Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Structure of the EYFS.

At the Lambs Christian school Day Nursery, children between the ages of 1-5 attend our nursery:

3-5 year olds. 

Our pre school room on the ground floor serves children aged 3-5. This section  is open during term times and the EYFS curriculum is delivered through a range of childcentred adult and child led activities. Our children continue to learn through intentionally planned play based activities. They also learn about routine and developing early literacy and maths skills, learning about the world around them and learning social skills. Children will begin to learn by doing things for themselves, by exploring and investigating, watching and listening, talking and discussing, creating, and communicating. Through dynamically planned adult and child led activities children are able to cover the 7 areas of learning and development.

2-3 year olds

Our 2-3 year olds are also located on the 1st floor. Children Learn a range of knowledge and skills, from helping children to be apart from their families to developing skills in dressing and encouraging them to think for themselves. The children are constantly intrigued by new things in the world around them. Children begin to learn a range of dependence skills from helping children to be apart from their families to developing skills in dressing and encouraging them to think for themselves. The children in the toddler room learn through the 7 areas of the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) which are PSED (Personal, social and emotional development) CL (Communication & Language) and PD (Physical Development) and the 4 Specific areas are also implemented through activities such as UW (Understanding of the world) LIT (Literacy) MD (Mathematics) EAD (Expressive arts and design) Staff deliver and produce holistic observation which covers areas of the EYFS. 

Toddlers 1-2 years

Our babies are located on the 1st floor. Where they are loved and nurtured by practitioners. They have a newly refurbished section where their learning and development is planned for through their key workers. A range of tailor made activities are available to them to aid their individual progress and development. Our babies have reading time with a focus on developing their language and literacy.  On entry to the nursery an initial assessment takes place which enables practitioners to begin to plan for the learning and development needs of our children. Through a combination of needs lead and curriculum led activities our children develop in the 7 areas of learning.

 

Assessment for Impact

At Lambs Christian School Nursery, ongoing assessment is an integral part of the learning and development processes. Staff observe pupils to identify their level of achievement, interests and learning needs. These observations are used to shape future planning and track children’s progress. in their Development Matters Tracker and they are collected in a child’s Learning Journey.

All practitioners are expected to show an understanding of what the pupils know and can do and what their next steps in learning are.

When a child starts their learning at Lambs Christian School Nursery, the practitioners carry out an Initial Assessment of a child to identify starting points. These starting points are transferred onto the Development Matters tracker that each child attending the setting is provided with. Within the first 6 weeks that a child starts, staff will administer CEM Baseline Assessment, the same assessment is carried out before a child moves onto Reception, to measure points of progress the child has made during the year.

Initial Assessment

When a child starts their learning at Lambs Christian School, the practitioners carry out an Initial Assessment of a child to identify starting points are transferred onto Development Matters tracker that each child attending the setting is provided with.

At the end of the EYFS, staff complete the EYFS profile for each child. Pupils are assessed against the 17 Early Learning Goals, indicating whether they are:
• Meeting expected levels of development
• Not yet reaching expected levels (‘emerging’)
The profile reflects ongoing observations, and discussions with parents and/or carers. The results of the profile are shared with parents and/or carers for their child. The profile is moderated internally (referring to the Development Matters guidance).
EYFS profile data is submitted to the local authority and we fully take part in their moderation process

2 year progress check

When a child is aged between 24-36 months parents/carers must be given a short written summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas of the EYFS.

These are:

• personal, social and emotional development
• communication and language
• physical development

The progress check enables earlier identification of development needs so that additional support can be put in place. This support may be in the setting or may involve outside agencies.
This progress check must identify areas

• where the child is typical, and identify any areas
• where progress is atypical.
• Actions the setting intends to take to address any developmental concerns must be described including working with other professionals if appropriate.

The practitioner who knows the child best should complete the check – this will normally be the key person. The progress check should take account of the views and contributions of parents/carers, other practitioners and where relevant other professionals working with the child.
Where possible the voice of the child should be included in some way. Very young children and those with speech or other developmental delay or disabilities may not say anything or very little verbally, but they will communicate in other ways, for example, through gesture, action, body language and signing.
The progress check aims to enable parents to understand the child’s needs and, with support from practitioners, enhance development at home.

Home – school partnership

We recognise that children learn and develop well when there is a strong partnership between staff and parents and/or carers. We hold parent meetings at the end of each term to discuss their child’s progress and development. We have an open-door policy for parents to speak to staff at the beginning and end of the day. The progress checks, tracking and termly reports help to provide parents and/or carers with a well-rounded picture of their child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities.

Each child is assigned a key person who helps to ensure that their learning and care is tailored to meet their needs. The key person supports parents and/or carers in guiding their child’s development at home along with the teacher. The key person also helps families to engage with more specialist support, if appropriate.

READING
As soon as children start their learning journey at Lambs Christian School Nursery pre-school classroom, they are introduced to phonics through the Jolly Phonics program. They learn sounds and phonemes using 7 Finger Phonics Books. Every day a designated practitioner works with a child individually to begin the reading journey.

ENJOY A COSY TIME TO READ TO YOUR CHILDREN

We also believe that reading to children is vital for their development. It is known that children whose parents read them at least one book a day will hear about 290000 more words by age 5 than those who don’t regularly read books with their parents.

Reading to and with your children:

  • Enhances a child’s vocabulary and helps them understand how to read and write. 
  • Children absorb more knowledge, it gives them a head start and helps to prepare them for school later down the line.
  • Exposure to reading exercises your child’s brain-specific areas of the brain are affected when young children have reading exposure at home from an early age.
  • It develops your child’s concentration. 

At Lambs we encourage our children to develop a love for reading and begin to read for pleasure. Our children choose one book from our nursery library and take it home for their parents/carers to read with them.

7 AREAS OF LEARNING AND THE EARLY LEARNING GOALS

Communication and Language
The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children’s language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, story-telling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children, they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.

Physical Development
Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, coordination and positional awareness through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, coordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye coordination, which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

Literacy
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).

Mathematics
Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.

Understanding the World
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.

Expressive Arts and Design
The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials.

The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

Early Learning Goals

Communication and Language

ELG: Listening, Attention and Understanding
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions;
  • Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding;
  • Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.

ELG: Speaking
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary;
  • Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate.
  • Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

ELG: Self-Regulation
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly;
  • Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate;
  • Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions.

ELG: Managing Self
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge;
  • Explain the reasons for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly;
  • Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices.

ELG: Building Relationships
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others;
  • Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers;
  • Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs.

Physical Development

ELG: Gross Motor Skills
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others;
  • Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing;
  • Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.

ELG: Fine Motor Skills
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases;
  • Use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery;
  • Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing.

Literacy

ELG: Comprehension <br<Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary;
  • Anticipate – where appropriate – key events in stories;
  • Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.

ELG: Word Reading
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs;
  • Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending;
  • Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
ELG: Writing
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed;
  • Spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters;
  • Write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

Mathematics

ELG: Number
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;
  • Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;
  • Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

ELG: Numerical Patterns
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;
  • Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity;
  • Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

Understanding the World

ELG: Past and Present
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society;
  • Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.

ELG: People, Culture, and Communities
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;
  • Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.

ELG: The Natural World
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants;
  • Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
  • Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.

Expressive Arts and Design

ELG: Creating with Materials
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;
  • Share their creations, explaining the process they have used;
  • Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.

ELG: Being Imaginative and Expressive
Children at the expected level of development will:
  • Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
  • Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
  • Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
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