Early Years
Welcome to Roundhay St John's Early Years Foundation Stage.
At Roundhay St John’s, we want to prepare our children for the next stage of their education, ready to tackle new challenges with confidence, enthusiasm and have a positive mindset. Our aim is for all our children to grow a love of learning, become increasingly curious and to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed as they start their learning journey.
We intend to:
· Work in partnership with parents and carers to encourage independent, happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential
· Understand and follow children’s interests, incorporating these into our EYFS Curriculum
· Create a happy, stimulating environment, where children feel confident, cared for and are able to build strong relationships
· Support the children to become confident communicators
· Provide opportunities that engage all children regardless of their starting points
· Provide a rich, engaging curriculum that provides the children with the foundations needed for their educational journey and transition into Key Stage 1
Implementation
At Roundhay St John’s we follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) to underpin our curriculum planning, working towards the children meeting the Early Learning Goals at the end of the Reception Year. We are committed to play-based, active learning which fosters a sense of enquiry, a thirst for knowledge and gives children the resilience and skills to become confident, independent learners.
Our curriculum engages children through a balance of child-initiated and adult directed activities. Children engage in short, taught English, Maths and Phonics sessions and are provided with planned opportunities across the provision to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the day. Adult interactions support and extend learning through use of the ‘Sustained, Shared, Thinking’ approach, where the adults model the use of language and question to engage children and develop understanding.
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum. Children follow the rigorous and carefully planned ‘Little Wandle’ Systematic Synthetic Phonics Programme from Nursery, Reception and into Key Stage 1. Other areas of our curriculum are explored initially through the use of a picture book to stimulate questions and engage curiosity. We have identified ‘regular reads’ and ‘core texts’ which provide numerous opportunities for carefully planned exploration and explicit teaching of language and vocabulary.
Impact
Our children experience a smooth transition between pre-school settings / nurseries, Reception and Year 1. They soon settle into the environment and develop the skills required to become independent, resilient and confident members of the school community. They build strong relationships with each other and the adults across the provision.
At the end of Reception, they leave the EYFS with a solid foundation of skills, ready for the learning opportunities provided in Key Stage 1 and beyond.
