Our Curriculum
Our vision in the EYFS is shared with the wider school; for children to think well and feel well. We believe that children in Early Years learn best if they experience learning first hand, through meaningful and purposeful interactions with others and through physical activity and play. We endeavour to nurture and support wellbeing in the Early Years with parental partnerships being a priority in supporting child development.
Our Curriculum
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, alongside Development Matters (non-statutory guidance for the Early Years) informs our Early Years curriculum at London Fields. Our curriculum is organised into half termly themes. We carefully decide what key knowledge, vocabulary and skills we want our pupils to gain from each theme and frame this learning through planned teaching and learning opportunities which first introduce new learning to pupils and then enables them to explore and consolidate.
There are four guiding principles of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.
- Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and/or carers.
- Recognising the importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates.
The Early Years framework is divided into seven Areas of Learning and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
Prime Areas of Learning:
Communication and Language
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
Specific Areas of Learning:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Guided Sessions
In Reception at London Fields, we have three specific guided sessions throughout the day:
- Phonics
- Mathematics
- Storytelling
Phonics
We follow the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme. Emphasis is placed upon pre-reading skills; sounds in the environment and oral sound blending in Nursery and pupils are introduced to initial sounds during the Spring Term.
In Reception, we begin teaching 'a sound a day' early in the Autumn Term. We teach children to read and write the sounds, building up to reading and writing word and phrases.
Mathematics
We use Mastering Number (NCETM) as the basis for the teaching of Mathematics in the Early Years. Time is initially spent on teaching pre-number skills i.e. the identification of numbers, counting, sorting and comparing, understanding patterns, matching by attribute and measurement. Guided sessions are planned around the NCETM six key areas of mathematical learning; Cardinality and Counting, Comparison, Composition, Pattern, Shape, Space and Measure.
Most Pattern, Shape, Space and Measures knowledge is taught through adult led focus activities and learning planned for the continuous provision.
Storytelling
Themes structure our storytelling sessions over the half term, for example, Feelings and Emotions in Autumn One and Celebrating Family in Autumn Two. The themes in Nursery vary slightly to Reception considering the children’s age, developmental stage and interests. All themes are subject to change and develop over the course of the academic year.
Storytelling encompasses a range of areas of learning, but mainly derives from Communication and Language; the main focus of the revised Early Years Curriculum (2021), as well as the specific area of Literacy.
Storytelling sessions are planned around a quality text per week. Children learn ‘repeated refrains’ from the book and by the end of the week are able to retell and act out the story with props.
A rich variety of storybooks are sent home weekly for sharing, further promoting a love for reading and reading for pleasure. Once Reception children have the skills to decode, they take home a phonics storybook book as well.
We also welcome a musical Storyteller to our Early Years every term, whose planned sessions complement our termly themes.
Other Learning Experiences
We enhance our curriculum offer by planning teaching and learning opportunities in relation to events, experience and visitors. We celebrate festivals and other significant events throughout the year, taking every opportunity to link learning and development to the children's' own experiences both within school and the wider community. We welcome community members in to our classrooms to enrich our learning experiences.
We aim for the children to become independent learners through a balance of child initiated and adult led experiences. When not involved in a guided session, children have access to quality continuous provision, indoors and outdoors. Some activities are set up for the children to access on table tops or outside – i.e. a mathematics table top activity might link to the taught carpet session. An obstacle course may be set up outside, linked to a specific skill in Physical Development. There is also ample opportunity for children to access resources independently, plan and carry out their own activities.
Readiness for Year 1
We know the EYFS lays the foundations of learning and for future schooling and place great emphasis on ensuring pupils feel secure, simulated and happy in school. EYFS and Year 1 teachers work together to support a seamless transition. Staff aim to foster children's disposition for learning in the Early Years so all pupils are ready to approach new learning, challenges and changes.
Curriculum Overview 2024-25
For an overview of our current academic year's learning in the EYFS based on the educational programmes, please see the below documents.