Early Years
The Early Years are a crucial starting point in children’s education. Early child development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour, and health. The experiences children have in early childhood shape their capacity to learn, build relationships and respond to daily challenges.
We aim to inspire and nurture every child to become independent, confident lifelong learners within a happy, safe and secure environment.
Early Adopter School
We have started this school year with an exciting change for our Early Years Foundation Stage. In September 2021 the Government will release a new document of Curriculum Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Our school has opted in to be an Early Adopter of this new guidance and will be piloting the 'New Early Learning Goals'.
Early adopter information letter
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| Early adopter letter.pdf | Download |
Select the links below for more information on the Framework and Development Matters.
The EYFS Framework
There are seven areas of learning and development that help to shape educational provision in Early Years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum enables our children to develop competency and skills not just academically but also socially, emotionally and physically.
The three prime areas which are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning are;
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
Children are also supported in the four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
The characteristics of effective learning
These are a key element in the Early Year Foundation Stage. They detail the ways in which children should be learning from their environment, experiences and activities. They underpin learning and development across all areas and support children to remain an effective and motivated learner.
The 3 characteristics of effective learning are:
• 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.
Our learning environment is made up of areas which reflect all areas of the curriculum. Here children can make their own choices, encouraging them to play and explore. They can be active learners and are able to create and think critically. We operate an indoor/ outdoor learning experience for our young children, where they can move freely between both areas. Links are made between both learning environments, to ensure that all children receive a rich and varied curriculum that supports their learning and development.
Please see the class pages for more information about what the children have been doing in Early Years.
Reading
We teach reading through the scheme Read, Write Inc. Please see the leaflet below for more information.
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| RWI booklet for EY parents_.pdf | Download |