EYFS at West Bridgford Infant School

Aims and Intent

Ensuring the best possible start for all Reception children is central to our vision, as we know a child’s development at this crucial stage has a fundamental impact in laying secure foundations for future learning, development and preparation for life. We want our children to develop a passion for life-long learning and to develop as rounded individuals.

As a team we have devised our curriculum based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework supported by guidance in the non-statutory document ‘Development Matters’ 2021. It is shaped through the seven areas of learning and development: Communication & Language; Personal, Social & Emotional Development; Physical Development; Literacy; Maths; Understanding the World; and Expressive Arts & Design. This is further enhanced by our Shine Brightly themes which support our children to develop key skills to support learning such as resilience and perseverance. It is also adapted to meet the specific needs of each cohort and the interests of our children.

We value the uniqueness and diversity of every child. We celebrate and uphold this by ensuring our curriculum recognises, represents and values all members of our school community. In Early Years, we ensure a caring, supportive and inclusive learning environment. Our team of experienced staff pride themselves on working closely with our families to build strong and positive relationships with parents and carers and children.

Implementation

We provide happy, safe, welcoming, stimulating and challenging learning environments and rich experiences which promote curiosity, creativity, enjoyment, independence and interest, and challenge their risk taking in all aspects of learning. The children have opportunities to explore, apply, practise and embed learning both indoors and outdoors, this will be enhanced with well planned activities and carefully selected resources. We are there to guide, scaffold and challenge them every step of the way as they start their journey in school.

The curriculum is delivered through a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. We aim to support all children to become independent and collaborative learners. Through half termly topics we provide a broad, balanced, relevant and creative curriculum that will set in place firm foundations for further learning and development and incorporate children’s own ideas and interests.

We support children in developing the ‘Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning’ (Playing & Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating & Thinking Critically) throughout.

Our whole school ethos incorporates these Characteristics of Learning with our ‘Shining Brightly Themes’ and developing a growth mind-set. We use our superhero characters to promote these.                                           

See our English and Maths pages for information about how we teach reading, writing, phonics & maths.

Enrichment

We enrich and enhance our curriculum through a programme of visits, visitors and experiences that bring learning to life.

We welcome parents’/carers’ involvement as crucial partners in supporting their child’s learning. We also value the rich experiences and knowledge they can share with us such as their profession, special interests and hobbies or cultural practices.