EYFS
At Holywell School we follow the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which sets out the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. Practitioners also use non-statutory curriculum guidance (Development Matters) to help to design an effective early years curriculum which builds on the strengths and meets the needs of all the children we work with.
The Curriculum is set out into 7 areas of learning -
The three prime areas of learning are:-
- Communication and Language; development involves giving young children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
- Physical Development; involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development; involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
- Literacy; development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
- Mathematics; involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces and measures.
- Understanding the world; involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
- Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
- play and exploring – children investigate, experience things and ‘have a go’.
- active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements.
- creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.
As a school we use Tapestry to support practitioners to assess and review children's learning, resulting in provision challenging and supporting children's development.
Successful early reading is crucial to children accessing the curriculum as they journey through our school, please view the Read, Write Inc. section for more information on how we approach the teaching of reading.