Swinnow Primary School

Welcome to the Swinnow Primary School website.

 

 

EYFS

 

EYFS

 

 

The EYFS (early Years Foundation Stage) framework supports the delivery of teaching and learning through play within the three EYFS classes at Swinnow Primary.

The EYFS has 7 areas of learning 

Prime areas of learning:

  • Communication and Language (Listening, attention and understanding; and Speaking)
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships)
  • Physical Development (Gross motor skills and fine motor skills)

Specific areas of learning:

  • Literacy (Comprehension, Word reading and Writing)
  • Maths (Number and Numerical patterns)
  • Understanding of the World (Past and present; People, culture and communities; and The natural world)
  • Expressive Arts and Design (Creating with materials and Being imaginative and expressive)

 

 

Characteristics of effective learning

 

 

 

Playing and Exploring

This includes

  • Finding out and exploring
  • Being willing to try something new (“have a go”)
  • Playing with what they know

Finding Out and Exploring:

It is important that children are able to engage with the environment and participate in sensory play. Play that stimulates their senses – sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Through this type of play they’re able to understand the world around them.

Being Willing To Try Something New:

Trying new things help children build confidence and resilience and therefore new activities should be included in the area of play and children encouraged to participate. These new activities should be based on a child’s developmental stage.

Playing With What They Know:

To develop their skills children need to continuously play with certain toys or participate in certain activities. This way they’re able to master certain skills. It’s also not uncommon for children to choose toys and activities they’re familiar with or see other children using.

 

Active Learning
This Includes:

  • Being Involved and Concentrating
  • Continuously Trying
  • Enjoying Achieving What They’ve Set Out To Do

Being Involved and Concentrating

Activities should be set out in a manner that encourages lengthier involvement. This ensures children are able to concentrate until they’ve accomplished a set goal. You should allow children to choose these activities themselves but they can be added to a routine or be encouraged to ensure children are progressing. The time it takes to complete the activity should be age appropriate and based on a child’s ability. This way you’re not setting them up to fail. Instead, make the activity increasingly harder as they develop the necessary skills.

Continuously Trying

To develop their skills, activities should be laid out in a manner that encourages perseverance. When children encounter activities that they find hard to master they may be inclined to give up. This is your opportunity to step in and encourage them to continuously try and remain motivated until they’ve accomplished it. To avoid frustration keep an activity simple enough for their specific stage and age, remembering that it’s about bringing out the best in a child and not pointing to faults or making them feel inferior. To do this you should focus on each child individually.

Enjoying Achieving What They Set Out To Do

This should be an important opportunity for a child to learn the benefits of perseverance. Once they’ve accomplished something allow them to take pleasure in that accomplishment. Focus on that moment. This feeling will form the foundation of their ability to persevere in future and should help them build resilience and confidence.

 

Critical Thinking
 This Includes:

  • Developing Their own ideas
  • Make links and “connecting the dots”
  • Choosing a way to do things


Developing Their Own Ideas

For a child to excel they need to be given the space to develop their own ideas. Allow them to ask you questions and indulge their curiosity and imagination through the activities laid out. Crafts are an excellent way for them to start this learning process and as it fosters creativity and independence.

Making links and “connecting the dots”

The activities you’ve selected can help children develop an understanding of how the world functions. They’ll be able to see that by doing something in a certain way they’ll reap a specific outcome. On the way to this, however, there’ll be a lot of trial and error. But this allows them to discover what works, why it works and what doesn’t and use these skills in future.

 Choosing A Way To Do Things

Once a child has learnt through “trial and error” you’ll find them learning quicker and initiating more challenging tasks. This is as a result of having the self-confidence and skills to put what they’ve learnt in the past into action.

 

 

Intent 

 

 

At Swinnow Primary there are three EYFS classes

- 2 year old provision 

- Nursery class

- Reception class

Our aim is to provide a stimulating and safe environment where every child learns through first-hand experiences. Communication and language development is prioritised – through effective interactions and modelling from staff, a language rich environment and the promotion of enjoyment of stories and talk.

The curriculum ensures learning hooks into children’s interests so it is engaging and relevant to them whilst developing their curiosity through adult introduced opportunities and active learning.

There is a strong focus within two-year-old provision on the prime areas so that children settle, feel safe and feel curious about play and learning. They develop safe relationships, learn to communicate their needs effectively, with a focus on listening, talking, vocabulary development and physical confidence.

The drivers in ‘big’ nursery is the continual development of spoken language, rich and ambitious vocabulary and listening skills which the children can apply in wider contexts, more confidently and with a broader range of people. Children should develop both independence and the ability to develop their relationships with others. A focus on quality stories and texts ensures children develop an early love of reading and develop early reading skills to be ready for the next stage of development in Reception.

In Reception, the children will develop learning behaviours they need to confidently access and direct play based learning. They will progressively engage with more demanding activities and teaching so they begin to see themselves as talkers, readers, writers and mathematicians. Whilst sustaining the child-led focus, the aim is to ensure children are ready for the next stage of their education having reached the early learning goals and developed an appetite and enthusiasm for learning.

Guide to EYFS for parents

 

Image result for policy Click here for our EYFS Policy

 

Implementation

 

 

Across the three EYFS rooms we have a fantastic team of skilled practitioners who really get to know the children and tailor their interactions to meet the children's needs.  The prime areas of the EYFS are paramount to the delivery of our curriculum, ensuring the children feel safe and settled within the provision, are able to access their provision with increasing levels of independence and are confident to communicate.

Our curriculum is built around carefully chosen texts within broad overarching half termly themes.  The range of texts and the rich language is central to the book choices.  Alongside our quality texts we use influence from seasonal change and events, special days through school and importantly children's interests to shape our curriculum in action.

 

Image result for overview   Click here for our key texts 2024 2025

 

  Click here for our EYFS curriculum goals

 

 

 Click here for curriculum information for our 2 year olds provision 

 

 Click here for curriculum information for our Nursery provision

 

 Click here for curriculum information for Reception

 

Impact

 

 

 

The EYFS curriculum and all its experiences and opportunities will ensure that children are equipped with skills, experiences, attributes, knowledge and understanding to thrive and develop. 

During their time in EYFS they become fantastic role models and the very best of themselves.  Their individuality is valued and the unique child has every opportunity to achieve and excel, based upon their own personal strengths, interest and core values whilst learning in EYFS, and in the future.

Ultimately they will be happy, motivated, ready learners!