transition into Key Stage 1 for both child and parents. We prepare children for Year 1 with visits to their new class, meeting the teacher and ensuring the environments are similar at the end of EYFS and the start of Year 1.

Phonics is taught daily using RWInc. We listen to the children read throughout the week once they are ready to have reading books with words in. Before this we use wordless books to encourage and develop their story language and telling.

Impact

We strive to ensure that our children’s progress across the EYFS curriculum is good from their varied starting points. We also strive for children to reach the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception and to be at least in line with National Expectations. Evidence of children’s progress on individual Evidence Me learning journeys support all areas of the EYFS curriculum.

We use our observations of the children to make formative assessments of their attainment and to inform future planning and build upon the children’s current knowledge and skills. Our summative assessments look at children’s attainment in relation to age related expectations - month bands in Development Matters. This is tracked to ensure rates of progress are appropriate for all children, including those with SEND, disadvantaged or summer-born children. Our assessment is moderated both internally and with other schools in our Multi Academy Trust.

The impact of our curriculum is measured by assessment procedures which allow us to measure outcomes against all schools nationally. The impact of our curriculum can also be measured by the way in which our children are inspired and excited about their learning, and by how effectively it helps our pupils develop into well-rounded individuals who embody our values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens. We work to ensure our children develop into confident and positive learners, who are excited by new challenges and not put off by difficulty. We endeavour to ensure that our children leave the EYFS ready to move with confidence into KS1 and their lifelong learning journey.