Welcome

Welcome to Early Years
at St Anne’s Primary

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our existing families and those who may be new to our school community. We pride ourselves on our nurturing setting where we foster excellent relationships with all of our families. Our experienced staff ensure positive relationships are formed straight away. Transition will always be tailored to the needs of each individual child. We operate an open door policy and invite prospective parents to contact our school office to arrange a visit to come and have a look around.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

EYFS Team

Our EYFS Vision

Where individuality & confidence is nurtured and curiosity & independence grows

In EYFS at St Anne’s we work together in partnership with our parents to promote a stable and loving environment where all our children feel safe and secure. We aim to develop each individual child to fulfil their true potential through play-based learning. Our curriculum reflects the children’s needs and interests, enabling access for all.

Our EYFS Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact

EYFS Curriculum Intent

At St Anne’s Primary school we aim to embrace young children’s learning through curiosity and play, as we believe that, for the children in our community, there are no limits on what they can achieve in their lives when they build upon a strong foundation of inspired teaching and a strong home-school partnership. We use skilled practitioners who recognise the many different ways in which adults can help young children learn; this includes the use of quality interactions, observing and noticing children’s interests and responding in a variety of ways. Our intent is that whilst following the EYFS Framework we will provide a wide range of both discretely planned and child-initiated activities and opportunities for learning through play. We aim to nurture knowledge, creativity, kindness, wisdom, critical thinking, empathy and many more of the skills and values that will allow young children to develop and flourish as learners. We also believe that through this approach children can discover their own unique interests and talents and to develop these to a high standard.

Our teachers use their professional expert knowledge through the use of discrete, responsive and enrichment planning. Our intent is to also provide frequent opportunities for the children to re-visit these key areas both through adult led activities and play. Therefore, we will strive to provide, through the quality teaching and delivery of the EYFS curriculum and by embedding the Characteristics of Effective Learning, a learning environment where our children have the very best learning experiences, opportunities and interactions that:

·       Inspire them to learn the skill

·       Knowledge and understanding they need to have highly successful, fulfilled childhoods and future adult lives

·       Help them to become children who build trusting friendships; are strong in spirit and are resilient

·       Make wise personal choices; and have strength of character

·       Provide the opportunity to be part of a thriving community that enriches childhood, celebrates success and encourages children to believe in their own potential.

We are determined to enable our children to achieve their very best outcomes and therefore our teachers will use their expert knowledge of the children to assess what the children know, monitor and make judgements on their progress, and use this information to plan next steps, taking into account the child’s interests and disposition to learning. At St Anne’s Primary School we are committed to enabling all children to have the very best start to their educational journey in line with our school values: Be Ready, Be Kind and Be Safe.

EYFS Curriculum Implementation

The curriculum the children experience is determined not only by the intentions set out above but how those intentions are delivered. The objectives from the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile are skilfully translated into discrete teaching and sequences of learning that are delivered to pupils. Through the enhanced provision planning, all staff are also able to effectively respond to children’s interests and provide a good balance of continuous provision and adult-planned activities. This enables children to choose from a range of activities which provide challenge and the opportunity to practise and embed play, skills and knowledge throughout the different areas of learning. Teaching connects new knowledge to existing knowledge across sequences of learning and within lessons, through communicating and modelling (particularly language), showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling and providing a narrative for what the children are doing, facilitating and setting new challenges.

Across Our EYFS we integrate long term planning, which ensures continuity and progression throughout Eager Explorers, F1 and F2. Medium term planning (half termly) helps us link the essential skills to be developed to specific planned activities and identifies assessment opportunities, which in turn supports the individual child to move forward in their learning.  In F1 and F2, short term (weekly) planning includes specific plans for coverage of the daily Literacy, Mathematics and Phonics whole class teaching sessions, where learning objectives will be shared verbally with the children. Adult led focus activities are also planned to develop and move children forward in all areas of their learning, again small targets are verbally shared to support progression in each child’s individual learning experience. Free-flow activities are planned on a daily basis with the whole team to include opportunities for extension; child requested activities and further planned adult led activities.

EYFS Curriculum Impact

At St Anne’s Primary School, we are always working towards the children achieving most aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum by the end of the foundation stage. Prior to children starting, staff spend time speaking to the child’s parents, previous settings and read previous learning journey’s to gain an understanding of the whole child and where they are at. During the first half term in F1 & F2, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure progress. The following baseline assessments are also carried out. The RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment) in F2.  This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from F2 until the end of KS2. We also use WellComm, which is an oral language screening programme and intervention for children who experience weakness in their speech & language skills. The assessment informs us if the child is at expected for their age or requires intervention using the suggested targets and activities. The children are screened as soon as they start in Eager explorers and when necessary termly until the required level of support is no longer needed.

Once the children enter F2 we use this prior knowledge to continue to identify and track the children’s progress through the Foundation Stage. All ongoing observations are used to inform weekly planning and identify children’s next steps. This formative assessment does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paper work. Practitioners draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgements through discussions with other practitioners, photographs and physical examples such as a child’s drawing / making. Some observations are uploaded using Class Dojo and shared with parents and carers. Examples of independent writing are kept in individual books for each child.  Phonic assessments are carried out using the assessment proforma from the ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised’ programme every half term to quickly identify pupils that are not making expected progress. Our aim is for children to ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’ where possible. Assessments are completed termly and shared with parents at parent meetings during the Autumn and Spring term.  In Summer Term 2, the EYFSP is completed where teacher judge whether the child has met each of the 17 ELG’s. They will be assessed as either ‘emerging’ or ‘expected.’ Whilst there is no judgement to state if a child is exceeding beyond an ELG, teachers, have a duty to provide a narrative for both parents and the Year 1 teacher. Impact is also evident through our successful transitions into Year 1. EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s link to the National Curriculum, and through our robust planning and delivery across the spectrum of subjects – both core and foundation – children leave the EYFS stage with the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue their journey as scientists, historians, artists and geographers.