Early years foundations stage (EYFS)
Nursery and reception
In Early Years, we follow the whole school curriculum intent.
At Oughton, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum which focusses on equipping our pupils with the knowledge, skills, vocabulary and life experiences required for the next stage of their education. We feel passionately that all pupils have the right to succeed and should be developed to become enthusiastic and lifelong learners. We aim for them to make links between areas of learning, retaining and recalling information. We strive to achieve this through a curriculum which is fun and enjoyable, engaging children and providing them with long term memories. We believe that at our school it is essential to provide pupils with systematic teaching of key skills, enriching their lives with powerful, cultural, life experiences and a key focus on understanding and applying vocabulary.
Here, we explain in more detail our Early Years Intent regarding our provision.
At Oughton, we provide a high-quality EYFS education giving children a secure and confident start to their school life. We are committed to nurturing a lifelong love of learning alongside the aims of the EYFS statutory framework.
We strive for high standards, consider the development of the whole child and seek to foster resilience and independence. We offer a curriculum rich in wonder and memorable experiences. We work hard to provide a stimulating environment that provides exciting opportunities, promotes challenge, exploration, adventure and a real love of learning.
Our intent is to provide the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success and to give children the best possible start to their early education.
The EYFS team provide stimulating classroom environments, both indoors and outdoors to stimulate learners and engage them in developing the three ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ as set out within the EYFS framework. The EYFS team believe our creative and topic based curriculum, led by the interests of the children, helps children meet learning opportunities within a happy, secure and interesting environment, both inside and outside, through practical activity, enquiry and purposeful play, with consolidation through practise, talk and reflection. Throughout these topics, we incorporate children’s skills and development under the characteristics of effective learning by providing opportunities to support playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.
It is our intent that all children develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally in an environment which values all cultures, communities and people. We aim for our children to be confident and independent, to believe in themselves and interact positively with others.
The EYFS team understand that play is an integral part of learning and this is at the heart of our Early Years curriculum. We believe that the correct mix of adult directed and uninterrupted child-initiated play ensures the best outcomes for pupils. Warm and positive relationships between staff and children, consistent routines and strong relationships with Parents are key. We recognise the crucial role that early year’s education has to play in providing firm foundations upon which the rest of a child’s education is successfully based.
We carefully plan our EYFS curriculum to meet the following aims:
- Foster a love of learning which inspires curiosity.
- Provide experiences of awe and wonder.
- Ensure all children have access to high quality learning opportunities.
- Provide Parents/Carers with the opportunity to develop their child’s learning at home through regularly set Home Learning activities.
- Develop knowledge and understanding of the community and wider world.
Through topics, we incorporate children’s skills and development under the characteristics of effective learning by providing opportunities to support playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. We use the Early Years Framework as a basis for our learning.
In both year groups, we integrate long-term planning, which ensures continuity and progression throughout Nursery and Reception. Medium term planning helps us link the essential skills to be developed to specific planned activities and identifies assessment opportunities, which in turn supports the individual child to move forward in their learning. Short term planning (weekly) includes specific plans for coverage of daily Literacy, Maths and Phonic teaching sessions, where learning outcomes will be shared verbally with the children. Adult-led focus activities are also planned to develop and move children forward, whatever their starting point, in all areas of their learning as well as providing cultural capital experiences.
The curriculum is taught through topics which are enriched with classroom enhancements, trips and visitors. Topics are supported by quality key texts. These are chosen carefully to encourage children's speech, language and communication development. All planning however, is flexible and responsive to children’s needs so plans can be changed and adapted dependent on children’s interests. Throughout these topics, we incorporate children’s skills and development under the characteristics of effective learning by providing opportunities to support playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.
At Oughton Primary and Nursery School we meet the welfare requirements laid down in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years and actively safeguard and promote the welfare of all of our children.
We prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of songs, nursery rhymes, stories and providing time for quality interactions between adults and between peers. Trained staff ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and gather words at pace in order to become confident communicators.
Children are encouraged to become early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics. The children learn nursery rhymes and develop their mathematical thinking through direct teaching and exploration. We focus on our children becoming confident mathematicians who can apply what they have learnt to real life experiences.
We have built our school environment to enable our children to strengthen their core muscles through physical play, children spend time outdoors in their natural environment in all weathers. They develop through wonderful, exploratory, sensory experiences in our mud kitchen and sandpit. Our learning environment is adaptable in order to reflect children's interests and progression. The children are supported to learn to work together, manage their feelings and ask questions through skilled adult facilitated play.
We understand the importance of parental engagement and believe that our Parents have a crucial role to play in their children's education. We work hard to create good partnerships between home and school. Parents receive curriculum letters each term to inform them of what their child is learning and to explain how they can support this at home.
As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed in relation to their progress towards the Early Learning Goals. 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.
Our curriculum and its delivery ensure that children, from their own starting points, make good progress. During their time with us, children make good progress towards the National Expectation of a Good Level of Development at the end of the year. Pupils also make good progress toward their age-related expectations both academically and socially, developing a sense of themselves before transitioning into Reception and Year One.
Children develop their Characteristics of Learning and are able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations making links and explaining their ideas and understanding. Children are confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with peers and adults drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing.
We believe our high standards are due to our carefully planned environment, enriched play-based curriculum, quality first teaching and the rigour of assessment.