Our EYFS Curriculum at Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery
At Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery, we place a high value on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as it lays a secure foundation for future learning and development. We are committed to ensuring each child experiences a joyful and positive beginning to their school journey, where they can cultivate a lifelong love for learning. Our focus is on fostering an inclusive environment where all children learn and develop effectively, equipping them with an extensive range of knowledge and skills essential for making good progress throughout school and beyond.
Intent
Our curriculum has been designed to provide a broad range of experiences based on the needs of our children. We consider children’s prior learning and various starting points to develop a holistic engaging curriculum that interlinks across all areas of the EYFS. It also provides progression and continuity of knowledge and skills.
We follow the EYFS statutory framework and the Development Matters guidance, which has seven main areas of learning.
The Prime Areas
The Specific Areas
We work in partnership with parents, carers and other professionals to provide children with the best possible start to their education, ensuring each individual reaches their full potential. We recognise and prioritise children's interests, integrating them into the curriculum to engage, excite, and motivate, making learning both relevant and meaningful. We aim for children to view themselves as unique individuals and valued members of their families, school, and local community. We teach children to appreciate that places and people are diverse, with both similarities and differences that should be celebrated. We develop children's play skills, perseverance, and their ability to interact with others, fostering resilience, tolerance, and respect while building confidence in their own abilities. By the end of the Reception year, we intend for all children to make at least good progress from their starting points and to be equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary for a smooth transition into Year 1.
Implementation
Each half term, EYFS staff introduce a new theme to provide inspiration for learning, whilst providing the flexibility for children to follow their own interests and ideas. We carefully structure our day to ensure the children are taking part in adult-directed learning, as well as allowing for plenty of time for children to engage in play and develop their skills across all areas of learning during continuous and enhanced provision. During the day the children will take part in short adult-led sessions including RWInc, maths, and topic followed up with focused activities to further embed their learning. Questioning is used to check understanding, identify misconceptions and to challenge. The children also have the opportunity to engage in child-initiated activities both inside and outside following their own interests. We promote and develop the skills related to the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’. These are, ‘Playing and Learning’, ‘Active Learning’ and ‘Thinking Critically’, to enable children to reach their full potential and to become independent lifelong learners. Our learning environments, both inside and outside are adapted to meet the different and developing needs of our children. We use fun and exciting topics to engage and hook the children into their learning, with a key focus on developing language!
Communication and developing vocabulary is at the heart of our curriculum!
The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The children in Nursery and Reception are exposed to a wide vocabulary through stories and non-fiction texts, songs and rhymes, as well as high quality interactions with adults through play and adult-led activities. We create a language-rich environment by seizing every opportunity to teach and recap new vocabulary. Staff comment on what children are interested in or doing and echo back what they say with new vocabulary added. We also teach Makaton and the children learn a new sign weekly. We build children’s confidence in using language in a range of ways, including through implementing elements of the ‘Talk4Writing’ scheme. Developing a love of reading and storytelling and the ability to communicate clearly, is really important to us!
Children follow the rigorous and highly successful Read, Write Inc programme. Read, Write Inc is the phonics scheme used throughout the school. Children are assessed and grouped according to their phonic knowledge to enable teaching to be closely matched to the children’s needs. Nursery children focus on developing their listening and attention skills, learn lots of rhymes and take part in games to develop their early phonological awareness.
Through ongoing assessments and observations, we are able to see which children are engaged in their learning, meeting expectations and making progress. We have a range of additional interventions and support for children who are not making expected progress, or for those children with SEND. This includes, for example, sessions for developing speech and language, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, phonics, and mathematics. In addition, we also recognise those children that have sensory needs and planning is adapted accordingly.
Parents are valued as first educators and every effort is made to inform them of the EYFS curriculum whilst providing them with the tools to continue in learning at home. Parents are encouraged to share their child’s achievements through Tapestry and these are celebrated within school. Weekly updates on what we have been learning about as well as strategies to try at home are shared.
‘British Values’ are deep rooted in our EYFS curriculum. We promote an environment that enables independence, understanding of our emotions and others, creative thinking, respect and tolerance. Every child brings a wealth of knowledge and life experience and we enhance their ‘cultural capital’ and build upon it through widening their experiences further. For example, our weekly ‘Tapestry Time’ and ‘News Sharing Time’ offer all children the opportunity to speak and share their wider experiences outside of school with the class, as well as offering up a forum of discussion, questioning and igniting curiosity among their peers. We have strong links with our wider community, making visits to the local library, church and pet shop and we also make trips to our local beach for ‘Beach School’ sessions.
Impact
At Canvey Island Infant School and Nursery, we measure the impact of our EYFS curriculum through ongoing observations, assessments, and feedback from children and parents. Our commitment is to ensure every child leaves the EYFS with a strong foundation for future learning and success. By revisiting concepts, skills and knowledge they will know more and remember more. They will also learn to be resilient, respectful and responsible, all skills that they can carry forward into later life.
In the final term of the reception year, the EYFS profile is completed for each child. This provides teachers, parents and carers, with a well-rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding, and their attainment against each of the 17 early learning goals. This is also shared and discussed with their Year 1 teachers, as part of our transition arrangements. From their individual starting points, all children make good or rapid progress towards their age-related expectations, ready for their next stage of learning.
The impact of our EYFS curriculum is evident in the development of well-rounded, happy, and confident children. As they move into Year 1, they carry with them essential knowledge and skills, equipping them to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum.