Whitings Hill Primary School

Early Years Foundation Stage

"Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child's experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right."

Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage,

Department for Education 2021

 

Intent:

· At Whitings Hill 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 1 and beyond. 

· Our aim in the EYFS is to build strong foundations rooted in academic success as well as around the emotional development of the children so that ultimately our pupils can be happy, curious life-long learners. 

· Our curriculum is built around what we know our pupils need so that they can gain the knowledge, skills and understanding they require for success. 

· We embed good habits for learning through the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning: Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking. 

· We build strong, meaningful relationships with all our families which helps build a strong foundation

· Our enabling environment and warm adult interactions support the children as they learn through play and build up the skills set they need to achieve successful outcomes by the end of the EYFS

· Our all-inclusive curriculum maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking following children’s interests and ideas.

· As the pupils move into 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.    

· We value imagination and creativity and seek to create a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning through a vibrant continuous indoor and outdoor provision, alongside outings and visitors which enhance their experiences. 

Implementation

· All our children have access to a stimulating and challenging environment that has a strong emphasis on learning through play and first hand experiences.

· Our planning is based on the principle that children learn most effectively when they are interested and motivated by the activities they engage with. Therefore children’s individual interests are used as a basis for our planning.

· A balance of planned adult-led activities and child- initiated activities ensures developmentally appropriate differentiation and challenge.

· All children new to the school in Nursery and Reception receive a home visit. All parents receive a weekly newsletter that keeps them updated on events. Assessments in all areas of learning are completed three times per year and shared with parents, whereby the Class Teacher updates the progress children have made.

· We promote parent participation by information sharing on how they can support their children’s learning, through regular updates, workshops, weekly newsletters and sharing reading records

· As a Power of Reading school reading is at the heart of our curriculum. We regularly plan learning around rich and meaningful texts that children can engage with.

· We follow a consistent approach to teaching phonics throughout - using Read Write Inc. to teach the children phonics to ensure that they meet good outcomes for reading with almost all children passing the Year One phonics screening.

· To support the teaching of Maths, we use NCETM Mastering Number and White Rose 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 games and tasks using concrete manipulatives which are then rehearsed and applied to their own learning during exploration.

Nursery pupils begin to develop these key skills during daily maths meetings where they explore sorting, quantities, shape, number and counting awareness. They develop a love of maths through games, songs, rhymes, and play using concrete manipulatives. There is a focus on the following counting principles; one to one correspondence, stable order and cardinal principle. Children’s fine manipulative skills are a focus to develop 1-1 correspondence so children count each object only once.

· 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. This includes, for example, Early Talk Boost in Nursery, NELI in Reception or additional ‘catch-up’ provision in phonics, fine motor skills, gross motor skills or maths.

​· We have a focus on healthy eating and oral care. Through visits from members of the local community, we have raised the profile with parents and children. Children in Nursery take part in the Barnet Young Brushing Programme. ​

Impact

  • ​Children become settled very quickly, used to routines and thrive within the school life.
  • ​Phonic assessments show that majority of children are using the sounds taught when reading and writing.
  • ​In Summer Term 2, the EYFSP is completed where teacher judge whether the child has met each of the 17 ELG’s. They will be assessed as either ‘emerging’ or ‘expected.’ Whilst there is no judgement to state if a child is exceeding beyond an ELG, teachers, have a duty to provide a narrative for both parents and the Year 1 teacher. In July 2022 our GLD was 67% compared to National which was 65% and Barnet was 63%.
  • ​EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s link to the National Curriculum, and through our robust planning and delivery across the spectrum of subjects – both core and foundation - children leave the EYFS stage with the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue their journey as scientists, historians, artists and geographers.
  • ​​We have achieved Healthy Early Years Bronze status and are working towards achieving Silver status.
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