Aims

In the Early Years Foundation Stage at Suffolks primary School, our aims are to:

• support children in successfully making the transition from home to school
• provide a happy, caring, safe and secure environment for learning to flourish
• provide learning experiences that meet the individual needs and interests of the children 
• support children to become competent and confident 
• foster positive home school links that pave the way for continued parental involvement throughout school-life
• prepare children for their next stage of learning

The learning journey in EYFS

We follow The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum to ensure high standards of early education, care and wellbeing across all areas of learning. We encourage positive dispositions and underpin all we do with a positive sense of self. We use individual Learning Journeys to record the unique learning experiences of children. Pupil voice is used across the setting, so children know they are active and valued participants in their own learning.

Parents

We work closely with parents in supporting their child’s development and expect to work in partnership. We provide information and resources parents will need to do this. Google Classroom is our main home-learning platform. Books are sent home on a weekly basis and ‘reading tips’ are shared with parents (regarding our whole school Reading Pathway) to ensure reading times at home are joyful and positive. Meetings are held with parents to keep them informed. Parents are invited to share home learning experiences through a ‘seen it at home’ form which they fill out and send in. This is then included in a child’s Learning Journey.

We understand that a love of reading is essential for the life-chances of all our pupils and view our partnership with parents as important in achieving this. We hold regular parent meetings that promote this.  

We share our approach to phonics (Read, Write Inc) with parents. Audiobooks for each sound are available on Google Classroom as well as other learning experiences that reinforce the sounds. 

By the end of the EYFS children will have experienced segmenting and blending the following sounds to make words:

m (as in move), a (as in at), s (as in sit), d (as in dog), t (as in tin), i ( as in insect), n (as in nest), p ( as in park), g (as in go), o (as in on), c (as in cat), k (as in kitten), u ( as in umbrella), b (as in big), f (as in fish), e (as in elephant), l (as in lion), h (as in horse), sh (as in ship), r (as in rabbit),  j (as in jog), v (as in vole), y (as in you), w (as in went), th (as in thin), z (as in zoo), ch (as in chips), qu (as in queen), x (as in fox), ng ( as in bang),and nk (as in think), ay (as in say), ee (as in sleep), ow (as in how), oo (as in food), oo (as in look), ar (as in dark), or (as in for), ir ( as in stir), ou (as in found) and oy (as in boy)

Assessment

Assessment in Nursery and Reception is carried out in line with the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’ statutory expectations. Reports are sent out three times a year as an important way of conveying the progress each child has made.

The information below is taken from the Department for Education Document 'Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage'.

The Early Learning Goals

The Prime Areas

Communication and Language:

Listening, Attention and Understanding:

Children listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions

Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding

Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

Speaking

Children participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary

Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate

Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Self-Regulation

Children show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly

Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate

Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions.

Managing Self Children

 Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge

Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly

Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices

Building Relationships

Children work and play cooperatively and take turns with others

Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers

Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs

Physical Development

Gross Motor Skills

Children negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others

Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing

Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing

Fine Motor Skills

Children hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases

Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery

Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

Literacy

Comprehension

Children demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary

Anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories

Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.

Word Reading

Children say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs

Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending

Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words

Writing 

Children write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed

Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters

Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others

Mathematics

Number

Children have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number

Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5

Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts

Numerical Patterns

Children verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system

Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity

Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally

Understanding the World

Past and Present

Children talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society

Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class

Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling

People, Culture and Communities

Children describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps

Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class

Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps

The Natural World

Children explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants

Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class

Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter

Expressive Arts and Design

Creating with Materials

Children safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function

Share their creations, explaining the process they have used

Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories

Being Imaginative and Expressive

Children invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher

Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs 

Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.