Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Statement

The Early Years Foundation Stage is based around four guiding principles that shape practise in our school. They are reflected in our curriculum and our delivery. These run alongside our Core School Values. They are:

We consider the needs, interests and development of each child to plan challenging, relevant and enjoyable learning experiences. The framework identifies seven areas of learning and development; three Prime Areas and four Specific Areas. The Prime Areas are fundamental throughout the EYFS and the Specific Areas include the skills and knowledge which provide important contexts for learning.

The Prime Areas are:-

Communication and Language – giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Physical Development – providing opportunities for children to be active and to develop their coordination, control and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity and make healthy choices about food.

Personal Social and Emotional Development – helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others, to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage/regulate their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups and to have confidence in their own abilities.

The Specific Areas are:-

Literacy (Reading and Writing)

Mathematics

Understanding the World

Expressive Arts and Design

In the Specific Areas children learn to:

• Enjoy sharing books
• Begin to read simple sentences using phonic knowledge and decode regular words
• Draw, make marks, write letters, words and then simple sentences
• Count groups of objects accurately and recognise numerals
• Know about how each number is made up to ten (eg 4 is 2 and 2, 3 and 1)
• Add, subtract and problem solve in practical situations
• Look closely at how things work, why things happen, living things and the world around them
• Be imaginative; sing songs, dance, create models, drawings, paintings and stories

The Foundation Stage Curriculum at Henry Bradley Nursery & Infants is designed to provide children with creative learning opportunities with a focus on developing language. Learning takes place both indoors and outdoors and provides children with a balance of daily opportunities for structured play, direct whole class teaching, adult-led learning and independent, child-initiated learning. Our teaching and learning is supported by continuous provision and enhancements.

Our curriculum reflects the needs of our children and provides them with what we feel are the fundamental experiences and opportunities that every child should have such as learning to ride a bike and visiting a farm. We use the outdoor grounds of our school and the local community frequently. For example we visit the church, the shops, parks and canal and theatre.

The curriculum in FS1 is delivered through children’s interests, then in FS2 the curriculum is delivered through a series of themes, lasting between one and two weeks. We identify high quality texts to use as a stimulus for each theme. Throughout the Early Years, where children pursue certain interests, the adults will follow these interests, with a knowledge of the child’s next learning steps to develop their learning.