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Reception/EYFS
Research has never been clearer – a child’s early education lasts a lifetime.
Securing a successful start for our youngest children, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds is crucial. Our belief is that children learn best when they are motivated and engaged in learning that interests them. We believe that children learn from everything they do and that play provides the natural, imaginative and motivating contexts for children to learn about themselves, one another and the world around them.
Adults and children go into the play together, through modelling and questions children’s learning is supported and challenged. Children are given lots of opportunities for sustained play. A single moment of sustained play can afford children many developmental experiences at once, covering multiple areas of learning and reinforcing the characteristics of effective learning.
Our environments reflect the children in the class, providing awe and wonder within a nurturing ethos, and providing activities and resources planned to reflect the children’s interests and needs. We develop a sense of pride and desire to succeed in all children by developing positive relationships and celebrating their learning. We have developed a culture where children learn from each other and help each other to be the best they can be.
Our children leave us confident, independent learners who are not afraid to take risks. They have developed a range of transferable skills to support them as they continue their journey as lifelong learners.
Our Curriculum:
We plan an exciting and challenging curriculum based on our observation of children’s needs, interests, and stages of development across the seven areas of learning to enable the children to achieve the early learning goals.
All the seven areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected
Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting, children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and flourish. These three areas are the prime areas:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children are also supported through the four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Within each of these areas, and throughout our continuous provision, we will reflect upon and ensure each child has the opportunity to learn and develop through the Department of Education’s ‘Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning’, which 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.
Children's development across these areas are met through a curriculum that is well designed to meet the children's interests through a themed approach.
Assessment:
Ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning and development processes.
Accurate assessment of a child is at the heart of any decision regarding their learning. Adults observe and track children’s learning to ensure they are making progress and the practice reflects individual children’s needs.
Within the first 6 weeks of your child's time in reception, staff will administer the Reception Baseline Assessment
(RBA). More information on this is available below.Reception Baseline testing information leaflet
Through regular observations and interactions practitioners gain fundamental knowledge of a child's achievements within the 7 areas of learning and are able to then use this information to identify and plan for individualised next steps. Throughout the year there will be continuous assessment, that we use to inform the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, which is completed at the end of the academic year.
Our environments reflect the children within them and offer a broad and balanced range of child-led and adult-led activities.
Resources offer children the opportunity to apply their learning. Children are free to select the resources and materials they want to use, whether they want to work on their own or with friends; and whether they want to do so inside or outdoors. There is no predetermined outcome in mind.
Children’s successes are celebrated with all children having learning on display. The learning spaces support children’s learning through their interest.
Continuous Provision
Continuous provision is the consistent, daily availability of resources and learning environments—both indoors and outdoors—that allows children in early years settings to explore, play, and learn independently.
Both our indoor and outdoor spaces are carefully organised into areas of provision, each equipped with high-quality resources providing endless opportunities for exploration, helping children to revisit and build on what they already know while also encouraging them to discover new ideas.
To keep learning exciting, we regularly enhance these spaces with new resources and challenges that reflect the children’s interests, support specific areas of development, and link to the themes we are exploring together. This ensures that children are always engaged, motivated, and making meaningful connections in their learning.
Continuous Provision is extremely important in the Early Years setting. Carefully planned continuous provision will enable children to learn skills, will challenge their thinking and help them to embed concepts. It should also provide the context for a variety of learning conversations between children and adults with rich opportunities for modelling and extending speech and vocabulary. It is within this learning environment that the children will also develop key learning attributes.
We strive to create and maintain partnership with parents and carers as we recognise that together, we can have a significant impact on your child’s learning.
We welcome and encourage parents to participate confidently in their child’s education and care through effective communication, share the learning sessions, reading records, home reading and daily check-ins on the door.
We also use a range of communication tools to keep parents informed and involved. Parent Gateway allows parents to book school meals in advance and make payments to the school, while Arbor is used to communicate important information and notices to parents.