EYFS Intent, Implementation and Impact

‘Living our faith, learning in love’

EYFS Curriculum Intent

At All Saints’ School we believe in providing a secure foundation for future learning and development for our children. Our EYFS curriculum recognises children’s prior knowledge and learning and we aim to work with parents and carers to encourage independent, happy learners who reach their full potential from their various starting points. The EYFS curriculum and the experiences we plan embrace the community and locality of the school and we celebrate and welcome the differences within our school community. Reception and Nursery work closely with each other to ensure continuity and consistency between the foundation stage. Our Mission statement ‘Living our Faith, Learning in Love’ is at the heart of everything we do. Our values shape how we behave, what we say, how we build relationships and how we learn. Or mission statement is incorporated in every aspect of school life at All Saints’. We want the children to develop social skills, build resilience and become creative critical thinkers through the experiences and enhancements we provide. We place strong emphasis on the religious, spiritual, moral social and cultural development of all our pupils. Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we offer support for all children to achieve.

The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. We want our children to develop a love for reading and awe and wonder at the world around them.

EYFS Curriculum Implementation

We strive to make the transition process into our EYFS as smooth and effective as possible. We do this through home visits, information meetings and discussions with previous key workers and parents. We understand the importance of parental engagement and believe that our parents have a crucial role to play in their children's education. We work hard to create strong partnerships between home and school.  Parents receive half termly newsletters and weekly updates on Tapestry to inform them of what their child is learning in school and to explain how they can support this at home. Parents enjoy using Tapestry to engage in their child's learning and share experience from home. Parents are kept informed through Tapestry, text messages, twitter and the school website and Facebook pages. We regularly communicate with parents regarding their child’s achievements, needs and support. Strategies to include and inform parents include ‘Stay and Play’ sessions, phonics workshops, reading records, craft sessions, ‘Stay and Pray’, class pages on the website and an open-door policy’.

The All Saints’ EYFS curriculum is designed to develop the characteristics of effective learning:

• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
• Active learning – children keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy their achievements.
• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’.

We use a Growth Mindset approach to promote attitudes to learning throughout the school and use the characteristics of effective learning when planning our curriculum and enhancements which reflect the values and skills needed to promote responsibility for learning and future success

Community involvement is an essential part of our curriculum as we celebrate local traditions, learning new skills to enable the children to take an active role in events throughout the year.

The EYFS framework includes 7 areas of learning and development that are equally important and inter-connected. However, 3 areas known as the prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn. The All Saints’ EYFS Curriculum engages all children and ensures that all children make good progress from their starting points. A number of key resources are used to support the development of the curriculum including Development Matters, White Rose Maths, Read Write Inc, Talk for Writing, ‘The Way, The Truth, The Life’ and WELLCOMM.

We prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of songs, nursery rhymes, stories and providing time for quality interactions between adults and between peers. Trained staff ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and gather words at pace in order to become confident communicators. Children are encouraged to become early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics. The children learn nursery rhymes and develop their mathematical thinking through direct teaching and exploration. We want our children to become confident mathematicians who can apply what they have learnt to real life experiences.

At All Saints’ School we believe that the whole curriculum can be covered in a well-planned outdoor environment, and that there is some learning that can only take place outdoors. The children have the right to the outdoor environment all the year round and access to the area is available daily throughout the session with constant adult supervision and interaction. Children develop through wonderful, exploratory, sensory experiences in our mud kitchen, sandpit and taking part in Forest School sessions. Our learning environment is adaptable in order to reflect children's interests and progression. The children are supported to learn to work together, manage their feelings and ask questions through skilled adult facilitated play.

The curriculum is taught through topics which are enriched with classroom enhancements, trips and visitors. Topics are supported by quality key texts. These are chosen carefully to encourage children's speech, language and communication development. Where possible the children’s own interests are used by the adults to engage the children in higher level thinking and deeper learning. Child initiated learning is valued and encouraged.  Each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play, and through a mix of adult- led and child-initiated activities. 

EYFS Curriculum Impact

We want each child to get the best possible start in life and to be ready to thrive in KS1. At All Saints’ we do this by ensuring ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning process. Children are assessed in relation to their progress towards the Early Learning Goals. These judgements are made on the basis of accumulative observations and in depth knowledge of the children acquired through ongoing assessment. These ongoing assessments are used to inform planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all children throughout the year. We use Tapestry an online learning journey to record assessments. We also have ‘Our Faith Journey’ and Reception has individual ‘Thinking Books’. At the end of EYFS, staff completes the EYFS profile for each child. Pupils are assessed against the 17 early learning goals.  The EYFS team meet for regular meetings and receive necessary training. Teachers attend in house and external moderations and attend regular pupil progress meetings to ensure progress is being made for each individual child.

The EYFS lead is committed to raising standards by attending relevant CPD and ensuring each child at All Saints has the best start on their school journey.