EYFS
Intent
In the Early Years at Goldfield Infants’ and Nursery School, we believe that every pupil is unique. We ensure all children have the opportunity to develop and learn in a safe and nurturing environment where play and learning is combined. It is our intent to create a curriculum that mirrors the children’s lives as well as provide them with a window onto worlds that they do not know about yet. Through practical learning experiences, we strive to equip children with a love of learning and a natural curiosity. We are committed to giving our pupils the best possible start to their school life, teaching those skills that ensure their well- being now and success in the future.
Our intent is to:
Establish a stimulating environment that provides exciting opportunities, promotes challenge, exploration, adventure and a real love of learning.
Respond to children’s interests and use these to inform planning
Deliver a curriculum based on entitlement for all, that considers each child’s existing knowledge and experiences, alongside providing new rich and diverse learning opportunities
Give children opportunities to practise, revise and extend knowledge and skills in a consistent and stable environment
Through our core values (or learning superpowers – cooperation, perseverance, resourcefulness, reflectiveness), it is our intent to support the development of independent learners, equipped to work collaboratively with others, sustain and evolve activities, be resilient and able to reflect and adapt.
It is our intent that all children develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally in an environment that values all cultures, communities and people.
Ensure that all children will receive the teaching of early reading through systematic, synthetic phonics to learn to read words and simple sentences accurately by the end of Reception.
Ensure EYFS staff continue and build upon their professional development
Implementation
We begin by looking at the individual needs of our children taking account their different starting points. We then carefully develop our Curriculum which enables each child to follow their own learning journey. By planning intentional teaching opportunities in a developmentally appropriate way we ensure all children are learning skills and knowledge to prepare them for Year 1.
Through the “In the Moment” approach we learn about, understand and follow children’s interests. We provide opportunities throughout our EYFS curriculum to practise, revise and extend knowledge and skills taught to ensure children meet their next steps.
At Goldfield our curriculum is designed to ensure knowledge, skills and concepts are introduced, built on over time and revisited. As a team, we think carefully about the skills and knowledge we feel are important for the children to learn and be able to do by the end of Nursery and Reception. A number of curriculum ambitions have been developed which build on a sequence of skills that can be taught during child-initiated times or in adult small group sessions.
Impact
Early Years staff have expert knowledge of child development and understanding of play and progression.
Staff know the children well.
Children’s progress is at least good from their varied starting points
Children reach expected in the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception
Evidence of children’s achievements are recorded on ‘Focus Child’ sheets
Class teachers make formative assessments which inform in the moment or future planning and ensure that all pupils build on their current knowledge and skills at a good pace
Judgements are moderated both in school and externally with local schools
Children are ready to transition from the Early Years curriculum to the National Curriculum in Year 1
Children demonstrate curiosity, independence, resilience and other characteristics of effective learning