Between birth and the age of five (the end of the Reception Year at school), the curriculum framework used to support children is called the Early Years Foundation Stage, or the EYFS. Early Yeras practitioners assess the children in their care against this framework, which is designed to take into account different rates of development.
At Stawley and Swallows, the staff know the children really well. This means that we are able to identify and act on each child's 'next steps' in the moment, meaning that every interaction has the potential to be a learning experience.
The EYFS has 7 areas of learning & development.
The Prime Areas:
and the Specific Areas:
The Swallows and Stawley Experience!
With the EYFS as our guide, we have created a set of experiences that we will give all children, as well as a set of achievements that all children will attain at their own level.
The experiences are:
And the achievements are:
Each of these achievements, whilst it may seem small, includes a huge amount of cross-curricular development. For example, telling a story involves having knowledge of stories and language, imagination and confidence. It may consist of a two year old telling a two-word story to an adult ("Big crash!"), or a four year old standing in front of their peers, acting out the characters and involving their friends as different characters!
Recognising Individual Development
Each child's progress is carefully monitored by their Key Person and recorded in their Learning Journey file. Once a term, each child is a 'focus child', which enables us to really concentrate on certain areas of that child's development. At the end of the focus week, the child's parents are invited in to have a look through the Learning Journey and discuss their child's progress with their key worker. When the child leaves pre-school, the Learning Journey is a lovely keepsake for them and their family to remember their early years by.
For more information on the EYFS, please refer to the 'What to Expect When' document which you can find here: https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2015/03/4Children_ParentsGuide_2015_WEB.pdf
Providing for Children with Additional Needs
We provide individual attention for all children. Each child is able to progress at his/her own rate in all areas of development. The pre-school supports equal opportunities for all children. If you would like to discuss the group’s ability to meet your own child’s specific needs, please talk to Becky. Go to our SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) page for more information.
Providing for Children with English as an Additional Language
For children whose first language is not English, written and spoken information will be communicated as clearly as possible. Where speaking in the child’s first language is not possible, pictures and gestures will be used to help to communicate. Initially, parents/carers will be asked to help during preschool sessions to aid communication between their child and others. Contact will be made with the appropriate organisations to identify any help and resources available.