EYFS at Lea

Our EYFS Champion is: Miss Killeen

The Intent of our EYFS Curriculum

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Lea provides a solid foundation for children's learning and development. Our aim is to ensure that every child in EYFS receives high-quality provision that is inclusive, stimulating and supportive of their individual needs and interests. We believe in fostering a love for learning, building positive relationships and creating a nurturing and safe environment where children can thrive. We celebrate children’s individual talents and achievements and provide them with the skills they need for the next steps of their education.

Our curriculum provides children with both a range of familiar topics, linked to their experiences, as well as unfamiliar topics, to spark their interests and exploration of the wider world. This will help to provide a curriculum where children feel safe and secure when developing new knowledge and skills, yet they are also challenged and exposed to new learning.

We encourage children at Lea to be resilient and aim high. An emphasis on the development of the characteristics of effective learning provides children with the skills they need to thrive and reach their full potential. We work collaboratively with parents to ensure they have the confidence to support their child’s holistic development. The EYFS learning environment enhances and invites curiosity, confidence and determination to flourish. The rich and varied provision is carefully planned with the interests and needs of the children at the centre of all we do. We ensure all children receive high-quality teaching of early reading through systematic, synthetic phonics to learn to read words and simple sentences accurately by the end of Reception.

 The Implementation of our EYFS Curriculum

We have implemented a child-centred Early Years curriculum that aligns with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. The curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced to ensure a broad and balanced range of experiences and opportunities for our young learners. It incorporates active and play-based learning, where children are engaged in purposeful, hands-on activities that develop their skills across all 7 areas of learning.

Our teaching is facilitated by a team of skilled practitioners who have a deep understanding of child development, and the specific needs of young children. We prioritise high quality interactions and ensure all staff have received training to implement this effectively. At Lea, we provide a stimulating learning environment that is well-resourced, safe, and nurturing, fostering positive relationships and a sense of belonging.
 

The daily timetable ensures children have access to uninterrupted child led learning as well as opportunities to take part in adult guided activities.The characteristics of effective learning are introduced to the children through stories and characters to ensure children have a deep understanding of the skills they need to learn and solve problems.

At Lea, we want all children in EYFS to develop the ability to communicate effectively. Our daily story time provides an opportunity to teach rich and exciting vocabulary. Focus texts are carefully mapped out and ensure there is a balance of fiction, non-fiction and rhyming books. Children are exposed to stories by new authors and classic authors and by reading high quality texts on multiple occasions, story language is retained and may be used in writing as the children progress through school. We promote a love of reading through library time, inviting reading areas with engaging, high-quality texts and secret reader sessions where we invite parents in to read to the children.

Children access daily phonics lessons based on our chosen scheme ‘Red Rose Letters and Sounds’. Regular assessment ensures children who are not making expected progress can be identified quickly and support can be implemented through tailored teaching within phonics sessions and continuous provision, and through targeted intervention groups. Phonics tracker is used to provide accurate termly assessment which identifies gaps in learning enabling staff to deliver specific interventions to help each child achieve.

Daily maths in EYFS is taught using the scheme ‘NCETM Mastering Number’ x4 a week and shape, space and measure is taught x1 day a week facilitated by the ‘White Rose’ scheme. Maths is embedded through daily routines and within continuous provision. Follow up activities in small groups are also implemented where appropriate to consolidate learning. Staff are able to identify which children need extra support and deliver targeted intervention during independent learning time in continuous provision.

Children's progress is carefully monitored through ongoing formative assessments, which inform next steps and allow for differentiation to meet individual needs. Assessments also provide opportunities for dialogue and collaboration with parents, so that they are actively involved in their child's learning journey. We keep parents up to date with ways to support learning at home through delivering ‘Learning evenings’ and ‘Stay and Play’ sessions. We believe working in partnership with parents can help children to grow in confidence and develop to their full potential.