KenmontEarly Years
Early Years Intent
Kenmont Primary School has high expectations for every child in our setting and we embrace the wide range of starting points and experiences of our learners.
Play forms an important part of our provision with a mix of child initiated and guided opportunities.
Our environment is developed to ensure that high-quality learning opportunities are maximised both inside and outdoors.
Language development and Personal and Social Development is prioritised in recognition that many children have had limited opportunities for social interaction and language development during the last two academic years. We aim to ensure that pupils engage in language and vocabulary rich experiences enabling the learning of new concepts and skills in preparation for the achievement of high standards by the end of Reception (Early Learning Goals).
Our curriculum is mapped through themes with the scope for practitioners to skilfully follow children’s interests. Our team is responsive to the needs of our children and we carefully adjust and develop our provision using a research and evidence based approach.
Our timetable is a blend of focused direct teaching and continuous provision where children have the opportunity to learn independently through exploration and challenge.
Cultural capital is actively developed through a shared understanding of different cultures with learning opportunities that build on and develop our pupils’ backgrounds and prior experiences.
A key aim is to ensure our pupils are reflective learners. We actively encourage curiosity and questions. Connections ‘within learning’ to consolidate and deepen understanding are purposely planned. The EYFS team is now working more closely with KS1 to develop consistency and cohesion across the year groups as part of the focus on progression and sequencing across the curriculum.
Implementation
At Kenmont Primary School, we offer a curriculum which is broad and balanced and which builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all children, whatever their starting points.
We follow the Early Years Curriculum, with pupils working towards key milestones that incorporate and build upon the Early Learning Goals. The Characteristics of Effective Learning
drive our provision to develop pupils’ abilities to play and explore, be active, create and think critically.
We are constantly developing an effective and engaging environment that is rich in language, taking into consideration the need for the children to be able to access all areas of learning, both inside and outside at any one time.
We provide high quality interactions, using key questioning, that demonstrate and impact upon the progress of all children whilst adopting a nurturing approach for those pupils who might need some reassurance to enable them to succeed.
Staff members act as role models to the children they teach in order for children to develop their own speaking and listening skills.
Assessments and observations, recorded in Learning Journals and shared with parents, are used to inform the next steps of learning and to meet individual needs.
Teachers provide suggested home learning opportunities with information about what has been taught, allowing parents to build on their child’s school experiences, at home.
For the English curriculum, we use ‘Phonics Bug’ and ‘The Power of Reading’ in EYFS. Children develop their literacy skills by the imitation of stories that they learn using actions and story mapping techniques. They then move on to including their own ideas in stories. Literacy and Phonics opportunities are promoted in many of the continuous provision activities available to children during the week.
Reading is one of our key priorities and children are encouraged to develop a ‘love of reading’ through stories, drama, role-play and books from our extensive library.
We teach reading and writing primarily through phonics, which is taught daily through differentiated phonic groups. Phonic sounds are introduced in a systematic manner and progress is monitored with children moving on to read books from the scheme. The sessions are delivered in an engaging way and activities are revisited to embed over the year and supported in a range of ways.
The Maths curriculum is taught through daily sessions based on ‘Maths Mastery’. These are carefully planned using concrete resources and build on prior learning and real life experiences across the theme and year. This starts with mastering numbers 0-5 and then progresses through to 0-10 and 0-20. We want our children to become confident mathematicians who can apply what they have learnt to real life experiences.
Understanding the World is linked to themes and learning in Science, Computing, History and Geography, aligned to development in KS1.
Writing is developed through mark-making and the development of fine-motor skills. We model and encourage writing ‘for a purpose’, for example, a recipe, a shopping list, messages and tallying.
Physical Development sessions, including the daily access to climbing frames, trikes and scooters and sports’ equipment, is combined with weekly sessions of ‘Wiggle Waggle’ dance, song, music and movement.
During the year, Parent-Teacher meetings provide opportunity for parents and carers to see and discuss their child’s progress and set targets to work on at home.
Extra- curricular opportunities include:
- Visitors to enhance children’s learning – Gardeners, Chefs, Fire Service, Police, for example.
- Educational visits with the local community – seasonal walks to local parks and woodland.
Impact
At Kenmont Primary School, children will demonstrate high levels of engagement in activities, developing their speaking and listening skills, enabling access to all areas of learning and communicating with adults and peers.
From their own starting points, children will make excellent progress academically and socially, developing a sense of themselves so that they are well prepared for the transition into Key Stage One.
- Children will develop skills across all areas of the curriculum including Literacy, Mathematics and Physical Development using these in different ways.
- Children will have developed a wider sense of the world around them and can draw on these experiences during interactions with others and link this to new learning.
- Children will have developed Characteristics of Learning and be able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations making links and explaining their ideas and understanding.
- Children will be confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with others.
The curriculum celebrates diversity and supports the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
Children with particular needs, including SEND, are supported appropriately allowing them to be successful.
Monitoring of assessment, including moderation with other settings, effectively demonstrates what learning is taking place and how each child is progressing in all areas of the EYFS curriculum.