EYFS at Kingfisher
Curriculum Intent
At Kingfisher, we believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage is vital in securing solid foundations for children beginning their journey through school. It is our intent that our children develop key physical, verbal, cognitive and emotional skills whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning that they will continue to build upon each year.
We know that all children are individual with their own strengths and needs. We work hard to get to know our children’s starting points and interests. Then we carefully design our curriculum and learning environments to suit all needs and stages of development. We aim to provide all our children with the broad range of opportunities so all can flourish.
Our Early Years provision starts in our Nursery with two year old provision, moves to our Pre-school and then through to our Reception classrooms. We ensure we work together to create a progression of skills and experiences across all areas of the curriculum.
The EYFS curriculum contains seven main areas of learning for all children birth to five. These are split into:
The Prime Areas:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
The Specific Areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts
End of Reception expectations
The Early Learning Goals summarise the knowledge, skills and understanding that all young children should have gained by the end of Reception. They are:
Communication and Language
- Listening, Attention and Understanding
- Speaking
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Self-regulation
- Managing Self
- Building Relationships
Physical Development
- Gross Motor Skills
- Fine Motor Skills
Literacy
- Comprehension
- Word Reading
- Writing
Mathematics
- Number
- Numerical Patterns
Understanding the World
- Past and Present
- People, Culture and Communities
- The Natural World
Expressive Arts and Design
- Creating with Materials
- Being Imaginative and Expressive
Reception Baseline Assessment September 2024
The RBA is statutory in schools, and we are required to carry it out within the first 6 weeks of pupils starting reception. It will be an activity-based assessment of pupils’ starting points in:
- language, communication and literacy
- mathematics
You can find more information on this here:
Reception baseline assessment: information for parents - GOV.UK
EYFS Curriculum Implementation
We implement this through a child led, play based approach. Teaching is practical and modelled by all adults in a combination of whole class adult led carpet inputs, small group sessions and working with children in the continuous provision. We aim to support and challenge all learners and closely consider the “Characteristics of Effective Learning” to ensure children actively learn and have opportunities to think critically.
We aim for our learning environments to be stimulating and exciting. Both inside and outside provisions are constantly adapted to reflect the children’s interests, as well as to provide opportunities to consolidate and move learning forward based on next steps identified each day. We want to provide an environment that inspires their curious minds, encourages them to explore and discover. We call this Discovering and Learning through Play.
We actively promote independence from all children both in their personal and social skills, but also through accessing and applying their understanding of the curriculum.
Children are assessed continuously through accurate observations both in adult directed time and through their engagement with learning opportunities in the provision. This provides us with information for future planning and enables us to put support and challenge in place as soon as it is identified and required.
Our EYFS strives to reflect our campus values.
Reception Baseline 2024
The RBA has been statutory in schools since September 2021, and we are required to carry it out within the first 6 weeks of pupils starting reception. It is an activity-based assessment of pupils’ starting points in:
- language, communication and literacy
- mathematics
More information can be found here:
Baseline Information for Parents
The TEEP Learning Cycle
At Kingfisher CE Academy we use the TEEP (Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme) cycle to deliver lessons where appropriate. This cycle consists of the following:
- Prepare to learn
- Share learning outcomes
- 'What, How Why?'
- Present new information
- Construct Meaning
- Apply to Demonstrate
- Review
This cycle may be seen in one lesson but more commonly over a sequence of lessons. These parts of the cycle are used as a guide for teachers to plan purposeful and stimulating lessons that engage pupils in learning.
