EYFS Curriculum

OFSTED definition of teaching

‘Teaching should not be taken to imply a “top down” or formal way of working. It is a broad term that covers the many ways in which adults help young children learn. It includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated play and activities: communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating and setting challenges.

It takes account of equipment adults provide and the attention given to the physical environment, as well as the structure and routines of the day that establish expectations.’

September 2015

When entering EYFS, our children follow a differentiated curriculum which is tailored to suit the needs and abilities of each individual. The EYFS curriculum is based on Planning in the Moment.

Planning in the moment emphasises the critical role of the adults to seize the moments when children first show curiosity and supports their next steps immediately by assessing their understanding through questioning and then planning and carrying out the next steps immediately.

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum includes work planned across seven areas: Three Prime Areas

Personal, Social and emotional development

Communication and Language

Physical Development

Four Specific Areas

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding The World

Expressive Arts and Design

The curriculum for EYFS is flexible in order to cater for children who can read, write and count as well as those whose main need is security and whose main achievement will be a degree of independence. Much of the work is through direct play activities which are teacher led, as well as child directed activities. The children are helped towards a sense of autonomy, to communicate their ideas orally and on paper. They will have considerable experience with books, learning to recognise letters and words, understanding that books communicate meaning in a variety of ways as well as enjoying the pleasure of sharing books with a friend. The children will also use a variety of materials and media to develop fine motor skills with simple tools.

English Curriculum

Each day the children will have a teacher led input based on a book related to our topic as well as a daily phonics lesson based on the Read, Write, Inc programme.

Maths Curriculum 

Each day the children will have a teacher led input for maths based on either number or shape, space and measure. Children are assessed using the Foundation Stage profile, to see what they can do in their first year at school. Targets are then set for the children to work towards achieving and this will feed into their work in Year One.