The EYFS curriculum

Our curriculum and practice is led by the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. We learn through seven key areas of learning that foster holistic development and exploration.

Three Prime Areas of Learning

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Self-regulation, managing self and building relationships.
• Communication and Language – Listening, attention and understanding and speaking.
• Physical Development – Gross motor skills and fine motor skills.

 Four Specific Areas of Learning

• Literacy – Comprehension, word reading and writing.
• Mathematics – Number and numerical patterns.
• Understanding the World – Past and present, people, culture and communities and the natural world.
• Expressive Arts and Design – Creating with materials and being imaginative and expressive.

Intent

At West Tytherley Primary School, our intent for EYFS learning is to cultivate a secure, engaging, and welcoming environment where children can thrive. We prioritise the development of essential competencies, skills, and concepts across diverse areas of learning, using stimulating activities that ignite curiosity and foster individual interests.

We recognise that children learn most effectively when they are fully immersed in the learning process, often unaware that they are gaining knowledge. Our curriculum is carefully designed to strike a balance between teacher-led and child-initiated activities, ensuring that every child has access to enriching experiences. Through a play-based approach, we aim to support personal growth while catering to the unique needs of each child, making learning both enjoyable and impactful.

Key learning strategies within our EYFS curriculum

We prioritise a range of learning strategies designed to foster a rich educational environment. Central to our approach is the principle of ENGAGE. We actively engage children in their education, encouraging them to take ownership of their academic and social successes. This is crucial in cultivating strategies and behaviours that support continuous discovery, creative thinking, problem-solving, and self-regulation.

Our learning experiences are framed within PRACTICAL AND PURPOSEFUL CONTEXTS, where children are equipped to evaluate choices and make informed decisions. They will have opportunities to generate ideas, solve problems, identify patterns, and test their hypotheses. We promote skills in planning, monitoring progress, and adapting strategies as necessary, all of which are essential for effective learning.

Additionally, we aim to EMPOWER our children, instilling a sense of confidence that allows them to embrace challenges without fear of failure. We also strive to create MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS WITH THE WIDER WORLD, fostering a sense of shared responsibility that transcends their immediate surroundings.

The EYFS environment is meticulously designed to promote independence, providing resources and space conducive to allowing children to express themselves. Ultimately, we seek to ENJOY learning, ensuring that children look forward to school and experience an array of exciting and engaging opportunities. This holistic approach nurtures curious, creative, resourceful, and resilient learners, well-equipped for their future education.

Implementation

At our school, EYFS implementation is designed to provide children with a wide range of activities through continuous and enhanced provision. Activities are carefully curated to support various areas of the curriculum and are regularly updated to maintain engagement. Emphasis is placed on outdoor learning; children have the opportunity to access outdoor spaces throughout the day and participate in sessions at our Forest School Area, fostering their appreciation of nature. In Reception class, we maintain a balance between adult-led and child-led activities, incorporating whole-class teaching for core subjects such as phonics, story-based learning, mathematics, and rhyme times.

Phonics

We employ an effective and stimulating approach to teaching phonics in early years through the 'Little Wandle' programme. This programme is rooted in the latest research and adheres to the updated guidance from the Department for Education on improving rates of progress in phonics, as outlined in the 2021 Letters and Sounds framework. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised is designed to facilitate children’s learning, ensuring that it remains in their long-term memory while equipping them with the essential skills to become proficient readers.

In Reception, we begin phonics by teaching children Phase 2 sounds right from the start of the academic year. Initial lessons are engaging and brisk, lasting approximately 10 minutes, which helps establish routines and captures the children's interest. Each day begins with an oral blending game to enhance focus and concentration. Throughout the year, these sessions are gradually developed to strengthen children’s blending and decoding abilities, fostering a genuine love for reading.

Our educators diligently maintain accurate assessments of each child’s phonic sound acquisition. To support parents in this process, we hold a phonics workshop within the first month of their child's admission. Additionally, children are encouraged to bring home reading books aligned with the phonic sounds they have encountered. Throughout the year, children who require additional support are identified for tailored interventions, with teachers keeping parents informed weekly in relation to their child's phonics progress, with suggested activities for consolidation.

READING PRINCIPLES

We believe that reading is a passport to the world, opening a myriad of ideas, experiences, places, and times that children may otherwise not encounter. Our reading aim in the Early Years Foundation Stage focuses on developing fluent readers who are proficient in decoding texts while nurturing a passion for reading.

Story time is an integral part of our daily routine, driving our topics and enhancing the learning environment. While it is essential for children to decode text, fostering understanding of what they read is equally crucial, as this is where the true joy of reading begins. All children participate in adult-led group reading practice at least three times a week, concentrating on decoding, parenthesis, and comprehension skills. Additional reading opportunities for specific children are organised as needed, and peer reading alongside library reading for pleasure occurs regularly, promoting a love of literature.

OUTSIDE PROVISION

We recognise the vital role of outdoor learning in EYFS, providing a seamless free-flow provision between inside and outside environments. Our outdoor facilities reflect all areas of learning, meticulously enhanced to cater to the diverse needs of our learners.

We are proud to offer permanent provisions for reading and writing outdoors, complemented by weekly enhancements designed to stimulate children's curiosity and support their developmental next steps. The outdoor role play area fosters essential speaking and listening skills, while our stage area promotes musical and dramatic expression.

Beyond the designated EYFS outdoor learning area, children benefit from regular access to the whole school grounds, facilitating the development of their physical motor skills. Our Forest School area offers invaluable opportunities for children to cultivate a love of nature, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the world around them.

ENGAGING WITH PARENTS

We value the partnership between home and school. It is fundamental to a child's development and learning. We provide numerous opportunities for parents to engage actively in their child’s education. We encourage open communication between parents and staff daily, using 'Tapestry' software, emails, and reading diaries to facilitate this dialogue. We also organise workshops designed to bolster parents' confidence in supporting their children's learning at home. We invite parents to share their child's remarkable learning experiences, or ‘wow’ moments, through Tapestry, fostering a supportive and collaborative educational environment.

ASSESSMENT

In EYFS, assessment is pivotal to delivering high-quality education. Observing children is central to our approach, providing insights into their interests, current learning levels, and developmental needs. Through the Observation, Assessment and Planning Cycle, day-to-day assessments enable parents, carers, and practitioners to recognise each child's progress and adapt provisions accordingly.

Our educators continuously assess children's experiences and abilities, using this information to plan targeted next-step activities. Assessment sheets facilitate the tracking of individual progress, allowing for the identification of learning gaps and the formation of pre-teach groups as necessary. We use the Tapestry platform to document observations and share  learning and developmental next steps with parents, fostering collaboration between home and school. We actively encourage parents to contribute insights from home, enhancing the overall learning experience for each child.

Impact

PRIME AREAS

Communication and language 

We believe reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, storytelling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teachers, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures. We have a stage for performance outside and a role play area for using narrative language.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

Children at West Tytherley will be supported to manage their emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist, and to wait for what they want. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children, they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve most conflicts independently. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve in their life at school and beyond.

Physical development 

In our Early Years provision, we support children by creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors. Adults support children in developing their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional wellbeing. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support, allows children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

FOUR SPECIFIC AREAS OF LEARNING

Literacy

In our EYFS provision, we cultivate a love of literature by anchoring learning indoors and outdoors in a rich variety of books, encompassing fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Educators play an instrumental role in nurturing children's reading skills, focusing on comprehension, inference, retrieval, and sequencing through active, engaging play-based learning activities.

Stories form the cornerstone of our curriculum, enabling children to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them, fostering creative expression, and enhancing social and emotional well-being. Repeated and diverse opportunities to explore and engage with small world activities and arts and crafts empower children to achieve proficiency in various curriculum areas in real-life contexts. This approach not only strengthens literacy but also underpins the overall development of our learners.

Mathematics

We support children in developing proficiency and confidence in mathematical skills and knowledge. Our educators play a pivotal role in fostering this development, guiding children through lessons that focus on counting, number recognition, patterns, and spatial reasoning. This comprehensive approach provides each child with a strong foundation from which to excel mathematically.

Daily whole-class sessions, complemented by opportunities to practise learning during continuous provision, enable children to build a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary essential for mastering mathematics. We encourage children to cultivate a positive attitude towards the subject, nurturing their curiosity to explore patterns and relationships, and to identify connections in their learning. Importantly, we promote a culture where making mistakes is viewed as a valuable part of learning, enhancing resilience and confidence as they progress in their mathematical understanding.

Understanding the world 

We encourage children to develop a love and appreciation of nature, fostering their role as caretakers of the world in which we live. This early engagement is crucial in helping them understand their place in society and how historical events shape today’s world. Through our curriculum, children have the opportunity to learn about their own history, as well as significant individuals and events that have influenced our past.

The children regularly use natural resources during Forest School activities, allowing them to explore various aspects of the curriculum in a rich outdoor environment. They investigate the biodiversity of the school grounds, promoting awareness of environmental stewardship. Moreover, this hands-on exploration enables them to consider how their actions can affect our school’s carbon footprint, instilling a sense of responsibility towards the environment and reinforcing the importance of sustainability for future generations.

Expressive Arts and Design 

We encourage children to express themselves as individuals by developing their artistic and cultural awareness, supporting their imaginations and creativity. We give regular opportunities to explore techniques and skills enabling children to master a range of mediums, which in turn bolsters their mental and emotional well-being.

Children are given the chance to engage with various musical instruments, allowing them to learn control and develop skills to articulate their emotions through songs and compositions. This exploration aids them in understanding their own interests while fostering an appreciation and interpretation of the arts.

Children have continual access to diverse media, enabling them to express their learning and understanding effectively. By exploring the works of famous artists and musicians, they are encouraged to reflect on and respond to what they see, hear, and observe, enhancing their overall educational experience.