Early Years Foundation Stage
Early Years Foundation Stage at Bader Primary
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential. A child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right, and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.
Department for Children Schools and Families 2007
At Bader Primary school we aim to offer your child a start to his or her education that is as equally exciting, interactive and creative, as it is caring and supportive. We aim for children to leave the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) confident and capable learners, who are more than ready for the next stage in their learning and development. We are a visible learning school. We believe that, when it is clear what teachers are teaching and what children are learning, achievement increases. Visible Learning and Teaching occurs when teachers see learning through the eyes of students and help them become their own teachers.
Provision
At Bader Primary we provide a full range of Early Years Education, catering for children from 2 to 5yrs old.
Early Learners
We provide either a morning or afternoon session in our Early Learners Hub for 2 yr olds.
Nursery
We have two nursery classes offering morning, afternoon and a limited number of flexible provision places. Reception
We have two Reception classes.
The Learning Environment
A rich and varied environment supports children’s learning and development. It gives them the confidence to explore and learn in secure and safe, yet challenging, indoor and outdoor spaces. We aim to create an attractive, welcoming and stimulating learning environment which will encourage children to explore, investigate and learn through first-hand experience. We also aim to make it a place where children feel secure and confident, and are challenged to develop their independence. Activities are planned for both the inside and outside based on the children’s interests. The learning environment is divided into a variety of different areas: role play, book corner, writing area, Numeracy area, ICT area, creative, malleable, sand, water, outside, construction, small world and puzzles. These areas are carefully arranged to encourage quiet areas and more active areas within the learning environment. Children are encouraged to become independent learners and to take some responsibility for initiating their own lines of enquiry and investigation.
EYFS Curriculum
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first.
- Communication and language;
- Physical development;
- Personal, social and emotional development.
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas:
- Literacy;
- Mathematics;
- Understanding the world;
- Expressive arts and design.
These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. We will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it’s suitable for very young children, and it’s designed to be really flexible so that we can follow your child’s unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.
Supporting your Child
All the fun activities that you do with your child at home are important in supporting their learning and development, and have a really long lasting effect on your child’s learning as they progress through school. If you make the time every day to do some of the following things with your child it will make a real difference to your child’s confidence as a young learner.
- Talk about the numbers, colours, words and letters you see when you are out and about
- Sing and tell nursery rhymes
- Allow your child to cut out and stick pictures from magazines
- Share a book
- Cook/bake together
- Talk to your child at every opportunity – e.g. what you are doing that day
- Explore the park at a different time of the year – go off the beaten track
Once your child is in school (Year reception) and is ready, they will be given a reading book to read at home with you. They will also bring home letters cards and key words cards to consolidate their learning from school. The children in Reception will also be given a home school ‘Learning Journey’ book, where they will be asked to complete activities and tasks with you. These will be shared in school and used to support us in ensuring our planning meets the children needs and interests.
Your Child’s Development
It is important that we work together to support the development of your child. We want you to feel comfortable about exchanging information and discussing things that will benefit him or her. These conversations will be with your child’s “key person”. At Bader this will be your child’s Teacher or Teaching Assistant. This is the person who:
- Is your main point of contact within the setting
- Helps your child to become settled, happy and safe
- Is responsible for your child’s care, development and learning
- Takes a careful note of your child’s progress, sharing this with you and giving ideas as to how to help your child at home.
You are able to get information about your child’s development at any time however there are two stages (at age 2, and again at age 5) when we must give you written information about how he or she is doing.
When your child is 2 years old
At some point after your child turns 2, you will be given a written summary of how your child is progressing against the 3 prime areas of learning:
- Communication and language;
- Physical development;
- Personal, social and emotional development.
This is called the progress check at age 2. This check will highlight areas where your child is progressing well and anywhere they might need some extra help or support.
When your child is 5 years old
At the end of the EYFS – in the summer term of the reception year in school – teachers complete an assessment which is known as the EYFS Profile. This assessment is carried out by the reception teacher and is based on what they, and other staff caring for your child, have observed over a period of time. Another important part of the EYFS Profile is your knowledge about your child’s learning and development, so do let your child’s class teacher know about what your child does with you: such as how confident your child is in writing their name, reading and talking about a favourite book, speaking to people your child is not so familiar with or their understanding of numbers. All of the information collected is used to judge how your child is doing in the 7 areas of learning and development. Finding out at this stage how your child is doing will mean that the teacher your child has in their next school year – Year 1 – will know what your child really enjoys doing and does well, as well as helping them decide if your child needs a bit of extra support, what that support should be and if they are already getting it. We will give you a report of your child’s progress, including information from his or her EYFS Profile at the end of the summer term.