EYFS
The EYFS Staff Team
Miss C.Grant Mrs N.Davey Mrs B.Parry
Link EYFS Governor
Mrs Brennan
Eccleston Lane Ends EYFS Intent
At Eccleston Lane Ends Primary School we aim to provide children with the best possible start to their school life. We provide a safe and stimulating environment supporting children’s wellbeing and development, ensuring children feel valued, safe and secure. The staff team inspire and motivate the children by making learning enjoyable and engaging. They promote knowledge building, a curiosity in play and actively encourage investigation and exploring through hands on experiences. We aim for all children to become independent, confident learners, who have their own ideas and enjoy learning about the world around them.
Throughout the curriculum we celebrate diversity and foster positive attitudes towards others. We strive to ensure every child is included and valued and the children respect the world in which they live. Children learn from the earliest age to value diversity in others and grow up making a positive contribution to society. Communication is key and through teaching a rich vocabulary in all areas of learning the children become confident to express their views and make positive contributions towards their learning.
In Reception we incorporate children’s interests into our learning. We set achievable challenges and always encourage the children to try their very best. Working in partnership with parents we encourage the children to become independent, happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential. We encourage children to Explore, Discover and Dream. We want to help each child become a caring, confident and curious young person who has a passion for learning. Our aim is to provide our children with an engaging, exciting and empowering curriculum that equips them for today and tomorrow, whilst creating experiences that they will cherish.
EYFS aims and curriculum
The aim of our Early Years curriculum is to teach key knowledge which will help to develop key skills across the seven areas of the development. At ELE we follow the EYFS Framework and use Development Matters as a supporting document.
The 3 prime areas for the EYFS (Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development and Communication and Language Development) form the foundations of our curriculum. We ensure children are secure in these areas whilst working through the specific areas of the Early Years Foundation.
EYFS Principles
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) principles are designed to celebrate the importance of play and learning, by putting the child back at the heart of early years practice. At ELE we value this and reflect this in our daily practise.
The unique child
At ELE we believe that every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
This principle celebrates the uniqueness of every child and urges practitioners to take the time to observe, listen and tune in, to understand what it is that makes each child tick. As children’s strengths, interests, preferences and different developmental pathways begin to unfold, ELE staff plan responsively to capture experiences that are meaningful and tailored to individual needs.
Positive relationships
At ELE children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.
Creating a secure emotional environment is paramount if everyone in the setting is to flourish. No-one learns effectively when they are worried or afraid and both adults and children should be able to try new experiences, explore new resources and share their thoughts and feelings in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.
Staff encourage the children to think creatively and know that their ideas and contributions will be valued. The children therefore develop positive attitudes to learning and confidence in themselves as learners. Mistakes are then seen in a positive light, as a natural part of the learning journey and an opportunity to grow and learn, rather than something to be ashamed of. We believe that a happy ‘can do’ attitude is infectious, and everyone benefits – children, practitioners and parents.
Enabling environments
At ELE the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.
The classroom environment is thoughtfully planned, inside and out, and is the key to really effective early years provision. We acknowledge the critical importance of both the emotional and the physical environment in Reception. Practitioners aim to see the environment from the child’s point of view and reflect on the possibilities that it has to offer. We regularly reflect on provision asking are their sufficient opportunities for children to get deeply involved, discover new lines of enquiry, experiment, explore, represent their thinking, and solve problems? Is the environment full of inspiration, with provocations for learning that will capture the child’s imagination? Does the environment enable children to be independent and make their own choices of materials and resources? Are there quiet spaces where children can ponder and play as well as larger open spaces for them to test their new physical skills?
At ELE, when we get the environment right, there is a contagious sparkle in the air, the children are deeply engaged in their learning and practitioners’ confidence soars as they are free to support each child constructively on their learning journey.
Learning and development
Practitioners in Reception know that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected. Children learn best through carefully planned, play based experiences that start with their strengths, interests and capabilities. It acknowledges that young children are active learners and that they need opportunities to explore and make sense of the world, supported by knowledgeable, interested and sensitive adults.
The principle recognises that all areas of learning are interconnected and that while children will need to be taught new skills, these should always be balanced by opportunities for them to independently apply, practise and consolidate their new learning through a richly resourced environment, inside and out.
At ELE we place every child firmly at the heart of the learning experience and demand an informed approach to supporting children’s learning and development, gained through observational assessment and genuine partnerships with parents.
