EYFS
Welcome to Winnington Park Early Years!
In our school there are two Year groups in our Early Years Foundation Stage, Nursery (children can attend from the term following their third birthday) and Reception (children enter school in the Autumn term following their fourth birthday).
Both year groups work closely together, following the same theme or topic.
Early Years is a distinct stage, important both in its own right and in providing the building blocks for each child’s future learning.
Working Together
You know your child better than anyone, which is why at Winnington Park CP & Nursery School we work on developing positive relationships with parents. We use an online Learning Journal called Tapestry so that parents can see what their child has been engaging in and learning about in school. You can also share on Tapestry what you have been doing at home. Our Stay & Play sessions are also a great opportunity to see your child in their school environment and chat to other parents.
At Winnington Park CP and Nursery School our practice is guided by its clear expectations for children’s learning, development and welfare.
We adhere to the Revised EYFS Statutory Framework (September 2021) and the four guiding principles that shape practice within Early Years settings.
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
- Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates
The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The EYFS curriculum is split into Prime and Specific areas.
Areas are inter-related and equally important.
The prime areas lay the foundations for children’s success in all other areas of learning. The Prime areas are:
- Communication and language
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Physical development
The specific areas provide the range of experiences and opportunities for children to broaden their knowledge and skills.
The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Each area is underpinned by three Characteristics of Effective Learning:
1. Playing and exploring/engagement
Finding out and exploring
Playing with what they know
Being willing to ‘have a go’
- Active Learning—motivation
Being involved and concentrating
Keeping trying
Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
- Creating & Thinking Critically
Having their own ideas
Making links
Choosing ways to do things
Our Curriculum Vision
At Winnington Park Community Primary School and Nursery we aim to offer a creative and inclusive curriculum which inspires, engages and challenges and in which children are partners in their own learning.
EYFS Curriculum Intent
At Winnington Park CP & Nursery School our Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) puts the wellbeing of our children at the heart of our curriculum. We aim to ensure that children feel safe and happy in school and build positive relationships with staff and their peers. We value the individual child, and our intent is to work in partnership with parents, carers and families to meet their needs and help every child to reach their full potential.
In EYFS our curriculum is designed around our children and their interests. Our curriculum intent is firmly embedded in the revised statutory framework for the EYFS (September 2021). It is coherently planned and sequenced, using our knowledge of child development and progression of skills.
Our expectations are ambitious for all children in our setting. Our intent is to ensure that learning is accessible for all children, including those with SEND. Early identification is used to assess children for SEND and support is carefully planned to ensure children can achieve their goals. We ensure that children are given opportunities to widen their knowledge and understanding of the world, enhancing their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and celebrating the diversity of our families and local culture.
To ensure all children make good progress, we take into consideration their starting points and needs to plan their next steps. Our aim is for all children to learn and apply skills which will make them successful learners for life, supporting them to develop confidence, independence and resilience.
As outlined in the EYFS ‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child's experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances.’
Our intent is that our Learning Environment is a place for children to feel safe and develop positive relationships with staff and peers. It is carefully planned to accommodate the children's changing needs and interests. High quality and open-ended resources are provided for children to use.
Our outdoor area is set up to develop children's physical development, problem solving skills, creativity and teamwork. We encourage the children to take calculated risks. We endeavour to engage our children and completely immerse them in their learning to become lifelong learners.
Practitioners working with the youngest children in Nursery will focus strongly on the three prime areas, which are the basis for successful learning in the specific areas. The three prime areas reflect the key skills and capacities all children need to develop and learn effectively and become ready for the next stage of their learning in Reception. As children move through into reception, the balance will shift towards a more equal focus on all the areas of learning (prime and specific) as they grow in confidence and ability.
Implementation
Our curriculum is based around the seven areas of learning and development. These are communication and language, physical development, personal, emotional and social development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design. We also use the Characteristics of Effective Learning as a foundation for our children to build confidence, curiosity and resilience.
The curriculum is delivered using a play-based approach.
Our daily routine is well planned to ensure a balance between adult led and child - initiated activities. Children learn and are taught through a balance of adult led direct teaching, child-initiated play and teacher supported play where adults will use observations and questioning and wondering aloud comments to move children’s learning forward. During children’s play, early years practitioners interact to stretch and challenge children further.
We create a stimulating environment to encourage children to free flow between inside and out.
Staff will also set up activities as an invitation to learning which have intended outcomes. We ensure that children have sustained periods of play (continuous provision) so that they can become truly immersed in their play and learning.
Our planning is flexible to allow us to follow children’s interests and enthusiasms in the moment.
We celebrate and value all subject areas in the EYFS curriculum and provide opportunities to apply and practise key skills in all areas of learning. We have high expectations of achievement, progress, behaviour and presentation.
To support our literacy teaching we create a language rich environment using focus stories for teaching, high quality texts for storytelling in our story groups, key words and labels around the environment and modelling language.
We follow Talk 4 Writing strategies to enable children to become familiar with texts and stories, sequence events and learn new vocabulary. We teach the children to read and write by delivering daily phonics sessions through the Little Wandle scheme. Children are provided with a weekly decodable reading book that matches the sounds they have been taught. Children are encouraged to read at home daily and are read with three times a week in school.
To support our mathematics teaching we follow the First 4 Maths scheme of learning. Children in Nursery and Reception have a daily adult-led maths input. In addition, children in Reception take part in a daily Mastering Maths session to develop fluency, revisit key concepts and address misconceptions.
High quality learning environments and meaningful interactions with adults, support children in developing mathematical thinking and discussion.
Impact
Through a creative, child-led and well-planned curriculum, happy and engaged children leave the Early Years with the skills and knowledge they need to support the next stage of their learning. Skills such as confidence, listening and responding, problem solving and resilience.
As part of our practice we:
- Provide a balanced curriculum, based on the EYFS, across all areas of learning.
- Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. We provide early intervention for those children who require additional support
- Work in partnership with parents, carers and families
- Work in partnership with other agencies
- Plan high quality challenging learning experiences, based on the individual child, informed by observation and assessment
- Provide opportunities for children to engage in activities that are adult-initiated and child-initiated, supported and extended by the adult
- Provide a secure and safe learning environment indoors and out
- Support children’s development in SMSC & understanding of British Values
Parents as Partners and the Wider context
We strive to create and maintain partnership with parents and carers as we recognise that, together, we can have a significant impact on a child’s learning. We welcome and actively encourage parents to participate confidently in their child’s education and care in numerous ways.
Working with other services and organisations is integral to our practice in order to meet the needs of our children.
We draw on our links with the community to enrich children’s experiences by taking them on visits and inviting members of the community (including parents and grandparents) into our setting.
