Our EYFS Classes

At Eastway Primary School, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is made up of the following classes:

• Explorers – for children aged 2–3 years
• Nursery – for children aged 3–4 years
• Reception – for children aged 4–5 years

Across our EYFS provision, we provide a nurturing, stimulating and inclusive environment where children are encouraged to explore, play, develop their independence and build the foundations for lifelong learning.

Each stage of our EYFS provision is carefully designed to build upon children's previous experiences, ensuring that they develop the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience they need as they progress through their learning journey at Eastway.

Intent

At Eastway Primary School, we aim to provide a well-designed, ambitious and inclusive EYFS curriculum that makes a genuine difference to children's lives.

We recognise that children join our Early Years provision with a wide range of experiences, knowledge, skills and starting points. Our curriculum is designed to identify and respond to these starting points, providing the experiences, teaching and interactions children need to make strong progress and reduce gaps in learning.

We are particularly committed to ensuring that children who may experience disadvantage are given the rich experiences, language, knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive. We aim to ensure that every child can fulfil their potential, regardless of background, race, religion, gender, disability or individual need.

We recognise that learning does not begin and end at the school gate. Families are our children's first educators and we place great value on working in partnership with parents and carers. We aim to support the whole family and strengthen the home learning environment, recognising its significant contribution to children's learning, development and wellbeing.

Our curriculum is broad, balanced and knowledge-rich, with an emphasis on depth rather than coverage. We want children to develop secure knowledge and understanding that they can revisit, apply and build upon. We bring learning to life through meaningful experiences, high-quality interactions, stories, play, exploration and opportunities to develop cultural capital.

We want children to experience the awe and wonder of the world around them, developing curiosity and a genuine thirst for learning. Through our curriculum and environment, we provide opportunities for children to explore, investigate, question, solve problems and make connections between their learning and the real world.

Ultimately, we want our children to become ready, respectful and responsible lifelong learners, equipped with the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience they need to succeed throughout their education and to lead safe, fulfilling and healthy lives.

Our curriculum:

• Puts relationships at the heart of learning, developing positive relationships between children, staff, parents and carers and external professionals. We value a joined-up approach to ensure children receive the support they need.
• Values play as a fundamental vehicle for learning and recognises the importance of high-quality indoor and outdoor learning experiences.
• Helps children understand how their learning connects to the real world, developing knowledge, skills and attitudes that will prepare them for future learning and life.
• Provides equitable opportunities and experiences for all children, with particular consideration given to children who may experience disadvantage or barriers to learning.
• Creates opportunities for children to experience the awe and wonder of the world, developing curiosity, knowledge and cultural capital.
• Places a strong emphasis on communication, language and vocabulary, helping to narrow the 'word gap' and ensuring children develop the skills to become confident and effective communicators.
• Supports children's emotional security and wellbeing, helping them to understand what makes them unique and develop a strong sense of self.
• Teaches children to recognise and talk about their own feelings and the feelings of others, developing empathy, respect and an understanding of the diverse community and wider world in which they live.
• Develops children's confidence, independence and resilience, enabling them to become motivated and capable learners who are ready for the next stage of their education.
• Promotes equality, diversity, inclusion and respect, ensuring every child feels valued, represented and able to participate fully in our EYFS community.
• Works in partnership with families and the wider community, recognising that strong relationships between home, school and professionals provide the foundations for children's success.

Our Eastway Promise

We want every child who leaves our EYFS provision to have developed the knowledge, language, confidence, independence, resilience and positive attitudes towards learning that will enable them to flourish.

We aim to ensure that children leave us as ready, respectful and responsible learners, with a strong sense of themselves, a curiosity about the world and the foundations they need for a successful future.

Implementation

At Eastway Primary School, our EYFS curriculum is built around the seven areas of learning and development set out in the EYFS Statutory Framework. We recognise that all seven areas are important, interconnected and contribute to the development of the whole child.

The three prime areas are:

• Communication and Language

• Physical Development

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

These areas are particularly important in building the foundations for children's future learning, enabling them to develop relationships, communicate effectively, regulate their emotions, become physically confident and develop a positive attitude towards learning.

Alongside the prime areas, children develop knowledge and skills across the four specific areas:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

We recognise that learning in the prime and specific areas is interconnected. Strong development in the prime areas supports children's ability to access and engage with the wider curriculum. Our curriculum therefore provides a balance of opportunities across all seven areas, with additional focus and support where children's individual starting points and needs indicate this is required.

Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning

Alongside the seven areas of learning, we recognise the importance of the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning. These describe how children learn and support us in understanding children's approaches to learning.

We provide opportunities for children to demonstrate:

Playing and Exploring – children investigate and experience things and 'have a go'.

Active Learning – children concentrate, persevere when they encounter difficulties and enjoy their achievements.

Creating and Thinking Critically – children develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.

Our practitioners observe these characteristics within children's play, interactions and learning and use this knowledge to support children in becoming independent, resilient and motivated learners.

Implementation – What You Will See

A safe, secure and nurturing environment

You will see a calm, welcoming and purposeful environment where children's care, learning and developmental needs are prioritised. Staff are highly trained and understand their responsibilities in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and families.

Our key person approach supports children to develop secure relationships with trusted adults. We recognise that children learn best when they feel safe, valued and emotionally secure.

Assessment that informs teaching

Our assessment approach is designed to identify what children know, understand and can do, as well as their individual next steps.

We use target cards, observations and assessment information to identify gaps and ensure that teaching and provision build upon children's prior knowledge and experiences.

We do not seek to record every aspect of children's learning. Instead, we focus on significant learning – learning that is new, meaningful or demonstrates an important development in the child's knowledge, skills or understanding.

Our 'Eastway Matters' statements support us in monitoring children's dispositions and attitudes towards learning alongside their progress through the EYFS curriculum, Educational Programmes and, ultimately, towards the Early Learning Goals.

A balance of child-initiated and adult-led learning

Our curriculum combines in-the-moment planning, responsive to children's interests and developmental needs, with carefully planned adult-led teaching and learning experiences.

In Reception, learning is often introduced through a leading enquiry question or topic map, beginning with what children already know and encouraging them to consider what they would like to find out. This approach develops curiosity, encourages children to ask questions and creates meaningful connections across areas of learning.

Play as a vehicle for learning

We believe that play and teaching are not separate entities. High-quality play provides children with opportunities to practise skills, develop language, solve problems, collaborate with others and apply their knowledge.

Practitioners know when to model, scaffold, facilitate and extend learning, and when to step back and observe. We recognise that well-timed adult interaction can deepen learning, while uninterrupted play can provide children with valuable opportunities to develop independence and sustain their own thinking.

Purposeful timetables

Our timetables provide a carefully considered balance of:

• Child-initiated learning

• Adult-led teaching

• Small-group work

• Whole-class sessions

• Continuous provision

• Indoor and outdoor learning

• Opportunities for sustained shared thinking

• Time to revisit and consolidate learning

We prioritise the development of Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development, alongside key early literacy and mathematical skills, in response to the needs and starting points of our children.

High-quality learning environments

Our learning environments are carefully designed so that every resource has a purpose. Provision is engaging, accessible and encourages children to explore, investigate, take appropriate risks, solve problems and develop independence.

Indoor and outdoor provision is planned to provide progression, challenge and opportunities to revisit learning as children move through our EYFS.

Our three main classrooms and additional base provisions provide a range of carefully considered environments which enable us to respond to children's individual needs while maintaining high expectations for learning and development.

Outdoor learning and Forest School

Our Forest School environment provides children with opportunities to experience nature, develop physical skills, take appropriate risks, solve problems and develop resilience.

Outdoor learning promotes awe and wonder, curiosity and a deeper connection with the natural world, while providing rich opportunities for communication, physical development and collaborative learning.

Enrichment and cultural capital

We recognise the importance of providing children with experiences that broaden their understanding of the world.

Trips, visitors, special events, clubs and wider experiences provide opportunities to develop children's knowledge, vocabulary and cultural capital, including experiences that may not otherwise be available to them.

High-quality interactions

We recognise that the quality of adult-child interaction is central to effective EYFS practice.

Our staffing structure enables practitioners to spend time interacting with children, extending their thinking, developing vocabulary, modelling language and supporting independence.

Staff understand when to observe, when to join children's play and when to provide purposeful intervention. We provide opportunities for both high-quality adult-child interactions and rich peer-to-peer interactions, supporting children to develop collaboration, resilience, communication and problem-solving skills.

Communication and Language

Developing communication and language is a key priority across our EYFS provision.

We create language-rich environments through:

• Songs, rhymes and familiar routines

• High-quality stories and texts

• Meaningful conversations

• Open-ended resources

• Sustained shared thinking

• Carefully selected vocabulary

• Communication-friendly spaces

• Opportunities for children to talk and listen to one another

We use resources such as self-service dough areas and carefully considered snack spaces to create natural opportunities for communication and interaction.

Our approach is underpinned by a curiosity approach, using open-ended resources and experiences to encourage imagination, collaboration, problem-solving and language development.

Developing vocabulary

Vocabulary development is embedded throughout our curriculum and provision. Staff receive ongoing CPD in communication and language development, supporting them to make every interaction meaningful and purposeful.

We explicitly introduce and revisit vocabulary while also creating opportunities for children to hear, use and apply new words within their play and everyday experiences.

Targeted interventions

Where children require additional support, we use a range of targeted interventions and programmes to help them make progress.

These include:

• WellComm screening and interventions

• NELI

• Time to Talk

• NHS Listening to Sounds Programme

Intervention is carefully matched to children's identified needs and is used alongside high-quality universal provision.

Reading and Phonics

We have a systematic approach to early reading and phonics, ensuring children develop the knowledge and skills they need to become successful readers.

Alongside explicit teaching, we promote a love of books and stories through high-quality texts, storytelling, daily reading experiences and adults who model a genuine enjoyment of reading.

Multi-agency working

We work collaboratively with parents, SENCOs and a range of external professionals to identify and respond to children's individual needs.

Where appropriate, we use a rapid referral and support process involving professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists and specialist SEND teams.

We value the contribution of parents and professionals and ensure that children's individual needs, strengths and experiences inform our provision and teaching.

Working with families

We have an open-door approach and recognise parents and carers as essential partners in their child's learning.

We provide opportunities for families to engage with their child's learning through:

• Parent workshops

• Stay and Play sessions

• Family learning opportunities

• Learning webs

• Weekly learning focuses

• Reading activities

• Regular communication with families

We aim to work collaboratively with families to support learning at home, strengthen relationships and remove barriers to children's progress.

Developing future learners

A key focus of our EYFS curriculum is developing the dispositions and attitudes that children need to become successful lifelong learners.

We support children to develop:

• Independence

• Resilience

• Curiosity

• Confidence

• Collaboration

• Problem-solving

• Motivation

• Positive relationships

• A willingness to 'have a go'

These characteristics are embedded throughout our provision and support children to become confident, capable and 'ready' for the next stage of their education.

Collaboration and transition

Our EYFS team works collaboratively across the provision, with regular professional dialogue, shared planning and reflection.

Room leads and staff work closely with colleagues across different year groups and key stages to support effective transition and ensure that children's learning and developmental needs are understood.

This collaborative approach supports continuity and progression, ensuring that children build upon what they already know and can do as they move through Eastway Primary School.

Our Commitment

Through our implementation, we aim to ensure that every child at Eastway experiences a high-quality, inclusive and ambitious EYFS curriculum that builds on their starting points, responds to their individual needs and develops the knowledge, skills and dispositions they need for their future learning.

Our implementation is underpinned by the EYFS Statutory Framework and informed by our knowledge of our children, our families and our community.

Impact

At Eastway, we want every child to make strong progress from their individual starting point. We recognise that every child is unique, develops at a different rate and brings their own experiences, interests, needs and characteristics to their learning. Our assessment approach therefore focuses on understanding what children know, understand and can do, and using this information to identify how we can best support their next steps.

Our effective key person system enables practitioners to build strong, positive relationships with children and families. Regular dialogue with parents and carers allows us to develop a holistic understanding of each child and ensure that their interests, experiences, SEND and individual circumstances are reflected in our assessment and provision.

Knowing children's starting points

When children join our EYFS provision, we establish a clear picture of their starting points. We gather information about what children already know and can do, alongside their interests, communication and language, developmental needs and dispositions and attitudes towards learning.

Depending on their age and stage, this may include:

• Two-year-old progress checks
• WellComm screening
• The Reception Baseline Assessment
• Information from parents and previous settings
• Information from other professionals where appropriate
• Observations of children within their play, interactions and everyday experiences

This information provides a clear starting point from which we can identify priorities, plan appropriate provision and measure children's progress over time.

Assessment for learning

The most important assessment in our EYFS is the ongoing assessment that takes place through children's everyday experiences.

Our practitioners observe children closely, listen to their conversations, notice their interests and identify what they are showing us they can do. We then respond through in-the-moment planning, adapting our interactions, provision and teaching to support children to take their next steps.

Rather than assessing children simply to generate data, we use assessment to inform what happens next.

This means practitioners continually consider:

What does this child know and understand?
What can they already do independently?
What are they ready to learn next?
What can we change, provide or teach to support this?

We use this information to create enabling environments and purposeful learning experiences that allow children to practise, consolidate and deepen their learning.

Measuring progress

Alongside our ongoing formative assessment, we make summative judgements at key points throughout the year. These provide an overview of children's development and progress across the seven areas of learning.

Assessment information is used to:

• Identify children's strengths and areas for development
• Recognise gaps in learning at an early stage
• Identify children who may require additional support or intervention
• Inform curriculum planning and provision
• Adapt teaching and interactions
• Monitor individual and cohort progress
• Support effective transition between EYFS stages and into Key Stage 1
• Work collaboratively with parents, carers and external professionals

We carefully monitor children who may be at risk of falling behind and provide targeted support and appropriate intervention where required.

Working with families

Parents and carers are an essential part of our assessment process. We value the knowledge that families have about their children and recognise that children's learning continues beyond the classroom.

We share information about children's learning and progress through regular conversations, parent/carer meetings and reports, creating opportunities for families to contribute their own observations and experiences.

The impact we want to see

The impact of our EYFS curriculum is seen in children who:

• Make strong progress from their individual starting points
• Develop confidence, independence and resilience
• Become increasingly effective communicators
• Develop a secure foundation in early literacy and mathematics
• Build positive relationships with adults and peers
• Develop curiosity and a positive attitude towards learning
• Apply their knowledge and skills independently
• Develop the characteristics of effective learning
• Are increasingly ready, respectful and responsible
• Are well prepared for the next stage of their education

Ultimately, our assessment and evaluation processes enable us to answer the most important question:

What difference has our curriculum, teaching and provision made to this child?

We use what we learn from assessment to continually reflect, adapt and improve our practice so that every child has the opportunity to flourish and fulfil their potential.