EYFS
EYFS Intent
At Walworth Primary School we place great value on the development of children as individuals and providing them with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them for the challenges in Key Stage One and beyond. Our aim in the EYFS is to build strong foundations in learning and development that reflect the broad range of skills, knowledge and attitudes children need as foundations for good future progress. Additional to this we recognise and plan to include learning opportunities that support the agreed four key drivers of emotional awareness, citizenship, independence and life experiences / understanding.
Our curriculum is therefore the cultural capital we know our pupils need taking into account their special educational needs and outcomes on their Educational, Health and Care plans (EHCP), so that they can acquire the knowledge and skills for life in preparation for adulthood (PfA). They can only do this if we embed the right habits for learning, connecting both school and the required curriculum through characteristics of Effective Pedagogy – Play and Exploration, Active Learning, Creative and Critical Thinking, Reading Opportunities and been exposed to Key Vocabulary.
Many of our pupils arrive well below national expectations for their age and a high proportion come from disadvantaged backgrounds and with complex needs. We develop children’s knowledge by interconnecting all areas of learning and development by the following characteristics:-
We teach them how to listen, speak and meet the high expectations for behaviour by working together and being kind. As such, we prioritise personal, social, and emotional development and communication and language.
Our enabling environment and warm, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link learning to their play and exploration. As the pupils move through Reception, we invest time and energy into helping pupils set and reflect on their own goals by aiming high and developing a love of reading, writing and number.
Delivering a holistic curriculum which maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences as well as promoting the unique child by offering continuous provision to support extended periods of play, and sustained thinking, following children’s interests and ideas. We value imagination and creativity and seek to create a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning.
We achieve this by creating and providing a vibrant continuous indoor and outdoor provision, alongside trips, visits, and regular complimentary experiences, such as horse riding, via a special riding school in Escomb, Bishop Auckland and swimming at our local recreation centre. Specialist teaching support for music and PE mean that children continually receive high quality teaching and learning opportunities from external providers.
Our investment in specialist therapeutic services such as CAMHS for mental health and Future Steps for occupational therapy mean that children continually receive high quality onsite provision and support in relation to outcomes set in children’s EHCP.
Our newest initiative which re-enforces our ethos of supporting children with their mental health and wellbeing is the DEN. This carefully and thoughtfully prepared setting is led by experienced staff working to meet the individual needs of each child. A gentle, nurturing environment supports children as they begin to understand and regulate their emotions and behaviour that challenges.
EYFS Implementation
Pupils learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities. The timetable is carefully structured so that children have rigorous directed teaching in English, maths, and phonics everyday with regular ‘family group time’ sessions to focus on PSED. These sessions are followed by focussed 1:1 work where each child is given the opportunity to work with a member of staff to develop their individual targets; both academic and emotional regulation. This focused time means the teacher can systematically check for understanding, identify, and respond to misconceptions quickly and provide real-time verbal feedback and support which results in a strong impact on the acquisition of new learning.
Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the variety of experiences carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and equal importance is given to learning in both areas. The curriculum is planned in a cross-curricular way to enable all aspects of the children’s development including understanding the world and expressive art and design as well as to promote sustained thinking and active learning. Intellectual preparation of ‘child-led’ planning sessions occur weekly, or as required, and are led by the phase leader L. Curry, in partnership with the class team; and may also include children up to and including years 2 and 3. During these sessions the teachers reflect on three questions: “What do our focus individuals need to learn or are curious about? What embedded learning have we observed in this area? What can be changed to exploit the learning and interests of the children/individuals in this area?” In this way, we ensure that the children have agency over their environment and that the provision leads to depth of learning across the curriculum.
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. Children follow the rigorous and highly successful Read Write Inc. program to develop their phonological knowledge and instil a love for reading at a young age. Once the child has a sound knowledge of phonics and can begin to read with increased fluency they will move onto our whole school Rapid Reading scheme. Using the highly successful and sequential Read Write Inc phonics programme, will provide the children with the best opportunity to pass the Year One statutory Phonics Screening Test. In line with the rest of Walworth Primary, Reception has a curriculum encompassed in care, respect, emotional wellness to promote and support mental health. This approach ensures pupils can experience the full curriculum.
We follow the White Rose Maths scheme in Reception with an emphasis on studying key skills of number, calculation, and shape so that pupils develop deep understanding and the acquisition of mathematical language. Pupils learn through practical games and tasks using concrete manipulatives which are then rehearsed and applied to their own learning during exploration (maths area). These early mathematical experiences are carefully designed to help pupils remember the content they have been taught and to support them with integrating their new knowledge across the breadth of their experiences and into larger concepts. The White Rose maths scheme is a whole school approach so enables the child to be exposed to the correct vocabulary at a young age.
Our inclusive approach means that all children learn together but we have a range of additional intervention and support to enhance and scaffold children who may not be reaching their potential or moving on children who are doing very well. Staff also use Future Steps Earth Programme, a handwriting programme to compliment OT sessions/assessments which have highlighted specific issues such as gross/fine motor skills problems. This programme can also provide individual intervention techniques. The characteristics of effective learning are viewed as an integral part of all areas of learning and are reflected in our observations of children.
Our regular monitoring of teaching and learning includes appraisal, target setting, coaching and feedback from the phase leader so that teachers/learning support assistants develop a good subject knowledge and are effectively supported. We tailor our staff PD to be early years specific and are focused on moderating outcomes across the phase so that every member of our team feels confident in making accurate judgements about where individual pupils are and their next steps for learning.
EYFS Impact
Our curriculum needs to meet the needs of our children, including our disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, so we spend time looking at and evaluating how children are learning. This is achieved through talking to children, looking at their work, observing their learning experiences and analysing data and progress by year group, class groups, and individuals. Every member of staff uses ongoing observational assessment to identify children’s starting points and plan experiences which ensure progress. During each assessment window, three times a year, Key workers (Teacher and LSAs) update the progress children have made onto the IASEND Tracker which allows us to assess the impact of teaching and evaluate whether it has been enough. Evidence of children’s learning including observations, work samples, photographs and contributions from parents are kept subject specific books; Maths, English, Phonics, Science, History, Geography alongside ‘This is me journals’ which children use to reflect on their progress through Children voice and during 1:1 time discuss the learning opportunities they have experienced. In-line with the updated foundation stage statutory guidance, teacher’s professional judgements are also valued and considered.
Our curriculum and its delivery ensure that children make good progress. Children in EYFS on average, arrive with much lower starting points than national. During their time in our EYFS, children make a good level of progress in relation to their starting points. We believe our high standards are due to the enriched play-based exploration, therapeutic support and the rigour of assessment and teaching the children have as they move through reception to a success year 1 transition. Early intervention is paramount and the staff are highly trained in spotting and responding to any barriers to learning.
