Early Years
Intent
At Silkstone Primary we want children to develop into confident individuals, who have a thirst for learning. We want all children to children to achieve a Good Level of Development and leave our Reception class with the ability to; de-code and read age appropriate texts, apply their phonic skills in their writing, confidently work with numbers to 20 and use their mathematical knowledge of shape and measure to talk through problem solving. We also want them to be friendly, kind and respectful of one another and have the independent skills to resolve any conflicts that may arise in a positive manner. We want our children to be adventurous risk takers, who rise to different challenges and demonstrate resilience, teamwork and celebrate other’s achievements as well as their own. We want all children to enjoy every school day, feel happy and safe and thrive in our Reception class. Learning in Reception provides a strong start for the learning journey of all children as they progress through our school.
Implementation
As a maintained school we follow the Early Years Framework and Development Matters to underpin teaching and learning as children work towards the achievement of a Good Level of Development by the end of the Foundation Stage. We recognise that children are all unique and will develop at different rates. We use same day intervention with children at risk of not meeting their age related expectations. We establish strong relationships with parents and work together to support children’s development.
The learning environment in Reception enables children to access a range of learning opportunities that are linked to topic themes. The majority of learning activities in Reception are practical, provision based, both indoors and out. Indoor provision includes playdough, water, craft, painting, maths, construction, home corner, role play, writing, reading, small world and fine motor skills. Pupils have continuous access to outside during self directed learning time. Outside learning opportunities include water, mud kitchen, music, dinosaur den, construction, stage, mark making, wheels on Wednesday and gardening. Activities in provision are matched with the curriculum topic.
We have daily focussed teaching for English and maths. Whole class input is followed by small group work with the Class teacher. As soon as they start our school, children make a swift start with reading through the use of the Floppy Phonics scheme. Children learn to hear, say, read and write letter sounds. Children take home a decodable book and library books of their choice to share and read weekly. We also use Action Words to teach high frequency words, with children learning five new words every week from October half term. We want our children to love reading and encourage this through an environment that is rich with exciting texts and daily story time. We use Writedance to develop children’s gross and fine motor skills to underpin their handwriting.
Maths concepts are taught thoroughly with children having opportunities to revisit, consolidate and extend learning throughout the year. Children have a whole class maths lesson, a morning maths starter and follow up activities in provision. Within provision children have opportunities to apply their maths skills practically and their language is developed through directed questioning.
Impact
Children enjoy school. They are eager to share their learning. They enjoy new experiences and rise to a challenge. They understand that by working hard they will learn new skills and feel confident. The majority of children achieve a Good Level of Development.
EYFS Curriculum 2024/2025
Our Early Years Curriculum covers the Seven areas of Learning with clearly identified End Points. The Early Years Curriculum sets the foundations for the curriculum throughout school.
