Early Years Curriculum

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) begins from birth for any children who attend a nursery, pre-school, or are cared for by a childminder. As they join our Early Years, they continue to be part of the EYFS until the end of the Reception year.

Our team are passionate about promoting a ‘Child Led’ approach to learning. We believe that children learn best through a balance of child-initiated play and adult led activities. We support our children in becoming self-motivated learners who embrace challenge and are inspired by the adventure of learning.

The Foundation Stage Curriculum

By the end of Reception children should have attained the ELG (Early Learning Goal) in all seven areas of learning. The seven areas of learning are split into the prime and specific areas to ensure that each child is exposed to a bespoke, broad and balanced curriculum.

The prime areas are:

Communication and language: “…giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

Physical development: “…opportunities to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement…to make healthy choices in relation to food.”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

Personal, social and emotional development: “…to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings…”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

In addition to these there are also four specific areas, these are:

Literacy: “…encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write…”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

As part of Literacy Arboretum Primary follow the Read Write Inc phonics programme.

Mathematics: “…to develop and improve their skills in counting, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces and measures.”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

Understanding the world: “…providing opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

Expressive arts and design: “…to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials…providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through…art, music, movement, dance, role-play and design and technology.”

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

The curriculum content is presented in a way that is appropriate to how very young children learn. It includes adult-directed and child selected activities and is closely monitored to ensure that your child takes advantage of the broad curriculum that is offered to them. We aim to ensure that your child has access to a positive, motivating and secure environment in which to develop their skills.

Curriculum Intent

At Turnditch, our Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is designed to promote and encourage all children to be confident, inquisitive and independent happy learners.

We aim to ensure that we provide all children with the best start to their education that enables them to fulfil their full potential and achieve future success regardless of their various starting points and backgrounds by creating a holistic and inclusive curriculum. We ensure that all children’s individual needs are met through careful planning and assessment, identifying and addressing any issues and implementing early intervention or additional support if required.

At Turnditch we recognise every child as a unique individual, and we acknowledge and promote children’s interests to provide them with the opportunities to follow their imagination and creativity. We celebrate the differences in our school community, and always strive to promote and instill a love for learning.

Curriculum Implementation

At Turnditch, we ensure that all children experience the seven areas of learning set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework through a balance of adult lead teaching and child initiated play.

There are seven areas of learning and development.

The prime areas are: –

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Physical Development

• Communication and Language

The Specific areas are: –

• Mathematics

• Literacy

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts & Design

We place a great emphasis on learning through play and direct practical experiences led by the interests of our children. Learning is organised so that the curriculum is delivered through a combination of adult led activities and continuous provision opportunities, encouraging children to develop their learning independently through discovery, exploration, curiosity and challenge.

We recognise that children have a thirst for new experiences and knowledge, and should be provided with opportunities to engage their inquisitive minds. Therefore, we provide stimulating and motivating continuous indoor and outdoor provision, that follow children’s interests, to support learners in investigating and developing their skills.

Whilst the children’s interests are at the heart of our curriculum, we ensure that we provide all pupils with a broad range of experiences and opportunities covering a variety of festivals and celebrations giving them the cultural capital they need for future success.

British Values play a fundamental part of our curriculum and everything we do; we focus on promoting the more general concepts within the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand that the children’s development within these areas is key to promoting the values in the long term.

At Turnditch we believe all children learn best when they feel secure, safe and happy. Our teaching and practice is led by the four guiding principles.

The Principles are;

That every child is unique

That every child can learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
That children learn and develop best in enabling environments
That children develop and learn in different ways

The Characteristics of Effective Learning are threaded through, and central, to all learning in the EYFS curriculum. Emphasis is placed upon playing and learning, active learning and thinking critically.

Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the variety of experiences, which is carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and is planned in a cross-curricular way to enable all aspects of the children’s development

Curriculum Impact

At Turnditch, we aim to ensure that all children across the EYFS achieve their full potential by providing a broad and balanced curriculum. Our creative and balanced provision of learning experiences enables our children to develop as happy, motivated, and independent learners. We strive to ensure each child makes a very good level of progress through to the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception from their individual starting points. All children get the best possible start to their school life and develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as they continue their learning journey into Key Stag One.

To ensure that we are providing all children with a first class high quality early education, we use the Seven Key Features of Effective Practice.

The Seven Key Features of Effective Practice are;

The best for every child
High quality care
The curriculum: What we want the children to learn
Pedagogy: Helping children to learn
Assessment: Checking what children have learnt
Self-regulation and executive function
Partnership with Parents

See the Seven Key Features of Effective Practice set out in detail below.

The Best for Every Child	High-Quality Care	The Curriculum: What We Want Children to Learn	Pedagogy: Helping Children to Learn
• All children deserve to have an equal chance of success. • High-quality early education is good for all children. It is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. • When they start school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are, on average, four months behind their peers. We need to do more to narrow that gap. • Children who have lived through difficult experiences can begin to grow stronger when they experience high-quality early education and care. • High-quality early education and care is inclusive. Children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. • All children promptly receive any extra help they need, so they can progress well in their learning.	• The child’s experience must always be central to the thinking of every practitioner. • Babies, toddlers and young children thrive when they are loved and well cared for. • High-quality care is consistent. Every practitioner needs to enjoy spending time with young children. • Effective practitioners are responsive to children and babies. They notice when a baby looks towards them and gurgles, and respond with pleasure. • Practitioners understand that toddlers are learning to be independent, so they will sometimes get frustrated. • Practitioners know that starting school, and all the other transitions in the early years, are big steps for small children.	• The curriculum is a top-level plan of everything the early years setting wants the children to learn. • Planning to help every child to develop their language is vital. • The curriculum needs to be ambitious. Careful sequencing will help children to build their learning over time. • Young children’s learning is often driven by their interests. Plans need to be flexible. • Babies and young children do not develop in a fixed way. Their development is like a spider’s web with many strands, not a straight line. • Depth in early learning is much more important than covering lots of things in a superficial way.	• Children are powerful learners. Every child can make progress in their learning, with the right help. • Effective pedagogy is a mix of different approaches. Children learn through play, by adults modelling, by observing each other and through guided learning and direct teaching. • Practitioners carefully organise enabling environments for high-quality play. Sometimes, they make time and space available for children to invent their own play. Sometimes, they join in to sensitively support and extend children’s learning. • Children in the early years also learn through group work, when practitioners guide their learning. • Older children need more of this guided learning. • A well-planned learning environment, indoors and outside, is an important aspect of pedagogy.
Assessment: Checking What Children Have Learnt	Self-Regulation and Executive Function	Partnership with Parents	Further information
• Assessment is about noticing what children can do and what they know. It is not about lots of data and evidence. • Effective assessment requires practitioners to understand child development. • Practitioners also need to be clear about what they want children to know and be able to do. • Accurate assessment can highlight whether a child has a special educational need and needs extra help. • Before assessing children, it’s a good idea to think about whether the assessments will be useful. • Assessment should not take practitioners away from the children for long periods of time	Executive function includes the child’s ability to: • hold information in mind • focus their attention • think flexibly • inhibit impulsive behaviour These abilities contribute to the child’s growing ability to self-regulate: • concentrate their thinking • plan what to do next • monitor what they are doing and adapt • regulate strong feelings • be patient for what they want • bounce back when things get difficult • Language development is central to self-regulation: children use language to guide their actions and plans. Pretend play gives many opportunities for children to focus their thinking, persist and plan ahead.	• It is important for parents and early years settings to have a strong and respectful partnership. This sets the scene for children to thrive in the early years. • This includes listening regularly to parents and giving parents clear information about their children’s progress. • The help that parents give their children at home has a very significant impact on their learning. • Some children get much less support for their learning at home than others. By knowing and understanding all the children and their families, settings can offer extra help to those who need it most. • It is important to encourage all parents to chat, play and read with their children.	Develo Development Matters – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)pment Matters – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Learning Through Play

The Foundation Stage area provides stimulating, exciting and well-organised resources for your child to use and explore at their own pace. The resources are easily accessible and presented in areas, which are referred to as Continuous Provision areas.

The following Continuous Provision areas are provided:

Role Play
Water
Reading Area
Malleable/Creative
Construction
Writing
Mathematics
Small world
Outdoor play
Home corner/ Café

Play is an effective and valuable approach to learning and children put a great deal of effort into it. They often become absorbed and display high levels of concentration. Through their exploration, experimentation and discovery, various concepts are developed and formed. The curriculum is therefore planned and adapted to fit the needs, interests and learning styles of the children.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

In Reception a rich learning environment is provided where children are challenged to develop further and become independent learners. In order to achieve this we maximise the opportunities for the children to develop their characteristics of effective learning.

“The characteristics of effective learning describe factors which play a central role in a child’s learning and in becoming an effective learner”.

(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage)

They are:

Playing and exploring

Finding out and exploring
Using what they know in their play
Being willing to have a go

Active learning

Being involved and concentrating
Keeping on trying
Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

Creating and thinking critically

Having their own ideas
Using what they already know to learn new things
Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways

Online Learning Journal

In Reception, we use the Tapestry learning journal app to record evidence of learning for each child. We are able to share this with you as parents and carers, which provides a great home – school link and enables teachers and parents to be part of their child’s learning journey. You will receive your login details for Tapestry within the first 2 weeks on your child being in school.

https://tapestry.info/parents-carers.html

Mark Making & Handwriting

At Turnditch, we use the Little Wandle letter formation rhymes to ensure we are forming our letters correctly and starting at the correct starting point to write. We say the rhymes as we write the letters. If you would like to use the sheet to practise our writing rhymes at home, that would be great. We also begin to introduce the children to cursive (joined) handwriting during their time in reception which prepares them well for year 1 expectations.

Letter Rhymes

Please see our handwriting information and policy here.

Phonics and reading

We follow Letters and Sounds through Little Wandle. This Programme is one of the DfE’s approved phonics teaching programmes. It follows the order of Letters and Sounds and aims to help all children learn to read by the age of six in a fun and accessible way.

In reception we foster a love of reading. We read class stories every day and very often read stories together on our class SmartBoard. Your child will begin to receive their own reading books during their first term in school. These books will be wordless initially and you should encourage your child to look at the illustrations and tell you a story. We will assess your child’s knowledge of phonics regularly and allocate books that are appropriate to their reading development.

Please see the phonics and letter formation rhymes we use in school here.

Number

We build on the foundations provided by parents so that children are receptive to the concepts of number without realising it. We point out things, which are the same and therefore go together (sorting), for example, a pair of socks or two red flowers and things that match such as a cup and saucer or knife and fork. These concepts must be understood before any formal number of work can be introduced. Counting is great fun for young children but they must grasp the idea of ‘one number for one item’.

Continuous provision and role play opportunities are linked closely to developing early skills in mathematics. Children enjoy exploring money and coin value by playing shops and talking about concepts such as more/less/few, empty/full, heavy/light etc in the water and sand areas.

Please see more information on our maths page here.

Creative Activities

Children adore making things however simple the task may seem to an adult. We provide your child with things such as paints, crayons, pens, felt-tips, chalk, pencils, and large sheets of paper, card and glue. We use these opportunities to discuss colours, shapes and patterns. Staff teach your child how to use and be sensible with scissors. E.g. how to hold the scissors when passing them to someone else. Children are shown how to hold a pencil and they are given the freedom to experiment with clay, plasticine, sand and water.

Science

At Turnditch we offer many activities usually at the start of a discussion concerning scientific concepts e.g. baking, making jelly, growing plants (cress, carrot tops etc.) We talk about different seasons, the weather, animals, day/night – the list is endless!

Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions. No question is too small.

headteacher@turnditch.derbyshire.sch.uk

enquiries@turnditch.derbyshire.sch.uk

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