Learning in Early Years

The Early Years Foundation Stage is a play based Curriculum.
Our children have the opportunity to learn, explore and discover through play and practical learning opportunities.
We also have a planned focus for inputs and activities with adult lead learning to develop skills and progress in an age and developmentally appropriate way.

I would love to tell you a little about learning in Early Years. Our team is very enthusiastic and passionate about early learning! We love teaching and playing and so the Early Years Foundation Stage is the perfect place for us!  

The Curriculum 

The Early Years Foundation Stage has 7 areas of learning. 

7 Areas of Learning

 Communication and Language 
English as an additional language 
Personal, Social and Emotional Development 
Physical development 
Literacy 
Mathematics 
Understanding the world 
Expressive arts and design

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If you would like to look at the Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters, the link is below.  I have inserted a print screen from the document so you can see how it looks. 
If you have any questions please ask! 

Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Below I have inserted part of the document to show you how it looks. I have taken parts of the Physical Development guidance. You can see the first image is part of the Birth to Three guidance, second image 3-4 and third image is Reception. 

As you can see at the top the age/ class is noted. To the left are the statements of expected development and to the right is some guidance on how to support, teach and facilitate this learning. 

National Curriculum Links

We ensure that as the children complete their Early Years Journey they have the foundation skills needed to prepare them for their next step in learning. We provide children with experiences and practical learning so they can build upon this throughout KS1 and then onto KS2! To see how Early Years links into the National Curriculum subjects please visit the subject pages. 

Maths
Children in Caterpillars will explore Key Mathematical Concepts (like big and small, full and empty, in and out). A secure practical foundation of these Key Concepts, along with understanding and using the vocabulary associated will really support Mathematical Development for the years that follow. Children will also explore number rhymes in abundance! They will become familiar with numbers that are important to them and will start some number counting and representation as and when appropriate. Children in Nursery will follow White Rose Maths which will lead into Power Maths in Reception. There will be opportunities for children to apply their skills and knowledge practically within their environment. 

Writing in the EYFS

In Early Years children will be writing for purpose in play. At the start of their journey this might look like mark making whilst singing Nursery Rhymes building up to Reception where children would be writing for purpose in their play, examples may be instructions or stories to their play. Adults will scaffold writing in play and promote a love of writing and mark making.

In Nursery, children develop their mark making skills. They learn to make lines and marks with a pencil and begin to copy the letters of their name by themselves. 

In Reception, children will start to learn how to form letters correctly. They will be encouraged to use their knowledge of phonics to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. By the end of the year, they will be expected to write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others

Phonics

Children in Caterpillars will develop their Phonological Awareness through fun and interactive activities and staff will embed these skills during play. 
Butterflies Nursery will start their ELS (Essential Letters and Sounds) Phonics journey which will lead into Reception and beyond.  

Reading in the EYFS

In Nursery, children become familiar with books and how to handle them. They are encouraged  to retell stories in different ways, for example using puppets or acting out the story. 'Story time' takes place daily.

In Reception, children are taught Early Reading strategies which include applying phonics skills, using the pictures, reading on, going back to a word and re-reading a sentence. Children will start to recognise sounds, learn to blend and then learn to read and understand simple sentences. One-to-one reading sessions take place regularly and reading skills are modelled by an adult on a daily basis.