Early Years

Intent

At May Park Primary School, we believe that the Early Years are crucial for children to develop a secure foundation for future learning. We aim to foster a love of learning in children that will stay with them as they move through their school life from primary into secondary school. We recognise the unique child and celebrate and welcome differences within our wonderfully diverse school community. We value strong partnerships with parents and carers to support children as they develop into independent, confident learners who thrive at school. We view all children as individual learners who can achieve in their own unique way and provide an inclusive curriculum that is broad, creative, and meaningful with memorable first-hand experiences which allows children’s natural creativity and enthusiasm for learning flourish. We aim to develop pupil’s awareness and involvement in their community through local experiences which give them a sense of belonging. It is our intention that children develop the confidence and skills they need to become curious, resilient, and independent learners who make excellent progress from their individual starting points.

Early-Years-Top
pupil

EYFS pupils at May Park:

  • Celebrate their achievement by reflecting on their progress and new skills they have learned across the school year.
  • Learn how to show respect for themselves and others by learning to understand feelings and becoming positive learners who support one another.
  • Start to understand equality through accessing a provision rich with diversity and that embraces and celebrates every child’s uniqueness.
  • Develop their curiosity in an enabling environment with teaching and support from adults who respond to their interests and needs.
  • Are creative in exploring through regular opportunities to engage with the arts, which allows space and time to express themselves and find out what they enjoy.
  • Develop their resilience through positive role-modelling, experiences and support which fosters a can-do attitude.

Implementation

At May Park Primary School, we provide our children with a broad, balanced, and inclusive curriculum which is developed through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. There are seven key areas of learning and development that shapes our curriculum:

  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development
  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

We recognise the importance of giving our children the best possible foundation to their education by planning and implementing teaching and learning opportunities across all key areas in our indoor and outdoor provision. Our curriculum supports children to become curious, resilient and independent learners. We include and support the individual needs and interests of our children, enabling them to learn new skills and build their knowledge through a blend of adult-led, and child-led experiences that recognise children’s prior knowledge and skills which are built upon as they move through school.

Impact

The Early Learning Goals (ELGs) provided by the EYFS framework are a summary of the skills, knowledge and understanding children are expected to have gained by the end of the Reception Year. For Nursery, we have developed a similar set of end of year goals to ensure children are on track to make good progress as they move into Reception. We work hard within our inclusive curriculum to ensure all children progress from their individual starting points with the aim of achieving their Early Learning Goals. We observe children and collect evidence to show progress and inform planning which supports and extends children’s learning and development. We track the progress of all children to ensure they are on track and provide appropriate support where needed. By the end of the Reception Year we aim for all children to have made good progress and be ready for the next stage of their learning as they transition to Year One with firm foundations that are needed for future learning.