Clowne Infant & Nursery School
‘We take our children on a journey of discovery, giving them aspirations and engaging them in lifelong learning’
Welcome
EYFS
Early Years Foundation Stage
"play is the work of the child"
Maria Montessori
Intent: What are we trying to achieve?
The intent is for our EYFS curriculum to provide each child with the confidence and skills to enter the next stages in their education with a positive mind-set. We will do this by building on the skills and knowledge children already hold, providing inclusive learning with context and experiences that excite and motivate them.
We want to engage our pupils in a stimulating environment which is led by the children yet carefully organised and managed by the adults. We intend to provide a language rich, responsive curriculum which adapts to the needs of the children, develops high levels of engagement, curiosity and collaboration and fosters the confidence within children to explore new ideas, take risks and problem solve. We will nurture a positive sense of self and support children to become independent, kind and thoughtful citizens who are equipped to manage their own behaviour and respect the opinions and values of themselves and others.
Our Vision for the EYFS at Clowne Infant and Nursery School
In Nursery and Reception, we take children on a journey of discovery, during which we nurture their individual interests, needs and development. We deliver our inclusive EYFS curriculum through a combination of high quality, language rich teaching interactions and enriched indoor and outdoor environments. Our play based curriculum incorporates adult modelling, independent exploration, observation, guided learning and direct teaching. Our plans are flexible to allow us to respond quickly to children’s new interests and/or needs and we constantly reflect on each child’s development and adjust our practice and plans accordingly.
Implementation: How will we achieve this?
Our play based provision covers all seven areas of the EYFS curriculum and uses Development Matters 2021 as a guide. It is underpinned by a complementary relationship between adult led, adult-initiated and child led learning. We use a progressive topic based approach, loosely planning out the skills and knowledge we want our children to gain each term – then adapting these as and when required to meet the ever changing needs and interests of our children in a continuous cycle of observation, assessment and planning. We believe all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Whilst planning and guiding what children learn we consider the three Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning to ensure we provide opportunity for playing and exploring, active learning, creating and thinking critically. In line with the rest of school we follow Twinkl Phonics and a mastery approach to teaching mathematics through White Rose/Mastering the Curriculum’.
The development of fundamental language skills are enhanced on a daily basis in both Nursery and Reception by the use of stories, non-fiction texts, poems, songs and rhymes. We carefully research and select texts to enrich all areas of learning within our curriculum, in conjunction with the Literacy Co-Ordinator. In addition to this we use the WellComm Communication and Language tool to support individual children with specific language and communication needs.
Personal, Social and Emotional wellbeing is of a high importance to us within the EYFS and we use numerous strategies to support this such as the use of a kindness bucket, calm corners, calm boxes, proud cloud achievements, a display space for each child and feelings boards (The Colour Monster).
We value parental relationships and use an online learning journal via 'Class Dojo’ to record, track and celebrate progress made by each child. We encourage parents to contribute to this learning journey and add updates to share what we have been learning in school so that they feel part of their child’s education. Parents are invited in to school on numerous occasions throughout the year, such as craft days, celebration evenings and phonics workshops to further strengthen the home/school relationship.
Impact: What difference will this make?
By the end of the EYFS we will ensure that:
- Children are able to work both independently and collaboratively.
- Children have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the next step of their learning journey.
- Strong bonds are created between school and our families.
- Children have strong relationships – both with each other and staff within school.
- Children have the ability to communicate their interests, wants and needs.
- Children have a strong sense of self and are respectful to themselves, others and the rules within which we work.
Take a look at our plans for the children in Nursery and Reception this year.....
Mathematics in the EYFS