We offer a broad and balanced education that is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) of the National Curriculum. Since September 2008, it has been a legal requirement for all Early Years Providers to meet the requirements of the EYFS.
The documents set the standards for the learning, development and care for children from birth to five. The Reception Year is the last year of the Foundation Stage.
The EYFS aims to:
- set standards for the learning, development and care that a child should experience when they are outside the family home;
- provide Equal Opportunities so that no child is disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture, religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties or disabilities, gender or ability;
- create partnerships between professionals, parents and all settings attended by each child;
- improve quality and consistency by providing a set of standards that apply to all settings to ensure that each child makes good progress;
- lay a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities that are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly.
7 Areas of Learning
The Early Years Foundation Stage is divided into seven areas of learning, which include three 'Prime Areas' and four 'Specific Areas'.
Prime Areas:
1. personal, social and emotional development: making relationships, self-confidence and self-awareness and managing feelings and behaviour;
2. physical development: moving and handling and health and self-care;
3. communication and language: listening and attention and understanding and speaking.
Specific Areas:
4. literacy: reading and writing;
5. numeracy: numbers and shape and space and measure;
6. understanding the World: people and communities, the world and technology;
7. expressive Arts and Design: exploring and using media and materials and being imaginative.
The EYFS Profile
Each area of learning has a list of statutory Early Learning Goals. They provide the basis of planning throughout the EYFS. Children will be provided with experiences and opportunities to help them reach these goals. In the final term of the Reception Year, each child is assessed against the Early Learning Goals and the results of these assessments are submitted to the Local Authority in the form of the Early Years Profile, as well as being shared with parents and carers alongside the end of year report. This report is shared with the pupils’ Year 1 teachers to ensure a smooth transition into their next phase of education.
How you can support us
Please ensure the children have good habits with regards to sleeping during school days. Their tiredness has a huge impact on their well-being and ability to learn. Our expectations are that the children read daily and take part in the home learning tasks. We fully understand how tired the children are going to get so please read to them if they are not in the mood! This will get better towards the end of the first term, once they are established in a school routine.
Further Information
Detailed information on the EYFS framework can be found in the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage guidance from the DfE.