Early Years Foundation Stage

Intent

Our aim in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is to guide children on the beginning of their journey towards a life-long love of learning. The EYFS is all about the ‘whole child’ which means that developing turn taking, listening skills and friendships are seen as vital skills alongside the core skills of reading, writing, phonics and maths. We aim to offer a broad, balanced and enriching curriculum for our children. The Development Matters objectives and the Early Learning Goals statements are taught alongside Bradford Academy EYFS skills. This ensures we have a ‘fit for purpose’ curriculum, centred around what we strongly believe a Bradford Academy pupil needs as they take their first steps on their educational journey.

Implementation

In EYFS we love to play! As children move through our key stage, we will use our expertise to develop and guide children’s play to help them learn. In our 2-year-old room (Tiny Seeds), circle times are used to encourage speech, listening skills and turn taking. We listen to stories, sing songs, learn nursery rhymes and explore basic number concepts. ICAN forms a vital part of day-to-day teaching in Tiny Seeds; sessions are used throughout the week to encourage speech and listening skills.

In our Nursery (Very Busy Spiders), these circle times and key learning focuses continue and are fine-tuned so we can be sure that children are ready to begin their school journey in Reception. Early talk boost intervention is provided to children who need support developing their speech, language and communication skills.

In Reception, children will have adult-led sessions in phonics, maths and literacy which last around 15 minutes each. The length of phonics sessions is increased as children cement their knowledge of letter sounds and move on to reading and writing words. We use Read Write Inc; the program has a great impact and we see amazing progress very quickly during the autumn term.

Much of our EYFS curriculum is centred around developing a love of books and reading for pleasure. We promote the joy of reading in a variety of ways such as books in our provision areas, daily reading, reading in provision, bringing in books from home and voting for our favourite books to share. We love to learn from non-fiction books; our ‘sticky knowledge’ is developing all the time thanks to all the things we can learn from books.

In EYFS, our children love to be outside. Children can spend much of their day outside enjoying a variety of activities such as water play, large construction, gardening and nature exploration.

We work closely with families, for example through stay and play sessions, our open door policy on a morning and by using Tapestry to share learning. These links are vital to ensuring children are happy and ready to learn during their time at school.   All children in EYFS have a Tapestry account. This is where teachers and parents record children’s new and significant learning achievements throughout the year. This evidence can vary from painting a picture to some writing or outdoor number work. We are always on the look out to challenge children in their learning and move them on. All EYFS classes also have floor books; these are used to share learning in topic, maths and a variety of other areas of learning. All children’s photos, speech and examples of learning are included. This ensures the contributions of all our children are valued

Impact

Our aim is for children to have choice and freedom to learn in a way which suits them best whether this be outside, in the sand tray or at the writing table. Our adults spend the majority of the day in provision play. This means they are playing with the children, challenging their learning and encouraging them to be active learners. We carefully increase the amount of time children spend on adult-led focussed tasks as the children move through early years. Children who are happy and having fun will always prove to be the best learners! We are very proud of the number of children who leave Reception having made good or outstanding progress during their time with us.

Curriculum Action Points

EYFS curriculum action points

Curriculum Intent

The EYFS framework https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2 is the statutory guidance which we work to.  The documentation sets out what the EYFS seeks to provide;

  • quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind.
  • a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly.
  • partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
  • equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

The documentation also outlines the four guiding principles to which all EYFS settings should work to;

  • Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
  • Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. 
  • Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
  • Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

At Bradford Academy, we work extremely hard towards meeting these principles in our EYFS classrooms.

Assessment

Children are taught mainly through play, the amount of adult-led learning time gradually increases as children move through the EYFS. Children are taught across 17 areas of learning which fall under the following headings;

  • communication and language
  • physical development
  • personal, social and emotional development
  • literacy
  • mathematics
  • understanding the world
  • expressive arts and design

Children are assessed in these areas at the end of their Reception year. This judgement determines whether children are working at the expected level or below the expected level in each area. Children are not expected to complete any formal assessments or tests at this time. The decisions are based on teacher knowledge alongside evidence collected throughout the year. Children in Reception also complete the statutory baseline assessment. This takes place within the first 6 weeks of the children joining Reception. Whilst children in Tiny Seeds and Nursery are not formally assessed, staff do collect data at regular points throughout the year. This supports with monitoring progress and ensuring the children do not develop gaps in their learning. This data is used to inform future planning and learning opportunities across EYFS. Whilst our data is important to us, teacher and practitioner knowledge is paramount. We pride ourselves on how well we know each of our children individually; therefore, we are always striving to meet the individual needs of all our children.