Learning in the EYFS
Our Nursery and Reception follow the framework set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) document. We use this framework and the ‘Development Matters’ guidance to support our broad and progressive curriculum.
We believe all children learn best when they feel secure, safe and happy. Our teaching and practice is led by the four guiding principles;
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
- Importance of learning and development.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), there are seven areas of learning and development that shape the curriculum. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. These 7 areas are used as the main basis for planning children’s learning activities, along with flexibility to ensure children’s current needs and interests are incorporated.
- Communication and Language: Developing children’s ability to express themselves and understand others
- Physical Development: Promoting children’s physical health, coordination, and self-care skills
- Personal, Social, and Emotional Development: Supporting children’s self-awareness, relationships, and emotional well-being
- Literacy: Fostering children’s early reading and writing skills
- Mathematics: Building children’s understanding of numbers, shapes, and measures
- Understanding the World: Helping children make sense of their physical world and community
- Expressive Arts and Design: Encouraging children’s creativity and self-expression through various mediums
Our teaching of synthetic phonics is based on the Little Wandle scheme. More information on the scheme can be found here:
www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
The EYFS also promotes the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ which guides our staff to reflect on the different ways in which children learn. In our Nursery and Reception we actively praise and point out when children are demonstrating these characteristics so that they become aware of good learning behaviours. We interlink this with promoting a ‘growth mindset’ ensuring that all children are confident and motivated to learn and progress. The characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:
- Playing and Exploring: children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
- Active Learning: children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievement
- Creating and Thinking Critically: children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
We place great importance on the learning environments in our Early Years both indoors and out. We have carefully planned ‘continuous provision’, which are the resources that are always available. We make sure that the resources promote developing skills moving from Nursery to Reception. In addition to this we add ‘enhancements’ or ‘provocations’ to inspire children’s play and exploration to go in new directions, or to apply taught skills.
We place a great emphasis on learning through play and direct practical experiences led by the interests of our children. Learning is organised so that the curriculum is delivered through a combination of adult led activities and continuous provision opportunities, encouraging children to develop and consolidate their learning independently through discovery, exploration, curiosity an challenge.
