EYFS Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement
The Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to 5 years.
Intent
Our curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning, both from previous settings and their experiences at home. We work in partnership with parents, carers and other settings to provide the best possible start at Chalfont St Giles Village School, ensuring each individual reaches their full potential from their various starting points.
Our curriculum has been designed to enable children to succeed through cooperative and collaborative learning principles. As such, there is a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of learning; Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language, including Oracy.
At Chalfont St Giles Village School, we recognise that oracy not only improves academic outcomes, but is a life skill to ensure success beyond school, in life and future employment. Oracy develops children’s thinking and understanding, which in turn promotes self-confidence, resilience and empathy which support the child’s well-being. Our enabling environments and warm, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link learning to their play and exploration right from the start.
We believe that high level engagement ensures high level attainment. We therefore provide an engaging curriculum that 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. We follow children’s interests and ideas to foster a lifelong love of learning both in and outside of school.
By the end of the Reception year, our intent is to ensure that all children make at least good progress from their starting points on entry to the school (whether this is in our Nursery or at the start of the Reception Year) and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to have a smooth transition into Year 1.
School Values
Our school values are embedded throughout the school, including in the EYFS. These are:
Co-operative Learning Behaviours:
Through our gem powers project we promote and instil the following behaviours into each learning session, these are very important across the whole of the Village School community:
Implementation
Each term, EYFS staff introduce a new theme to provide inspiration for learning, whilst providing the flexibility for children to follow their own interests and ideas. Children learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities.
The timetable is carefully structured so that children have directed teaching during the day. The timetable changes throughout the year to take into consideration the changing needs of the children.
In Reception children have specified direct teaching times as a whole class. Small focused group work follows these sessions to enable the teacher to systematically check for understanding, identify and respond to misconceptions quickly and provide real-time verbal feedback which results in a strong impact on the acquisition of new learning. There is more emphasis on learning to read, write and further developing mathematical skills in comparison to nursery with specified times for learning in these areas, as well as a daily phonics lesson.
In the Nursery children immediately access the provision on entry to the setting after finding their name card and are supported by staff in both following their own interests and in planned adult led activities. At the end of the sessions there is a carpet time with a specific focus and a planned story. In both settings time for quality conversations and interactions with children is prioritised so children make progress in their communication and language skills. We do offer full days at nursery. These children have lunch and the afternoon session is planned around a specific focus such as Forest School, Story Telling and developing motor skills.
Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the variety of experiences carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and equal importance is given to learning in both areas.
The learning environment in both the Nursery and Reception classes has carefully planned continuous provision resources to meet the needs of the children in the setting. As the year progresses the resources and set up will change as the children mature and grow in order to continually excite, motivate and challenge. Enhancements are planned in addition to the continuous provision to give specific learning opportunities for individuals or groups of children. This means their learning whilst at play is high quality and ensures rapid progress.
English / Literacy
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to encourage a love of reading right from the start. In the EYFS we have carefully chosen the books, rhymes and songs we would like the children to know well. In Reception we follow the Power of Reading scheme in line with the rest of the school, including elements from Talk for Writing. Nursery children are also taught text maps of their core books and these are displayed so they are able to retell and internalise these stories.
The aim is to expose children to a range of books that not only develop a love of reading, but have been chosen specifically to develop their oracy, vocabulary and comprehension. These books will be embedded in our provision through activities, story sessions and on display for children to access independently. Through this, children begin to internalise new vocabulary, language patterns and begin to retell stories, as well as developing writing skills.
There is cohesion and consistency with our approach to align with the whole school Literacy Curriculum:
· We actively promote the importance of reading and writing which is done through stories, songs, poems, mark making and writing in a variety of different contexts and for different purposes using a wide range of media.
· The inclusion of high-quality texts which are age and stage appropriate to create an immersive experience for the children by incorporating them across the curriculum.
· Modelled reading and re-telling opportunities across each session which have been planned as part of the whole school focus on oracy.
· A focus on Tier 1, 2 and 3 Vocabulary.
· Dedicated phonics sessions, employing tricky and high-frequency words.
· Cooperative learning behaviours which develop oracy and interdependence across all sessions.
Phonics
We follow the Bug Club programme to ensure consistency across the school. In Nursery children focus on Phase 1 which concentrates on developing children's speaking and listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2. The emphasis during Phase 1 is to support children in becoming attuned to the sounds around them and ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills, prior to GPC.
In Reception, Phase1 continues but children are introduced to Phase 2 and 3 where they will develop GPC and segmenting and blending skills to decode words. During the Summer term, children may move on to Phase 4 if they are ready.
Children are encouraged to read at home and are listened to regularly in school. They are given books that match their phonic knowledge in order for them to apply their learning with the aim of becoming successful, confident and fluent readers.
Mathematics
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 maths direct teaching sessions 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.
Wider Curriculum
Our wider curriculum is taught through the learning areas; ‘Understanding of the World’ and ‘Expressive Arts and Design.’ EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s feed into the National Curriculum through our robust planning and CPD opportunities. In reverse, colleagues throughout the school are also aware of the key ELG’s that link to each foundation subject and the progression of the subject.
Exciting, purposeful and contextual activities are planned to build on children’s natural curiosity. For example, building a boat for their favourite toy enables them to think like a ‘Scientist’ and ‘Engineer’ as they explore a range of materials and test out their own ideas.
Building further on our oracy focus, children will be encouraged to employ subject specific language and terminology in foundation subjects, and such vocabulary will be modelled, both verbally and orally, by supporting practitioners.
Our inclusive approach means that all children learn together, but we provide a range of additional intervention and support for children who may not be reaching their potential, or are showing a greater depth of understanding and need further challenge. This includes, for example, sessions for developing speech and language, social skills, fine motor skills, phonics, and mathematics.
Regular monitoring of teaching and learning by SLT and the EYFS leader ensure staff develop good subject knowledge. The EYFS leader ensures staff receive CPD specific to Early Years to develop their practice.
Impact
Baseline:
Prior to children starting, staff spend time speaking to the child’s parents, previous settings and read previous learning journeys to gain an understanding of the whole child and where they are at. In Nursery all children have a home visit before their first session.
During the first half term in Nursery or Reception, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure progress.
The RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment)
This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from Reception until the end of KS2.
Ongoing Observation:
All ongoing observations are used to inform weekly planning and identify children’s next steps. This formative assessment does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paper work. Practitioners draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgements through discussions with other practitioners, photographs and physical examples such as a child’s drawing / making. Some observations or directed learning tasks are recorded in either children’s individual learning journey books or in the whole class floor books. These are shared with parents regularly at specified times such as Parent’s evenings or open days. Parents are asked to share their own observations of their child’s achievements which are incorporated into planning and supports the staff’s understanding of each child’s progress and development.
Assessment:
Phonic assessments are carried out at the end of each phase of teaching. This ensures children who are not making expected progress are swiftly identified and interventions put in place. Our aim is for children to ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’ where possible.
Summative assessments are completed three times per year and recorded on Target Tracker. These inform pupil progress meetings whereby the Class Teacher updates the progress children have made. In Summer Term 2, the EYFSP is completed for our Reception children 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. Impact is also evident through our successful transitions into Year 1. 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 readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, historians, artists and geographers.