Early Years

Our Vision

At Somerdale Educate Together Primary School, our approach to learning is evidence-informed, inclusive, and child-centred. We believe that children learn best when they feel safe, valued, motivated, and intellectually challenged.

Through an enquiry approach, our curriculum is responsive. We nurture, develop and build on children’s interests and passions; make links to their local environment so that learning is relevant, lifelong and builds the broad skills and knowledge for the world ahead. With an ethical focus in which children learn about rights, through rights and for rights, our children have the confidence to question the world around them, allowing them to be active participants to shape their community. Our children are stewards of the environment, developing strong core moral values which celebrates openness, diversity, and equity.

Our Aims and Objectives

We aim to provide all children in our Early Years classes:

  • a high-quality, stimulating, safe and happy foundation for learning in order for all children to reach their full potential
  • a broad, balanced, relevant, and creative curriculum that will set in place firm foundations for further learning and development in Key Stage 1 and beyond
  • an education that builds upon children’s skills to become resilient, capable, confident and self-assured learners
  • positive relationships where each child feels secured and valued
  • an environment where every child is comfortable and confident to take risks in their learning
  • an education that develops every child’s imagination and sense of awe and wonder
  • education that aligns with Educate Together Academy Trust’s core principles, and that fulfils the aims of our Learn Together ethical curriculum

 

Our Curriculum

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, as outlined in the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’ document published by the DfE which sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five.

The EYFS framework includes seven areas of learning and development, all of which are inter-connected.

The three prime areas are

  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The four specific areas are

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Art & Design

We structure our EYFS curriculum and learning around enquiry questions. Through these questions, we plan purposeful play activities, linked to children's interests, to ensure that every child fulfils their potential.

We use Development Matters to support planning a carefully sequenced curriculum which supports and challenges every individual child. Alongside Development Matters, we interweave our ethical curriculum, Learn Together, to provide children with a holistic education which supports and develops the whole child.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

Within the EYFS statutory framework, there are also three characteristics of effective learning. These are;

-        Playing and Exploring (Engagement)

         Children investigate, experience things and ‘have a go’.

-        Active Learning (Motivation)

         Children concentrate, keep on trying and enjoy achievements.

-        Creating and Thinking Critically (Thinking)

         Children have and develop ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.

 

At Somerdale, we teach these important attitudes towards learning through the ‘Achievosaurs’. More information can be found on our Growth Mindset page on our website.

Planning

  • All seven areas of learning are included in long-term, medium-term and weekly plans
  • Objectives are taken from Development Matters, with the Educate Together Academy Trust Progression Document utilised to support creating a well-sequenced curriculum
  • All seven areas of learning are included in weekly plans, and all provision is linked clearly to objectives and prior assessment
  • Phonics planning follows Little Wandle
  • White Rose Maths is used as a starting point for Mathematics planning
  • Planning takes account of children’s interests to ensure high quality engagement in learning
  • There is a mix of child-initiated play and adult-initiated play/activities as appropriate to the child’s stage of development
  • Planning is objective-led and flexible

Play

‘(If) adults are mobile during continuous provision sessions, and they are not stuck at one particular table… they are constantly ,moving through the space looking for opportunities to support children’s learning, observe and assess them and deliver their objective… If every adult did this as a matter of course during continuous provision, not only would the environment remain more effective for teaching and learning, it would also take the children far less time to tidy up, which in turn would give you more learning time.’ (Bryce-Clegg:2015:p65)

At Somerdale we value the importance of play and ‘doing’ in the EYFS. Learning through play is an integral part out of our EYFS classrooms.  We believe that children learn best if activities and learning opportunities spark children’s interest and curiosity, and are stimulating and active. We strive to ensure the learning environment and activities on offer within the indoors and outdoors space are well-resourced, challenging and appropriate for children’s next steps in their learning. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their play and to develop their independence through the organisation of the learning environments.

Use of Assessment

Assessment is an essential part of the learning and development of children in the EYFS. It involves practitioners observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations

 

  • Class teachers undertake a baseline within the child’s first term of joining. This may include some adult-led activities, and observations to enable adults to gain a good knowledge of each child’s starting point
  • Observations may take the form of long observations and short observations
  • Short observations are ‘snapshots’ of learning and are usually added to Tapestry where it shows new learning or a stage in development. These are reviewed regularly by the class teacher reviewed in order to ensure teaching, activities and the environment match children’s level of attainment
  • The EYFS Team meet regularly to discuss observations, next steps and current learning focuses so that all adults are aware of how best to support individual children and how activities and provision will be adapted to meet these needs
  • Provision should be explicitly linked to assessment, and provide opportunities for all children to access learning and build on their next steps

Partnership with parents and carers

We really value the importance of strong partnerships between school and home and parents have an active role to play within learning. We recognise that parents are children’s first educators, and aim to work together with them to promote children’s learning and development. We keep parents informed in many ways, including those listed below

 

  • Termly newsletters
  • School/Home communication books
  • Reading records
  • Curriculum meetings
  • Through our ‘open-door’ policy