Early Years Foundation Stage
Curriculum Intent
Throughout our Early Years setting we intend to develop a lifelong love for learning. We support the development of the values, behaviours and attitudes children need to be successful learners and provide opportunities where children experience a challenging and enjoyable curriculum, based around their needs and interests. The importance of our school values underpin our teaching and behaviour for learning strategies to ensure children feel part of our school community and become successful independent learners.
Our school values aim to give our children opportunities to become experts in:
- Respect
- Kindness
- Positivity
- Perseverance
- Community spirit
- Compassion
Curriculum Implementation
Within our setting, every child is recognised as a unique individual and we celebrate and welcome difference within our community. Our curriculum is designed to provide a balanced range of varied learning experiences, which include both child-initiated and adult-led learning through continuous play and small-group activities.
Our carefully planned curriculum considers our pupils interests and life experiences, and along with the Development Matters curriculum provides an exciting and ambitious learning environment. We begin our journey in education by learning how to communicate with each other respectfully, develop healthy relationships to last a lifetime, and build up the physical skills to support development across the rest of the curriculum.
Within Development Matters, there are seven areas of learning and development. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These consist of the:
Prime Areas:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
Specific Areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Underpinning the curriculum are the ‘Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning’. These three areas describe the behaviours children use in order to learn. We ensure activities and quality adult interactions support the following characteristics:
- Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.
- Active Learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements.
- Creating and Thinking Critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Throughout their time in Preschool and Reception, our children learn by doing things for themselves, exploring and investigating, watching and listening, talking and discussing, and creating and communicating.
At Wooburn Green Primary School we have a distinctive Early Years pedagogy which includes:
- offering choices
- learning together, with and from others
- listening
- open-ended experiences and resources
- playfulness and joyfulness
- a generous learning environment with a plethora of meaningful first-hand experiences (Swann et al 2012).
Impact:
Our pupils make excellent progress throughout our Early Years Foundation Stage and as a result, leave Reception as confident and independent members of the school community ready for the next stage in their educational journey. They possess the knowledge and skills for a lifelong love of learning and can demonstrate a sound understanding of our school values by:
- Having and showing respect for all
- Being kind and considerate
- Being positive members of society
- Showing perseverance in everything they do
- Displaying true community spirit
- Having compassion for those around them