EYFS Policy
Early Years Foundation Stage Policy
Date: September 2023
Headteacher: Mrs L Wilmer
Chair: Mrs C Sellers
Next Review date: September 2024
In consultation with Mrs J Williams (Early Years Lead)
Introduction
At Friarswood we have a 26 place Nursery and a 30 place Reception class. We work as a unit together in the Foundation Stage. Nursery and Reception have base classrooms and whole class times take place in these rooms. Provision indoors is specifically planned for each group of children and provision outdoors is shared during freeflow with adults clear of learning intentions.Nursery children access 30 or 15 hours funding, children who access 30 hour funding attend school full time, children who qualify for 15 hours funding have the opportunity to top up up to full time hours.
The Reception Teacher is the Early Years Lead and has responsibility for the whole unit. There is a Senior Nursery Nurse in Nursery and two Teaching Assistants that support across the Foundation Stage
All staff in the Foundation Stage have been trained in paediatric first aid.
Our Aims
We believe every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential. We understand a child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right, and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. As such a child’s experience must be central to the thinking of every practitioner. As practitioners in Early Years we are in the unique position where we can aid in the building of strong foundations for future learning. We recognise that learning is cumulative and that depth in early learning is more important than covering a lot in a superficial way.
The Four Ways of Being
The Co-op was founded on a set of values that we embrace within our Unit. We teach the children about the Four Ways of Being, incorporating them whenever possible in a way the children understand, to ensure that children have a developing understanding of the meaning and implications of each one. These are:-
- Be yourself, always
- Do what matters most
- Show you care
- Succeed together
Each week a certificate is awarded to children who display these ways of being in their learning as part of our celebration assembly.
We also have a set of school values called the STAR values which complement the Co-op Ways of Being
S – Safe
T – Trust & teamwork
A – Achieve
R – Resilience
These values reflect the ethos of our school as we strongly believe every child should feel safe, trust others, achieve their best and show resilience – working together to be the best we can be.
About the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers from birth up to the end of Reception. At Friarswood this covers Nursery and Reception. The EYFS is important in its own right but it also acts as a foundation for all future learning. At Friarswood we follow the learning and development requirements as set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) where we cover the seven areas of learning and the educational programmes as set out for each area:
The EYFS Statutory Framework, separates the seven areas of learning into three ‘prime areas’ and four ‘specific areas’.
The prime areas begin to develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences and run through and support learning in all other areas. The prime areas are fundamental throughout the EYFS, work together and support development in all other areas.
The prime areas are:
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
The specific areas include essential skills and knowledge. They grow out of the prime areas and provide important contexts for learning. Specific areas include essential skills and knowledge for children to participate successfully in society. The specific areas are:
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design
The Characteristics of Effective Learning underpin learning and development across all areas and support a child to remain an effective and motivated learner and engage with other people and their environment:
• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creating and Thinking Critically
Our Curriculum
In the Foundation Stage, much of the learning takes place through play which is important for children’s all round physical, emotional, intellectual and social development. Our belief is that all individual learning styles should be recognised and honoured in a creative, vocabulary rich learning environment. The way in which we learn is as important to progress and success as what we learn. Priorities for the Early Years Foundation Stage are identified as children being happy, safe and secure within their learning environment which will promote a lifelong love of learning throughout the rest of the school. We want children to achieve their full potential and become confident individuals through the relationships they make. We also want to provide children with positive representations of different genders and cultures.
We have a practice of cross curricular teaching and learning which encourages children to make links and practice skills in a relevant and interesting way. Our long term curriculum overview plans for the different experiences and learning we aim to cover over the year although there is flexibility to ensure we are responding to the interests of the children. Different areas are explicitly planned for each week and are represented in the learning environment. Experienced staff then look for opportunities to lead children in their learning according to their interests and needs. Activities are designed to allow the children to work to the best of their abilities and take into account the needs and skills of the children in the class. To ensure progression between Nursery and Reception, while we focus on the same texts and our themes are similar, there is a difference in focus and the amount of formal teaching time and adult led activities.
For our Nursery children, our focus is on the prime areas of learning to allow children to feel secure in the school environment and in their relationships in school. We also place priority on language development and establishing routines. During group sessions, adults place a strong emphasis on reading stories, developing knowledge of key themes, facilitating interests and learning new skills. Nursery children are also encouraged and facilitated to develop their mark making skills and explore mathematical concepts during free play.
For Reception children, there is an initial focus on developing routines and ensuring children feel secure in the environment. Once children are comfortable and settled into school life we begin to put more focus on the specific areas. Specific subjects are taught thematically using quality texts as a starting point and linked to enhancements in the environment. Literacy and Maths are given direct teaching time daily and phonics is taught rigorously each day following the Read Write Inc scheme.
Our Enabling Environment
Through our carefully considered learning environment both indoors and outdoors we aim to encourage children to become creative, independent and curious learners. Our environment allows children the opportunities to lead their own learning independently and develop skills. The enhancements to the environment aid in linking ideas and learning started in class and allowing children to pursue them in their own way, extend them and consolidate prior learning. The woodland area enhances the learning experiences we offer.
Parental Involvement
We recognise the importance of parent relationships in children’s learning and value parental input. Before children begin at Friarswood parents are invited into school for information evenings and then bring the children in for stay and play sessions after school where they can familiarise themselves with the school environment and staff. Families new to Friarswood are offered home visits from their child’s key worker.
We use half termly newsletters to keep parents informed of the themes we are looking at and the area of learning we are focussing on and use Class Dojo to share important events and special moments in school. Parents contribute to children’s learning by sharing their experiences and learning outside of school. Parents are asked each half term to share ‘wow moments’ from home to highlight particular skills children are displaying. We communicate with parents about children’s reading in their reading records which go home each day and in which parents let us know what reading children are doing. We also offer sessions throughout the year to develop parental knowledge of how and what their children learn at school e.g. a reading meeting and phonics for families sessions. Parents are invited into school three times a year for parents' evenings. As part of our careers related learning, parents are invited into school to discuss their jobs and the skills they need for their job.
Assessment, recording and reporting
Each child is informally observed throughout each week and staff work methodically to ensure every child has a focus each week. Staff know the children well and are skilled in working with them on their next steps in a combination of interactions in planned activities and play.
To ensure all staff have a clear picture of the children’s progress and their next steps we have regular sessions to discuss areas of need and how these can be addressed. This is also used in moderating judgements and sharing of best practice. We use Development Matters as a basis for our progression of skills and this is used as a starting point for our discussions around children’s learning.
There are four data collection points during the year: on entry and then at the end of each term. We consider all areas of learning when we baseline on entry to Friarswood and this gives us a clear view of where the children begin their journey. This informs the focus of planned activities and any necessary interventions. Co-op Academy Trust have provided statements for progression for each area of learning and children are assessed against these statements throughout the year. Individual reports are written for all children in Nursery and Reception at the end of each academic year. Parents are invited to discuss the report.
At the end of the Reception year, the EYFSP is filled in, clearly stating if the child has met the ELG, or is not yet meeting the ELG for each area of learning. We then calculate the percentage of Reception children who have met a Good Level of Development (GLD). This information is provided to parents and along with the report, it is used to provide transition information for the next teacher.
Moderation is important to ensure that assessments and judgments are accurate and valid. To this end, we carry out the following:
- Regular Early Years team meetings to discuss observations and judgments
- Effective use of the exemplification materials
- Attendance at whole school moderation meetings
- Attendance at regular Trust moderation meetings which is fed back to all staff
- Complying with LEA moderation visits
- Attendance of moderation with other schools.
- Moderation meetings with Year 1 colleagues.
Special Educational Needs and Inclusion
We ensure all pupils in our school have an equal opportunity to achieve their learning potential as at Co-op Academy Friarswood ‘We work together to be the best we can be’. We ensure individual needs, including existing health conditions are identified, planned for and supported in order to reduce barriers to learning. We strongly believe in providing an inclusive school environment. We recognise and respect the abilities and the strengths of all our children, acknowledging the wealth of knowledge and experience that they bring from their differing backgrounds and cultures. We give children every opportunity to achieve their full potential, setting realistic but challenging expectations to meet the needs of every individual.
In order to promote inclusion, we provide:
A wide range of opportunities within a safe, stimulating environment to ensure that learning is effective for all.
A learning environment in which the ideas and interests of all children are valued.
Resources which reflect diversity and are free from discrimination and stereotyping.
Challenging activities for all children.
We closely monitor the progress and development of all children, providing support when necessary. Where a specific need is identified, we liaise with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and seek support from outside agencies. We adhere to the Equal Opportunity and Inclusion policy of Co-op Academy Friarswood.
Transition
We understand that the transition into Nursery / Reception can be an uncertain and challenging time for children and their families. We therefore aim to support transition before the summer holidays in the following ways:
- Home visit
- Stay and play sessions at school
- Staff contact previous settings
- Welcome booklet to inform us about your child’s needs and interests.
- A welcome meeting for Parents / Carers.
Children who attend our nursery make smooth transitions into reception, as they are already familiar with the environment, the routines and the staff.
As children move towards the end of the Reception year, they receive visits from the Year 1 teachers and also have opportunities to visit their new classroom. Teachers in both year groups meet to discuss every child, their attainment, their special interests and talents and also next steps as they start Year 1.
Children in our setting attend whole school assemblies and events so that they experience school life beyond the Foundation Stage Unit. Children in Reception begin to play out in the larger playground at a suitable time during the year and Nursery attend more assemblies.
Safeguarding and Welfare
It is important to us that all children in our Foundation Stage feel safe and are safe. Procedures and routines are in place to ensure that children are safe in our setting. We aim to educate children about boundaries, rules and limits to help them develop their personal and social skills. We have high expectations of behaviour so that children can play and work in harmony with their peers and adults. Children are encouraged to assess their own risks whenever possible but there are times when they are taught how to recognise and avoid hazards. We understand that we are legally required to comply with certain welfare requirements as stated in the Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage, 2021.
This policy should be read alongside to the following policies:
- Staff code of conduct
- SEN policy
- Health and Safety policies
- Child Protection and Safeguarding policy
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy
- Intimate care policy
- Behaviour policy
- Medicines policy
All people will be treated equally including those within the nine protected characteristics.
Co-op Academy Friarswood is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people / vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, visitors and volunteers to share this commitment.