Early Years
Early Years at Phoenix Community Primary School EYFS
Curriculum Intent
It is our intent that children who enter Phoenix EYFS are able to develop emotionally, verbally, physically and cognitively whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning. We want children to become well-rounded, happy individuals, vocabulary rich and ready to succeed in an ever-changing world. We believe that all children receive an education rich in wonder and memorable experiences, where their natural curiosity and creativity can flourish, whilst gaining purposeful skills and knowledge. We offer a broadly enriched, rounded and stimulating learning environment where children can work with adults and peers in a climate of mutual respect to develop; confidence in their ability to learn and the social skills necessary to learn. At Phoenix we prioritise oracy skills throughout our curriculum to ensure our children have the vocabulary to be able to express themselves eloquently and to develop life skills.
At Phoenix we recognise the importance of giving children the best possible start to their education by planning and implementing teaching and learning opportunities that supports them in reaching their full potential. Children that join our school enter with a range of differing life experiences and so we aim to plan teaching and learning activities accordingly to address this.
We always aim to provide children with a well-structured, safe, active learning environment both indoors and outdoors. This will enable them to develop the skills, attitudes and understanding that will form the basis of lifelong learning and encourage them to become useful, active members of a diverse and constantly changing society.
EYFS Curriculum Implementation
At Phoenix we meet the requirements set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. We actively safeguard and promote the welfare of all our children. We understand children will learn best when they are healthy, happy, safe and secure. They need their individual needs to be met and have positive relationships with the adults who care for and teach them in a safe and stimulating environment, where they can grow in confidence and enjoy their learning to achieve their full potential.
At Phoenix we:
- safeguard and promote children’s welfare
- provide skilled, knowledgeable, experienced and qualified staff
- maintain clear policies and records to ensure all the needs of the children are met.
- plan and organise the curriculum to ensure every child has an enjoyable and challenging learning experience, tailored to ensure their development and meet their individual needs.
The Statutory Framework for The Early Years Foundation Stage reflects the three prime areas (Personal, social and Emotional Development PSED, Communication and Language CL, and Physical Development PD) and the four specific areas of learning identified in the Early learning Goals (Literacy, Maths, Understanding the World UW and Expressive Arts and Design EAD) At Phoenix we value all the areas of learning, however it is important that children are competent in the prime areas to fully achieve in the specific areas. children access all these areas of learning through a healthy diet of adult initiated and adult directed activities, child initiated activities, this enables children to develop a range of skills including independence, confidence, problem solving and communication across all areas of learning.
At Phoenix we provide opportunities for the different areas of learning across our indoor and outdoor learning environments. We value and fully promote outdoor learning in the school setting and the wider world through regular trips out. We use our environment to enhance teaching and learning through engaging, problem solving, investigative and exploratory ways. Children have daily opportunities to access outdoor learning regardless of the time of year which also enables them to increase their levels of physical development.
The curriculum is planned and implemented using a cross curricular thematic approach across the school and in the EYFS, each half term the children will cover a new theme. In this approach children have the opportunity to apply learning from across the curriculum and enables them to apply skills to practical contexts. We also value children’s own ideas and plan for opportunities to follow their own line of inquiry and interests as part of the EYFS curriculum in our learning environments. We plan for a real life experience trip out of school each term to broaden the children’s experiences and to hook onto their imagination in their new topic and widen learning opportunities. The learning develops through a series of lessons and learning opportunities that builds skills, knowledge and understanding within that topic and the children’s chosen interests.
EYFS Curriculum Impact
At the start of each topic and the end, children have the chance to reflect and evaluate their learning and celebrate their achievements within the topic. This is displayed in the class floor book and children are encouraged to look at these regularly.
The successful implementation of an enriched, rounded and balanced curriculum within a safe, well-structured and stimulating learning environment indoors and outdoors, means children will develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to become successful learners. If children are actively engaged in learning, their enjoyment of this learning will become apparent. At Phoenix we want children to have experienced a curriculum that provides exciting and enriching learning experiences and opportunities for children to learn through educational visits and hands-on experiences. These experiences will help the children to fully appreciate and understand the world around them and actively ask questions and make links with their learning to further develop skills. Through a wide range of activities and problem solving opportunities they will develop their personal levels of resilience and independence. Children will become successful learners and be fully prepared for the next stage as they transition from Foundation Stage to Year One.
Throughout the Reception year, as part of the teaching and learning process, children will be assessed in relation to their progress towards Development Matters and the Early Learning Goals. Judgements are made on the basis of cumulative observations and in depth knowledge of the children. Adults use their observations to inform planning next steps in teaching and learning. Observations are recorded using an online platform called Seesaw. End of year assessments are finalised during the summer term against the Early Learning Goals.
Medium Term Plans
Our Early Years curriculum medium term plans revised to acknowledge the changes of the new EYFS curriculum are below, please click the button for the required term to view the plan.