Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Our EYFS Golden Thread

We have developed a Woolavington Golden Thread that underpins everything we do within EYFS to ensure that children achieve. Our Golden Thread is woven throughout our curriculum, planning, provision and experiences to provide a high-quality learning environment.

Intent

At Woolavington we aim to provide motivating first-hand experiences whilst encouraging children to build resilience, ambition and a lifelong love of learning. Our EYFS team build on the knowledge and skills that children already have when they arrive through a balanced range of child and adult-led learning. We recognise that all children are unique, celebrating and welcoming differences within our school and village community. Our curriculum strives to provide wide opportunities and experiences that allows children to immerse themselves in a world of learning and feel confident in relishing new challenges.

Implementation

Our curriculum embeds the EYFS Statutory Framework where children work within 7 key areas of learning in order to achieve the Early Learning Goals and make a good level of development.

Prime areas

Communication and Language
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development

Specific Areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active and thinking critically and creatively and this takes place both indoors and in our outdoor areas. Children make their own decisions about where they learn best and our dedicated EYFS team ensure that there are opportunities for all areas of learning throughout. We endeavour to follow the fascinating and imaginative interests that children show to maximise learning opportunities. Our curriculum maps out loose topics that provide new experiences but are easily adaptable upon children’s ideas.

At Woolavington, we recognise the importance of effective interactions with children. We have an “interacting not interfering” approach.

Phonics and early reading are vital elements in children’s development. We follow the Unlocking Letters and Sounds SSP where children learn from Phase 1 through to Phase 4. Children are taught the fundamental skills of reading and early spelling and have opportunities to practice these skills within adult-directed activities and continuous provision.

Our Mathematics curriculum is taught to adhere to the EYFS Statutory Framework. We follow a “my turn, our turn, your turn” sequence allowing learning to be embedded throughout.

Interventions ensure that all children are given the opportunity to achieve a Good Level of Development by the end of the EYFS. We provide both group and 1:1 interventions in any highlighted areas of need based on children’s individual progress.

Impact

The impact of our EYFS curriculum is reflected in having well rounded, happy and confident children transitioning into Year 1. We measure good progress across the year through formative and summative assessments which are based on the teacher’s knowledge of the children, children’s WOW moments according to our yearly checkpoints and floor books on Tapestry and Seesaw. At the end of the EYFS children make a Good Level of Development that meet the National expectations.

The judgments of our school are moderated with other schools across the Clevedon Learning Trust. This means judgments are secure and consistent with government guidelines. We regularly review and evaluate teaching and pedagogy through fortnightly EYFS staff meetings and termly pupil progress meetings.