Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum Information
At Cross Farm Infants, your child's happiness is our first priority. We aim to ensure that parents are involved in their child's learning and have detailed copies of our long-term plans available at the beginning of the academic year. Staff in Reception plan together to provide a day filled with purposeful activities. We provide a structured learning environment, building on concepts developed during their time in Nursery. This ensures continuity in all aspects of learning in order to develop:-
- Positive attitudes
- Independence, self-confidence, consideration and tolerance for others
- Concepts of language, literacy and numeracy; and to provide opportunities for physical and creative development and understanding of the world.
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework 2014 from the DFE. This sets out the Reception curriculum we use, which is organised into seven areas of learning;
Personal Social and Emotional Development
In this area children develop confidence and self-esteem. They learn about relationships and how to express their feelings. Children are encouraged to learn about sharing, taking turns and negotiating with others. They begin to understand rules, but also develop independence and responsibility.
Communication and language
Developing skills in this area is achieved through encouraging children to talk about what they want and feel, their likes and dislikes. They have opportunities to express themselves through role-play and they can enjoy stories, songs, poems and rhymes. Children are encouraged to use language to describe past and present experiences, and sequence events. Children will learn to speak in small and large groups and listen and follow instructions, also listening carefully to others and demonstrate asking interesting and appropriate questions.
Mathematics
In this area the children sort and group objects and materials, explaining why they have done something. They will compare height, weight, size and texture. Children will begin to use positional language to tell where things are and to put things in order. Children have opportunities to make models with shapes and talk about them and what they look like. They will then notice and make patterns with them. Children will recognise numbers around them, they will begin to count, add objects together and take them away. They will start to put events in order and investigate how to solve practical problems.
Understanding the world
To develop skills and understanding for attainment in this area the children have opportunities to explore and investigate the world around them, they will be able to look at and talk about objects, materials, living creatures and plant life, noticing details, similarities and difference. They will try things out and come to some conclusions and see reason. Children will have support to record findings by drawing, using the computer and camera. They will begin to know about different people and their cultures, traditions and places in the community.
Physical development
The children's physical development is promoted at Cross Farm through play and learning inside and outside. They become better at moving, climbing, controlling, catching, throwing and coordinating with more and more skill. They will get opportunities to chase, race, jump, balance and play with a partner and in teams. Children will find out about keeping healthy as well as learning to dress and un-dress themselves. They will use different types of tools for drawing, painting, cutting and sticking to develop fine motor skills.
Literacy
As well as learning to handle and share books with others, children will have opportunities to see letters and words written down, they will learn the sounds of the alphabet through phonic sessions and speaking and listening activities. They will start to hear the different sounds that make up a word and apply this knowledge when looking at words in books and begin to read and write captions and sentences. To support children's learning they will have access to multi-sensory stories, picture games, bingo games, matching words and plenty of use of the computer.
Expressive Arts and Design
In this area, children will express their own thoughts, ideas and feelings through drawing, painting and model making. They will have the chance to design and make their own creations using man-made and natural materials. They will explore colour, shape and texture using their senses. Children will be able to listen to and make their own music, dance, sing songs and take part in imaginative role play with others.
In order to ensure that children reach a good level of development in each of the seven areas, coverage is interwoven throughout our topic themes for the year. Children, help the adults to plan what they would like to learn about for each topic. This enables them to have ownership and become highly engaged. Our possible topic themes and predicted interests for the year are as below;
Autumn 1
Getting to know each other, settling in, Holidays, Pirates and Mermaids
Ourselves, Autumn - Little Red Riding Hood - An autumn walk in the woods, Harvest - The Little Red Hen / The Enormous Turnip
Autumn 2
Halloween/ Spooky week, Celebrations of light: Bonfire/ Diwali,Winter, Christmas - making decorations and a picture frame present
- Nativity Story, "It's a Baby"- a play, The Gingerbread Man - making ginger bread men
Spring 1
Winter/Ice, Dinosaurs - non-fiction, stories and poems. Chinese New Year
The 3 Billy Goats Gruff
Spring 2
Space - Light and Dark, Journeys - Naughty Bus, Nursery Rhyme Week (focus on rhyme and alliteration), Easter and Pancake day, Mothers Day, Signs of Spring, The Spring Museum
Summer 1
Growth - Jack and the Beanstalk - The Hungry Caterpillar, a Farm Trip - eggs/chicks in class
Minibeasts - caterpillar to butterfly cycle. Observing caterpillars in class.
Summer 2
Dear Zoo (animals) - visit Zoo 'We’re going on a Lion Hunt.' Julia Donaldson (Gruffalo, Stick Man, Monkey Puzzle, A Squash and a Squeeze, Smartest Giant in Town)
Once Upon a time;
- princesses and knights, castles
- Cinderella, Sleeping beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White etc.
- Seaside - seaside day!
Over the year, we build a profile record of what each child is capable of in each area of the EYFS curriculum. The profile consists of base line assessment, observations, work samples, photographs, anecdotal evidence, parental observations in the form of 'Wow' moments they have seen, reading and writing records, and the children's own thoughts about their abilities. The profile is used as a tool to ensure that each child is making progress and ensure that their individual needs are met. At the end of the Reception year, the profile provides a clear picture of each child's learning journey and acts as a celebration of just how far they have come and what they have achieved.
The Early Years Team
