"I promise you every day, your child will learn something. Some days they will bring it home in their hands, some days they will bring it home in their heads and some days they will bring it home in their hearts." Valarie Welk
Early Years
Intent
At Swain House Primary School, we will:
Provide a curriculum that offers a range of first hand experiences and is meaningful, memorable and ensures that our children are ready for the next stage of their education
Provide a learning environment that puts stories and early language at the heart of it
Offer experiences which build on children’s existing knowledge and understanding in order to challenge, stimulate and extend their learning
Ensure our curriculum excites our children in order to encourage and develop their natural desire, interest and motivation to learn
Ensure quality and consistency in teaching and learning so that every child makes the best progress they can
Provide a secure foundation for future learning so that our children leave us as happy, confident and skillful communicators who are curious about the world around them
Intent
At Swain House Primary School, we will:
Provide a curriculum that offers a range of first hand experiences and is meaningful, memorable and ensures that our children are ready for the next stage of their education
Provide a learning environment that puts stories and early language at the heart of it
Offer experiences which build on children’s existing knowledge and understanding in order to challenge, stimulate and extend their learning
Ensure our curriculum excites our children in order to encourage and develop their natural desire, interest and motivation to learn
Ensure quality and consistency in teaching and learning so that every child makes the best progress they can
Provide a secure foundation for future learning so that our children leave us as happy, confident and skillful communicators who are curious about the world around them
Implementation
Impact
- Our curriculum will follow the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
- We will introduce four themes with cross-curricular links and develop a wide range of vocabulary which will underpin learning whilst providing flexibility to follow children’s interests and ideas
- The opportunity to learn by playing and exploring, being active and thinking critically and creatively will take place both indoors and outdoors. Children will be able to make their own decisions about where they want to learn and teachers will ensure that there are opportunities for this learning
- Through our knowledge of the children, we will plan exciting, engaging and memorable activities that will move learning forward
- We will ensure there is a balance of whole class, guided, adult-directed and child-initiated play activities dependent on the nature and needs of the children
- Sustained shared thinking will support staff to gain a deeper understanding of children’s knowledge and understanding
- We will plan visits and have visitors in school to enhance learning and make it memorable
Impact
- From their own starting points, all children will make the best possible progress and attainment across the Early Years. Children will be challenged to exceed their limits
- Through our story led approach to learning, our children will develop social skills, speaking and listening skills, cooperation and resilience
- Through our memorable and meaningful learning opportunities and experiences, children will be curious and show enthusiasm for learning which will continue throughout their school life and beyond
- Children are confident to take risks and discuss their learning with adults, drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing
- Our children leave Early Years with a wider sense of the world around them and can link this to their new learning
Early Years Curriculum
Early Years
We follow The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum to teach children in Nursery and Reception. This sets the standards that must be met to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. The Early Years curriculum consists of seven areas of learning which are split into three prime and four specific areas. Prime areas are fundamental and develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences. They play a significant role in encouraging children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
Prime Areas
Early Years
We follow The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum to teach children in Nursery and Reception. This sets the standards that must be met to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. The Early Years curriculum consists of seven areas of learning which are split into three prime and four specific areas. Prime areas are fundamental and develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences. They play a significant role in encouraging children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
Prime Areas
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
The specific areas include essential skills and knowledge. They provide the range of experiences and opportunities for children to broaden their knowledge and skills.
Specific Areas
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
The following characteristics of effective teaching and learning are an integral part of our Early Years planning and provision:
- 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.
Curriculum Planning
Core Stories
We have chosen ‘core stories’ to read with our children in Early Years. These books are ones that our children love to re-visit again and again, and they support language development. Through sharing and revisiting these books, our children gain a love of reading and become very familiar with these known texts so that they can remember and re-tell them. We have chosen fun, repetitive books, which are easy for the children to join in with, so that the experience of reading becomes interactive and the children begin to learn the story as they are read to. After a while, we find that our children learn the books word for word, and this gives them great confidence as early readers.
Parental Support
The relationships between our staff and parents is a vital part of our aims in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We will often share links to important documents and ways in which parents can support with their child's learning at home. We also send a weekly text message out to parents and carers about ways that they can support their child's learning in the Early Years. We also aim to invite our parents into school each half term for a stay-and-play session that is tailored to meet the needs of our children. This allows parents and carers to see their child in the provision and also learn about way in which they can support in specifically focussed areas like phonics or maths.
Here are some helpful links for parents and carers of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage: