Early Years Foundation StagE

 The Early Years Foundation Stage at Amesbury Archer

Intent

At Amesbury Archer Primary School, we believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage secures the solid foundations from which children can build their new skills upon throughout the school.

Our ‘Aim High’ ethos ensures that there are no limits to the children’s learning, with the expectation that all children will make good progress from their starting points and no child will be excluded or disadvantaged.

We place a high priority on building strong partnerships with parents and carers, so that children can thrive and become independent learners both at school and home.

We want our children to be confident and motivated so we ensure that they are happy, feel safe, and have their days filled with adventure and challenge.

Our historical footprint of the Amesbury Archer has influenced our unique set of learning words. These are introduced and modelled by the adults so that the youngest ‘Archers’ in our school are prepared for the learning and challenges ahead of them.

A - Aspirational – ‘I work hard to achieve my best.’

R - Respectful – ‘I am kind and thoughtful to other children, adults and property.’

C – Curious – ‘I explore, ask questions and share my ideas.’

H – Honest – ‘I always tell the truth.’

E – Enthusiastic – ‘I am excited about learning, and I will always have a go.’

R – Resilient – ‘I don’t give up when things get difficult.’

Implementation

The EYFS Development Matters non-statutory guidance (September 2020) is used to plan effective learning opportunities. It sets out the pathways of children’s development in broad ages and stages. It is broken down into seven areas of learning:

Prime Areas – Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development.

Specific Areas – Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

The children develop their skills, knowledge and understanding, through playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.

Assessment

• During the first six weeks in the Reception class, each child is assessed against the age bands identified in the Development Matters guidance. These assessments allow the teachers to identify patterns of attainment within the cohort, in order to adjust their teaching to suit individual children and groups of children
• Alongside on-entry teacher assessment, a trained adult will administer the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA). This assesses early mathematics, literacy and communication and language. The cohort data is then used to measure progress from the start of school to the end of KS2.
• Formative assessment is an integral part of the learning and development process, ensuring that children are always moving forwards.
• A summative assessment is made at the end of the EYFS – the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP). Each child’s development is assessed against the early learning goals. The children will be identified as either - Emerging and still working towards them, or meeting the required levels of development and being Expected.

 Phonics

• Phonics is taught daily using the ‘Essential Letters and Sounds’ scheme. Phonics Tracker is used to track progress and identify the children who need additional support and intervention.

Topics

• The Year is divided into 6 termly topics, which provide cross-curricular links, to encourage enthusiasm and engagement. Agreed topics througout the school, ensure that children do not repeat their learning.

Talk for Writing

• A key text is used each term to develop the children’s story telling and descriptive vocabulary. Additionally, the children work together to produce class stories, using different characters and settings. By the end of the year, they can confidently make up their own stories with a clear structure.

Our learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, enriches and enhances the curriculum on offer. The children will experience a day that includes, continuous provision play opportunities, supported activities and whole class teaching. We build on what the children already know and can do, through activities that motivate and interest them.

Through play, our children are encouraged to explore and develop an understanding of the world around them. We want them to practise their new learning, put their ideas to the test, develop their social and communication skills and have the opportunity to think creatively.

Tapestry is used to keep parents informed about their child’s learning, and parents are also encouraged to upload their own observations of their child’s development.

Children with SEND, like all children, have quality first teaching throughout their day. They will have 1:1 adult support (teacher or TA) where required, and activities may be adapted, so that they can access all learning. Additional equipment or resources will be used for specific needs, for example I-pads, wobble cushions, pencil grips. Speech and language sessions are timetabled and led by a specialised TA.

A strong partnership is formed with our parents, starting with a robust induction process, including; information presentations; visits into school, visits/phone calls to pre-schools; and home visits. This is then followed throughout the year by, ‘stay and play sessions’ in phonics, maths, science and writing, and information talks after school.

 Impact

• Children make good progress across the EYFS curriculum from their varied starting points.
• The number of children achieving the Expected judgement against the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception is consistently inline or above National expectations.
• Summative assessments are made 4 times a year. This is tracked to ensure rates of progress are at least good for all children, including vulnerable groups such as those with SEND or disadvantage.
• Assessment judgements are moderated both in school and externally with local schools.