Principles and Aims
This policy aims to ensure that children access a broad and balanced curriculum that gives them the broad range of knowledge and skills needed for good progress through school and life. It aims to do this through:
- Quality and consistency in teaching and learning so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind
- Close partnership working between practitioners and with parents/carers
- Ensuring every child is included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti- discriminatory practice
- Focusing on the development of independence within a caring, secure environment
- All staff having consistently high expectation encouraging children to develop to the full; socially, physically, intellectually and emotionally
Children learn and develop in the areas below
Prime areas:
- Communication and language
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Physical development
The prime areas are strengthened and applied through 4 specific areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Children develop Spanish Communication and language skills - They are taught approximately in English for approximately 85% to 90% of the time, the remaining time comprising Spanish lessons.
Targets and Outcomes:
Allchildrentransitionsuccessfullyandconfidentlytothenextstageintheireducation
Definitions and Glossary
EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage
Related Policies/ Appendices and Other Documents
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following documents:
- Safeguarding Policy
- Intimate care procedures
- Curriculum plan
- Early Years behaviour policy
- The Statutory Framework for the Early years Foundation Stage 2021
- Birth to 5 Matters: Non-Statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2021
Communicating and Storing Policy
This policy will be stored in the school shared policy drive, community site and the principle and aims will be shared on the public website.Roles and Responsibilities:
The school Senior Management will ensure:
- our Early Years setting follows the curriculum framework as outlined in the 2021 Statutory framework of the EYFS.
The Head teacher will:
- ensure the necessary resources are in place to ensure compliance of this policy.
Family Leaders
- monitor the quality of education and experience of the children in their family
Teaching and Learning Leaders will:
- ensure curriculum objectives are being taught and met in a consistent manner across the Early Years settings in their Teaching and Learning Areas.
- provide up to date curriculum information and resources to teams.
- monitor teaching and learning.
Students
- will be unique and learn in different ways, develop at different rates and will make progress to the next stage of their education.
Parents and Guardians
- will recognise that children learn and develop well when there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents/careers.
- will attend parent / teacher meetings.
- will attend parent workshops and sessions to learn how they can best support their children
- will keep up to date with their child’s progress and development through regular contact with the class teacher
- will keep up to date with their child’s progress by reading medium term plans and weekly newsletters which highlight the main learning objectives of the week and by looking at observations of the children on their individual profiles at the end of the year.
- will keep the school up to date with any issues which could affect a child’s learning orbehaviour.
*Please note, due to Covid measures Parents will be invited to virtual class sessions as well as virtual parent meetings.
Teaching staff
- plan activities with the characteristics of effective teaching and learning as included in the EYFS focussing strongly on the 3prime areas.
- use the Statutory Frame work for the EYFS and the Birth to 5 Matters to identify next steps for each child to deepen, challenge and extend their learning.
- will take into account the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care consulting if extra support is required.
- highlight the importance of a child’s attitude to learning and their ability to play, explore and think critically about the world around them by giving the children opportunities to the different ways that children learn and include these in their practice:
- Play and Explore – children investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’
- Active Learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
- Create and Think Critically – children have and develop their own ideas; make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.
- allow learning to take place through both child led and adult initiated play
- enable children to access this whole range of opportunities as they learn from watching and imitating others.
- give children the opportunity to explore and investigate with access to activities both indoor and outdoors (Outdoor learning is equally important as it allows for the development of gross motor skills, space to move freely, take calculated risks and engage in cooperative play).
- as children grow older and as their development allows, the balance gradually shifts towards more adult led activities to help children prepare for Year 1.
- introduce phonics informally from the third term of Nursery and then daily from Reception onwards.
Wellbeing & Safeguarding Coordinator will:
- be consulted on all matters related to Child protection
- our safeguarding and wellbeing procedures are outlined in our child protection policy
Counsellors will:
- liaise with Senior Leaders
- meet parents
- lead workshops for parents
- lead training for staff
School Board will:
- approve and oversee this policy
Monitoring date: 1/09/2022