‘Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colours.’ 

Loris Malaguzzi 

Intent

At Woodchurch CE Primary School we believe that all children deserve an education rich in wonder and memorable experiences that allows children’s natural creativity and curiosity to flourish. In Early Years we strive to support children's personal, social and emotional development so that they feel safe, secure and uniquely valued. 

The curriculum in Early Years is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that reflects activities and experiences that interest and inspire them. It facilitates them to gain the skills, knowledge and understanding, as they start out on their educational journey, supporting them to progress from their individual starting points and preparing them for the next stage of their education. Weaved through the seven areas of learning, we provide opportunities for learning  that excite and engage children, building on their interests and developing their experiences of the world around them. Our learning environments, both inside and outside, are also adapted and refreshed regularly to meet the different and developing needs of the children. We aim to ensure that these areas are always stimulating and exciting. 

Our full and rich curriculum ensures that every pupil is given the opportunity to shine. Alongside our curriculum we endeavour to instil Christian Values in all our pupils enabling them to show compassion, hope, forgiveness, thankfulness and love. 

Throughout their year in Early years, we hope to provide children with a curriculum where they can explore and develop their learning to begin to help make sense of the world and prepare them well for key stage 1.

Implementation

The EYFS team collects evidence of children’s learning through work completed in their learning journey book, observations, photos and videos which are shared with parents daily using the Tapestry online system. This means that parents can engage with children regularly about their learning and can contribute to the knowledge we have of the child in school. Parents are very active and love to use Tapestry to record the milestones children make at home during the year.

Pupils learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities.  The timetable is carefully structured so that children have rigorous directed teaching in English, Maths, Phonics and  Understanding of the World.  These sessions are followed by group work where children work with a member of staff to develop their individual targets.  This focused group time means the teacher can 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.  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 curriculum is planned in a cross-curricular way to enable all aspects of the children’s development including understanding the world and expressive art and design as well as to promote sustained thinking and active learning.

Impact

Our curriculum needs to meet the needs of our children, including our disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, so we spend time looking at and evaluating how our children learn.  This is achieved through talking to children, looking at their work, observing their learning experiences and analysing data and progress by year group, class, groups and individuals. Our full and rich curriculum ensures that every pupil is given the opportunity to shine. Alongside our curriculum we endeavour to instil Christian Values in all our pupils enabling them to show compassion, hope, forgiveness, thankfulness and love. Throughout their year in Early years, we hope to provide children with a curriculum where they can explore and develop their learning to begin to help make sense of the world and prepare them well for key stage 1.