EYFS Lead: Mrs C Ball

EYFS Class Teacher: Mrs C Ball

Intent:

At Hindsford, it is our intent to work in partnership with parents and carers to encourage independent, confident and happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential from their various starting points.

It is also our intent to understand and follow the children’s interests and provide opportunities throughout the Early Years Curriculum to support, consolidate and deepen learning, ensuring that the children meet their next steps.

We understand the importance of learning through play for this age group and are committed to providing both indoor and outdoor provision which engages their interests and enhances their learning. We also recognise how vital it is for our children to develop a love of reading and books and to develop their early literacy skills as soon as possible. It is our mission that the children will make good progress from their starting point, regardless of background or ability.

At the end of the year, it is our aim to provide effective support to the children in their transition into KS1.

Implementation:

In Reception, we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, published on 31st March 2021 by the DfES, which can be viewed if you click on the link below. To support the planning and next steps for the children, we also refer to both Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters documents.

The Statutory Framework specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years and provides prime and specific areas of learning that must be covered within the Early Years Curriculum.

Prime Areas:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Physical Development

• Communication and Language development

Specific Areas:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

Children participate in daily whole class sessions for Phonics, Literacy, Maths and Story times. They will also participate in a variety of other sessions which are focused on the other areas of learning. Beyond these whole class teaching sessions, children access continuous provision, which is where children have the freedom to choose to play in areas of the classroom specifically set up and organised to promote each aspect of learning. Because we put such emphasis on the importance of play, we dedicate at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted play every day.

When in these areas, an adult supports the children with their learning by playing alongside them, by the suggestion of activities, the modelling of behaviour and the use of language and questioning. Adults strive to get to know the children as quickly as possible and to engage them in their learning by identifying their personal preferences and interests.

Though-out each week, the children are given plentiful of opportunities to work independently, collaboratively with their friends and with a member of staff. Equally, there will be plentiful of opportunities for parents and carers to come and work with their child, share their work and celebrate their successes.

At Hindsford, we promote the three characteristics of a good learner, which are:

Our Early Year Curriculum:

Our Early Years curriculum is designed around our children’s needs and interests.

While we do plan themes across the year which will provide the best opportunities to ensure that the children are able to achieve the Early learning goals, it can be that the needs and interests of the children do not always fit with the planned topics. Therefore, the long term plan below is a collection of ideas which may be used if the children express interest in the themes.

With this in mind, we constantly adapt our planning and only finalise the medium-term planning a term in advance. Our topic headings are broad allowing us to adapt and allow for individual needs and interests to be explored.

Impact:

The intended impact of the Early Years Curriculum is that the majority of children leave Early Years working at or above the expected level for their age with a Good Level of Development.

In addition, it is the intended impact that the children:

• are inspired to explore and learn more – i.e. have a thirst for learning.

• develop the necessary skills to be a good learner – i.e. confident, resilient, look – listen and think, be curious, have a go, ask questions and learn from their mistakes.

• can discuss their learning and remember what they have learnt.

• apply the 3 characteristics of effective learning to their work.

• be ready for the next stage of their school journey when leaving Reception.

Early Years Gallery:

How to Apply to Hindsford

If you are interested in sending your child to Hindsford CE Primary School, please call the school to find out when our Open Days are or to arrange a 1:1 visit. We would be happy to see you.

If Hindsford is the right school for you, then when applying on the link below, add Hindsford as your first choice.

https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Education/Schools/School-Admissions/Primary-schools.aspx

If you are successful in securing a school place for your child, you will receive a welcome letter and an invitation to our Inspire Days which will allow you and your child to meet the staff and become familiar with school prior to their start in September. This will usually be after a nursery visit has taken place which enables staff to begin to get to know your child prior to their arrival.

At these meetings, you will receive a pack which contains all the information you will need to ensure a smooth start with us at Hindsford CE Primary School.

Communication:

Our main form of communication is via Class Dojo. If you attend the INSPIRE Days we will provide you with all the information you need to connect to this system so that you can communciate with us and receive messages, even before your child starts school.

Other forms of communication, include:

• The School Blog

• School Facebook Page

• Pupil Planners

How Can I Help My Child Prepare for School?

Below is a really useful website to help you prepare your child for school. Go to page 50 for information regarding children between the age of 3 and 4 and what you can do at home to support your child’s transition into Reception.

Response to Covid-19: September 2020 – July 2021

One of the main concerns about children entering Reception this academic year was the effect the first lockdown had had on their speech and language development. At Hindsford, we endeavour to provide a language-rich environment which underpins the children’s learning in all areas and therefore once the children had joined us, we were keen to minimise any possible disruption to their language development that might have occurred.

Therefore, in October 2020, we applied for and were accepted onto training for the Nuffield Neli programme. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention is a programme proven to help young children overcome language difficulties. It is designed for children aged 4-5 and targets vocabulary, narrative skills, active listening and phonological awareness. It has been found to be effective for improving children’s oral language skills as well as promoting longer-term progress in reading comprehension.

Prior to the children coming into Reception, although we couldn’t run our INSPIRE programme as we would have had under normal circumstances, we still managed to hold an outdoor socially distanced picnic and then additional remote Q & A Parent/Carer Workshops and Meet & Greets.

Unfortunately, in January 2021, the country went into national lockdown and therefore the children in this cohort were taught via remote lessons. A priority for Reception staff during this time was to ensure that the language development continued at home. Subsequently, the class teacher provided live and recorded lessons focused on the teaching of Phonics and vocabulary development. They also carried out a live storytime session every day. Below are some of the examples of work that the children completed at home during this time.