Our Intent, Implementation and Impact for Early Years Foundation Stage
Intent
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the period of education from birth to 5 years. In our Foundation Stage we have Early Learners (our 2yr old provision), morning and afternoon nursery (including 30hrs provision) and two reception classes.
School Values
The main aim of Bader Primary School is that every member of the school community feels valued and respected (one of our 5 values), and that each person is treated fairly and well. We are a caring community, whose values are built on mutual trust and respect for all.
Bader children are happy children who
Aim High and show
Determination
Excellence and
Respect for one another
School Vision
Our vision is expressed as a set of six promises which we make to every Bader child.
To all pupils at Bader Primary School;
The staff and governors at Bader promise you that by the time you leave us:
- You will have had fun, discovered your talents and celebrated many successes along the way
- You will love learning, believe it can take you anywhere and want to keep on learning more
- You will know that life is a fantastic adventure, have dreams for your future and have the confidence to take on the challenges that await you
- You will have grown healthy and strong and understand how to look after your body and be able to keep yourself safe
- You will have friends and will have learned to treat other people with fairness, compassion and respect
- You will understand that the world is a wondrous place and be inspired to make a difference
Our EYFS Vision Statement-
In the Early Years at Bader we believe in providing children with a safe and stimulating environment where they can be themselves. We pride ourselves on listening to children and those who care for them and using this information to personalise each child’s learning. We believe that every child is unique and should be treated so, allowing them the opportunity to develop and learn in a nurturing environment where play and learning is one. We fully understand that young children are experiencing and learning in the here and now, at Bader skilful adults take these moments and use them to make a difference. Learning at Bader is fun and challenging. We strongly believe in first-hand experience, valuing the importance of the outdoor environment and the development of children’s thinking and problem solving skills. We strive to equip children with a love of learning and a natural curiosity. We are committed to giving our children the best possible start to their school life, teaching them skills which ensure their well-being now and success in the future.
At Bader EYFS we believe in;
Supportive, trusting relationships
Quality interactions
Engagement and challenge
High quality open-ended resources
Meaningful learning experiences
Executive functioning and Self-regulation
As a school we have looked at and adopted ‘best practice’ as outlined by EEF. Our EYFS Action plan is based on their recommendations.
- Communication and Language Strategies
- Earlier Starting Age
- Play Based Learning
- Self-Regulation Strategies
EYFS Curriculum – Whole School Curriculum Map – see the curriculum pages on our website
Early Years at Bader is based strongly around the needs of our community, whilst following the principles of the EYFS. Our curriculum is designed around a language rich environment and aims to develop the foundations for excellent communication skills. Our curriculum intent is to provide the children with both a range of familiar topics, linked to their experiences, as well as unfamiliar topics, to spark their interest and exploration of the wider world. In doing this we provide a curriculum and environment where the children feel safe and secure when developing their language skills, yet are challenged and are exposed to new language and vocabulary. We also have a particular emphasis on relationships and development of the characteristics of effective learning.
We believe planning should be based around the needs and interests of the children. As such we have no set long term plans, yet aim to remain flexible to provide the best learning opportunities for the children at the time. The topic webs from Cornerstones are used to support planning and fill in gaps when learning opportunities are not led by the children’s interests. We have adopted our ‘Bader’ version of ‘In The Moment Planning’. We aim to meet the children’s needs through identifying and responding to the many ‘teachable moments’ that happen across the day, though also recognise the importance of high quality adult-led activities and interactions. The ‘focus child’ approach is used to ensure that on a cyclical basis all children have the opportunity for their needs and interests to be prioritised.
Implementation
Planning-
Long Term Planning
At Bader Primary School EYFS we believe planning should be based around the needs and interests of the children. As such we have no set long term plans, yet aim to remain flexible to provide the best learning opportunities for the children at the time.
Key Questions are used to engage and stimulate the children’s learning and thinking, they are planned to fill in gaps when learning opportunities are not led by the children’s interests. Short term (weekly) planning always follows the assessment cycle and is interest led.
Key to successful EY practice is an enabling environment. At Bader Primary we have carefully planned our continuous provision to ensure it meets the needs of our children. Our provision ensures the children’s gaps in learning are addressed and that there is sufficient challenge to ensure children remain engaged and active learners.
Environment-
Our continuous provision areas are based on the Early Excellence principle of using high quality resources that provide a range of open ended learning opportunities to ensure the children can follow their interests and meet their next steps. We fully recognise the importance of the outdoor environment and ensure children have access to the wide range of opportunities this provides as often as possible.
Assessment Cycle-
On-going formative assessment is at the heart of outstanding EYFS practice. At Bader Primary EYFS practitioners aim to engage and be involved with children during their play based activity, across all areas of learning. Through this, teachers are able to gather a clear picture of where children are in their learning and any gaps they may have.
We provide effective and focused intervention for those children who are finding learning challenging and are not on track to meet expectations at the end of the year. This will be provided in an inclusive way and support from parents is also enlisted at an early stage to ensure that the children have every chance to achieve the Early Learning Goals.
We use the Tapestry online learning journal to record and share the children’s learning with their parents.
Staff meet regularly to discuss observations made and use them to plan the next steps in learning. In addition to the learning opportunities outlined in the long term planning we use the outcomes from observational assessment to inform planning for children, acknowledging their interests and facilitating their next steps in learning.
Please see ‘Bader Planning in the Moment’ Document.
Challenge curriculum-
In order to support the children’s development of Characteristics of effective learning and their self-regulation strategies we plan extra ‘challenge activities’ each week. The children begin in Nursery with a weekly challenge and work towards completing 6 challenges by the end of Reception.
We aim for our children to leave EYFS as capable, resilient and resourceful learners who are able to work independently and for their own gain. This we feel will give them the best possible start to their ‘school’ life.
Timetable-
Our timetables are designed to create balance between whole class tasks, child initiated and adult-led play based learning. We aim to give the children enough time to engage and be involved in their learning. We value the importance of outdoor learning and fully recognise the benefits it has.
Reading-
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to encourage a love of reading right from the start. The aim is to expose children to a range of quality books that not only develop a love of reading, but have been chosen specifically to develop their oracy, vocabulary and comprehension. The books on our EYFS Reading Spine are embedded in our provision through activities and story sessions. The books are kept on display for children to access independently. Through this, children begin to internalise new vocabulary, language patterns and begin to retell stories.
Phonics-
In line with school policy we use the Little Wandle Phonics program to teach phonics. We deliver discreet phonics sessions daily and aim for the children to practice and apply these skills during real and meaningful activities.
Children in Nursery develop their skills in Phase 1 then move onto phase 2 when they are ready with the aim of knowing all single letters sounds before they enter Reception.
Children in Reception work in ability groups.
Maths-
In Reception we follow the White Rose Maths Scheme of work which is divided into 3 weekly units. High quality learning environments and meaningful interactions with adults, support children in developing mathematical thinking and discussion. Pupils learn through games and tasks using concrete manipulatives and pictorial structures and representations which are then rehearsed, applied and recorded within their own child-led exploration. Children in Reception have daily adult-led maths inputs to develop fluency, revisit key concepts and address misconceptions.
In Nursery, children 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.
Experiences-
We love to provide children with opportunities that lots of them have not experienced before or that enhance their learning in school. We go on visits to support this and have a particular focus on our local area. Walks to the library and the woods are a regular event. We ensure that all of our visits are learning related and will provide the spark for further immersion in a theme or project.
By the end of the year we provide opportunities for children to increase their independence in recording their work as appropriate to ensure they are well prepared for the move to Year 1. We also ensure that the pedagogy in Year 1 reflects the independent learning skills children have gained in Year R working together as teams to develop expertise and confidence in all teaching staff. We do this through monthly team meetings where reflections on practice are made, evaluated and decisions about the best way to move forward to enhance children’s learning.
The team in EYFS work tirelessly to ensure that children are surrounded by a kind, caring and happy environment which helps them develop the same skills in their journey through school. It is a positive place to be where resilience, perseverance and successes are celebrated and every child feels valued and respected.
Impact
The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1. Our children are often amazing role models for others in school.
We measure progress and children’s learning across the year through formative and summative assessments which are based on the teacher’s knowledge of the child, their learning journeys, photographs and videos recorded on Tapestry. We aim to match the National and Local Authority data for children achieving a Good Level of Development. Almost all our children make more than the expected steps progress from their starting points (children generally enter our Nursery setting with well below the expected level of development).
The judgments of our school are moderated with other schools in our Trust. The EY leads from our Trust schools work together across the yr to support collaboration and best practice. The teaching and pedagogy are reviewed and evaluated regularly through monthly team meetings (with yr 1). These have an agenda and actions which are then reviewed in the following meeting and are used to inform our EYFS action plan.