STORTH CE SCHOOL

Early Years Foundation Stage Policy

Our Mission

We seek to help children work towards achieving their potential by encouraging a love of learning through personalised teaching. We promote acceptance of all, self-belief and resilience, developed through our enriched and stimulating curriculum in a happy and caring environment. As a Church school we aim to develop Christian values in a gently spiritual manner that allows children to ask questions and explore issues of faith with confidence.

Aims and objectives

As outlined in the EYFS Statutory Framework ‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances.’

We adhere to the Statutory Framework of the EYFS and the four guiding principles that shape practice within Early Years settings.

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates

We acknowledge that the curriculum and setting is in the hands of the practitioners and we aim to create an environment that nurtures learning and development through child and adult led activities where observation and assessment lends to the development of next steps.

It is our aim to create an environment where children feel secure and confident. We aim to provide a curriculum that builds on present knowledge and interests and extends their ability to enable them to develop their talents and thereby achieve their full potential both socially, emotionally and academically.

In creating this environment the school believes that strong links with parents are essential. The sharing of information between parents, carers and practitioners enables both parties to have clear knowledge of every child, their present abilities and their next steps.

By the end of the Foundation Stage the school aims that the children will enter Key Stage 1 having developed a sense of achievement and self-esteem resulting from their experiences in EYFS. We aim for children to be interested, excited and motivated to learn, that they can work effectively as an individual and as part of a team and have developed a positive attitude to learning.

Roles and Responsibilities

The EYFS teacher will;

be the key person for the setting
plan and enhance learning in liaison with Higher Level Teaching assistant and teaching assistants.
Undertake observations, teaching and next steps.
ensure all staff are aware of developments in EYFS.
liaise with all the EYFS staff with regard to assessment procedures.

Welfare Requirements

Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare

The school has effective policies and procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The school promotes the good health of children, taking the necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection and takes appropriate action when they are ill.

The school manages children’s behaviour appropriately taking into account their stage of development and particular individual needs.

Suitable people

The school ensures that adults looking after children supervised or unsupervised are suitable to do so.

The school ensures that adults looking after children have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge.

The school ensures that staff arrangements are organised to ensure safety and meet the needs of children.

Suitable premises, environment and equipment

The school ensures that outdoor and indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys are safe and suitable for purpose.

Organisation

The school has policies and procedures in place to ensure that every child receives an enjoyable and challenging learning and development experience that is tailored to meet their individual needs.

Documentation

The school has maintained records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of school and to meet the needs of the children.

Implementation

Prior to starting school there are opportunities to bring children into the classroom environment to familiarise them with the surroundings and to develop relationships with staff and other children. It is important for the children, parents and carers to be familiar with the setting to minimise possible anxieties they may have about starting school. It is also important to note that the classroom has a very open ethos and siblings of children already attending school are regularly welcomed into the classroom.

In the summer term parents are invited to a meeting for new starters into Reception. This meeting gives information about the practicalities of school life e.g. school uniforms. Parents and carers are given an opportunity to ask staff questions.

Nursery and Reception (EYFS) children are taught in Class 1 during the mornings and in the afternoon join Class 2 (Years 1 and 2). This organisation can change year on year depending on the size of the cohort and the school is flexible and can adapt to suit the needs of the class.

The EYFS children have a variety of learning environments that enable a broad and balanced curriculum to be delivered, including a free flow between the main classroom and conservatory area where areas of provision are located. This flows through to an enclosed outdoor area. The children also have access to the school grounds during playtimes and PE lessons and ‘The Little Room’ is available for small group work.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is divided into seven areas of learning where all are important and interconnected.

Prime Areas

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development

Specific Areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

Each area of learning has a set of Early Learning Goals which the majority of children are expected to achieve by the end of their Reception year.

Planning

We plan a balance between children having time and space to engage in their own child-initiated activities and those that are planned by adults including maths and phonic sessions. During children’s play, early years teaching staff interact to stretch and challenge children further through their interests and develop their next steps.

We provide a stimulating environment, indoors and out, providing many opportunities for children to be curious, ask questions and to be eager to discover and learn alongside opportunities and time for children to pursue their own interests and time to interact and share with others. Children are given the opportunity for each child to make choices and decisions to develop their independence. Adults will observe and teach at specific moments to enhance children’s learning. This will then be documented and assessed.

Reading

The school follows the principles and practices of ‘Letters and Sounds’ for the teaching of phonics. For reading books there is a wide choice of various schemes available and children choose books of an appropriate phonics level and others to promote a love of reading. These are read with the children in school as well as being taken home to share with parents and carers. A reading record book also goes home which enables communication between school and home.

Observation, Assessment and Record keeping

‘The majority of evidence will come from the practitioner’s knowledge of the child and observation of the child’s self-initiated activities’. EYFS Profile handbook 2012.

As part of our daily practice we observe and assess children’s development and learning to inform future learning. We record our observations on the online learning journey Tapestry. Parents and carers have access to this and are able to acknowledge, comment and upload observations too. Ongoing observations are used to inform the EYFS Profile/developmental matter bands and the Characteristics of Learning.

EYFS cluster meetings are attended regularly by the class teachers and/or teaching assistant to keep up to date with new documents/practise and moderation.

Parental Involvement

As previously stated the school values the contribution that parents make. Parents and school are partners in educating children. Parents can become involved in their child’s learning in a variety of ways. The school has an open door policy with parents and liaison and exchanges of information often occur informally at the beginning and end of the day with members of staff.

There are two parent’s evenings throughout the year where progress is discussed. At the end of the year a report is written that describes their child’s learning within the Characteristics of Learning and their attainment against the Foundation Stage Profile.

Safety

Children’s safety and welfare is paramount. We create a safe and secure environment and provide a curriculum which teaches children how to be safe, make choices and assess risks. We have stringent policies, procedures and documents in place to ensure children’s safety.

We promote the good health of the children in our care in numerous ways, including the provision of nutritious food, following set procedures when children become ill or have an accident.

Inclusion

We value all our children as individuals at Storth CE Primary School, irrespective of their ethnicity, culture, religion, home language, background, ability or gender. We plan a curriculum that meets the needs of the individual child and support them at their own pace. We strongly believe that early identification of children with additional needs is crucial in enabling us to give the child the support that they need and in doing so, work closely with parents and outside agencies.

Policies