Our Vision
Children join our Foundation Stage from a range of nursery settings and we visit all of these prior to the children starting to ensure we support a smooth transition to our school. We also offer a range of transition sessions over the Summer Term so that our new children are familiar with school before they start.
Our learning environment is welcoming, inspiring and engaging and the children have access to three main learning spaces, including an outdoor area as well as the playground and forest school area.
The curriculum is based around the latest EYFS Curriculum and Development Matters, however the team have adapted to ensure learning is relevant to the needs and interests of the children and also has the right amount of ambition and challenge to maximise their progress and access to a wide range of learning experiences. With the ELG and Development Matters materials in mind we have developed a summary termly overview of how we see knowledge and skills developing throughout the year in Foundation Stage and this is attached below. Each area of learning also has termly progressive milestones which are available- please just ask. This ensure children are prepared for the curriculum in Year One and onwards.
The team work collaboratively to share the learning space and hold weekly ‘pupil progress’ meetings informally to assess the children’s learning and adapt provision as required. We are developing the children’s ability to edit and improve their learning so that they are able to refine and develop knowledge learnt.
Phonics and reading play a crucial role in the Early Years and the team have designed their learning around key books and texts so that the children develop a love and interest in texts and can then link this to the other areas of learning. These texts develop progressively across the year to ensure we support good quality and ambitious language development and a love of books from an early age.
We follow the Little Wandle Scheme for Phonics (see Early Reading and Phonics link for further informaiton) and we link the child’s reading book to the sounds they have learnt. We also invite parents to Phonics and Reading Workshops and we have regular parent sessions during the year that allow the children to share their learning with their families.
The children have key literacy inputs throughout the day (including phonics, reading, story time and discussing stories) and a Maths input so that we are giving them the key knowledge to then apply and use in their creative and child-led learning.
The classrooms are set up with interactive displays, role play areas, construction, imaginative play areas, sand and water and there is always access to a range of materials for the children to be creative and artistic with.
Here at Moreton Say Primary School the children follow the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS curriculum is split into seven key areas of learning which are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design.
The EYFS curriculum also has three ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ which are to promote, critical thinking, active learning and playing and exploring.
Monitoring
Nursery Baseline
After your child has been at nursery for around 6 to 8 weeks, we will complete a baseline assessment on the 3 prime areas of learning: Communication and Language Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development. We will also ask parents to complete a settling in questionnaire. Information from these will be used to plan for and support your child’s learning and development in our nursery setting.
Progress Check at 2 Years Old
Before you child’s 3rd Birthday, our Early Years Practitioners with carry out the early years foundation stage (EYFS) progress check at age 2. This check assists practitioners in early years to:
- review a child’s development and progress in the 3 prime areas of learning and development in the EYFS framework
- identify any areas of concern or additional development needs
- work with parents and other professionals to put in place appropriate support and intervention
The guidance used by practitionaers to inform, support and offers suggestions is called ‘Progress Check at age 2’. Alongside this practitioners use the Development Matters document which sets out how children develop and learn.
What is the purpose of the check?
The progress check at age two has three main purposes
Partnership with parents
While practitioners and other professionals can support children’s development and wellbeing individually, they can achieve so much more by working together. ‘Parent’ is used throughout the document to refer to parents, carers and guardians.
Action for every child
Writing down observations and sharing reports do not help children. Practitioners need to listen to the child, talk with each other and then plan together. Working together can make a difference.
Early identification
Some children need extra help for a while as they grow and develop – for example, with their communication.
Other children may have long-term developmental needs. Some families may struggle and need support. Whatever the circumstances, sensitive early intervention can make a big difference. Children develop rapidly between the ages of two and three – practitioners need to be quick to support and identify help where it is needed.
Reception Baseline Assessment
During the first couple of weeks of your child’s reception journey they will undertake a Reception Baseline Assessment with their class teacher. The purpose of the assessment is to provide the starting point for a progress measure that will help parents understand how well schools support their pupils to progress between reception and year 6.
What is the Reception Baseline Assessment?
The RBA is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child’s early literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin school, using materials that most children of your child’s age will be familiar with.
What does participating in the RBA mean for my child?
The RBA is not about judging or labelling your child or putting them under any pressure. Your child cannot ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ the assessment. Its main purpose is to create a starting point to measure the progress schools make with their pupils.
How will the RBA benefit my child?
The RBA will provide an opportunity for your child to have valuable one-to-one time with their teacher at an early stage, so the teacher can get to know your child better. It will provide a helpful snapshot of where your child is when they enter reception, so they can be supported in the most appropriate way.
How will the data be used?
The data from the assessment will only be used by the Department for Education when your child has reached the end of year 6, to provide the baseline to measure the progress of your child’s year group from reception to year 6. The data from the assessment, including numerical scores, is not shared with you,pupils, teachers, or external bodies, including schools, and there will be no published scores at pupil, school or national level.
Will I receive feedback on my child’s assessment?
Your child’s teacher will receive a set of statements, which provide a narrative description of how your child performed in the assessment. These will be shared at our your first parent’s evening.
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
The EYFS Profile is a statutory assessment of children’s development at the end of the academic year in which children turn 5, usually reception year. Each child’s level of development is assessed against 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS. For each ELG, teachers must assess whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS, or if they are not yet reaching this level and should be assessed as ‘emerging’. The Profile is intended to provide a reliable and accurate summative assessment of each child’s development at the end of the EYFS in order to support children’s successful transitions to year 1.
The class teacher and EYFS lead will use their professional judgements to make EYFS Profile assessments, using their knowledge and understanding of what a child knows, understands, and can do. Through day-to-day informal checking of what children have learnt will inform teaching and learning on an ongoing basis throughout the final year of the EYFS. This will include identifying areas where children may be at risk of falling behind, so that teachers can provide effective support where needed.
Further information as to what you can expect in Early Years is included in the documents attached below.