EYFS

Click the links below to see our EYFS intent, implementation and impact, end points and curriculum map.

Intent

In EYFS at Thornham St James’ Primary School we aim for our children to be inquisitive, enthusiastic, tolerant, respectful and happy individuals with the ability to prosper in a diverse society. High expectations in the core and foundation subjects enable our children to confidently move onto the next stage of their learning. All children, irrespective of background, needs or abilities are entitled to a wide-ranging curriculum and we consider cultural and social capital, physical and mental well-being as essential aspects of the curriculum, helping us to develop children who are comfortable in their own minds and skins and able to enhance their social, moral and cultural understanding. We aim to work collaboratively with parents and carers to encourage independent, enthusiastic learners who thrive and reach their full potential. It is our intent that children who enter EYFS begin their lifelong journey by developing physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally whilst also embedding positive attitudes to school and a love of learning.

Implementation

At Thornham St James, we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework , updated September 2021 curriculum. This document specifies the requirements for learning and development in the EYFS and provides the prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. Through our knowledge of each child and formative assessments, we plan exciting and engaging activities that will move the children’s learning forward. This may involve following a topic where we take advantage of cross curricular links in order to combine transferable skills and develop a wide-ranging vocabulary which underpins the children’s learning. This may also include following individual children’s interests and making the most of those focused moments where the teaching and learning can be maximised in a one-to-one exchange between teacher and child. Dependant on the nature and needs of the class of individuals, each year creates its own unique blend of whole class, guided, adult-directed and child-initiated play activities. Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active and thinking critically and creatively and this takes place both indoors and in our outdoor area.  

Our school follows the Rising Stars phonics programme, using a wide range of resources to support this. Every child has access to a phonics session every day with intervention opportunities for those who find this area of learning more difficult. We use the phonics session to also develop children’s expertise in handwriting. 

We provide effective and focused intervention for those children who are finding learning challenging and are not on track to meet expectations at the end of the year. This will be provided in an inclusive way and support from parents is also enlisted at an early stage to ensure that the children have every chance to achieve the Early Learning Goals. 

The class teacher and teaching assistant collect evidence of children’s learning through work completed in their exercise books, observations, photos and videos which are uploaded onto the Tapestry online system or Class Dojo. 

The adults in Reception class work hard to ensure that children are surrounded by a kind, caring and happy environment which helps them develop the same skills in their journey through school. It is a positive place to be where resilience, perseverance and successes are celebrated and every child feels valued and respected

Impact

The impact of the EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well-rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1. Our children are often amazing role models for others in school. We measure progress and children’s learning across the year through formative and summative assessment which are based on the teacher’s knowledge of the child, their workbooks, photographs and videos on Tapestry. We aim to exceed the National and Local Authority data for children achieving Good Level of Development. Most of our children make more than the expected steps progress from their starting points. The judgements of our school are moderated with other schools and the EYFS teacher attends regular moderating events and local authority moderating events. This means judgements are secure and consistent with government guidelines. 

The teaching and pedagogy are reviewed and evaluated regularly through meetings with staff members. We ensure that the areas we discuss and develop are reflected in changes and developments in our classroom practice.