EYFS
Curriculum Intent
At Byron Primary school, our aim in the Early Years Foundation Stage, is to provide a rich curriculum that is full of memorable experiences and learning opportunities for our children.
As a team we work hard to create a stimulating learning environment that provides opportunities for our children that are exciting, challenging, full of exploration and adventure. It is our intent to promote a love of learning in every child that will last throughout their whole school life at Byron, and beyond.
Through these learning experiences it is our intent that all children develop physically, cognitively, emotionally and verbally to the best of their ability.
At Byron Primary School we value all communities and cultures, it is our aim that all children in the EYFS become confident and independent people who respect and interact positively with others, developing caring and positive relationships with their peers and staff.
We believe that a strong relationship with parents is important and encourage them to take an active role, sharing information and developing collaborative relationships wherever possible.
Learning through play is at the heart of our curriculum and it is our intent that the children learn through a balance of adult directed and child initiated play. We believe that this provides the best opportunity for children to learn and is the firm foundation on which their future education is based.
Implementation
Within the EYFS at Byron Primary School, we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework, provided by the Department for Education (DFE). The framework sets out the requirement for learning and development within the EYFS and focuses on prime and specific areas.
These are broken down into seven areas of the EYFS Curriculum –
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
These areas are used in our planning for the children’s learning and their activities. Planning is flexible to meet the needs and interests of our children. Ultimately our curriculum and topics are centered on the children. We always encourage active learning and aim to develop the learning characteristics that will support lifelong learning.
At Byron we want all of our children to -
- Learn actively – Where children try their best and persevere even when they face challenges.
- Play and explore – Children investigate and experience things and are willing to ‘have a go’
- Create and think critically – Children develop their own ideas both independently and in collaboration with others.
The children engage in independent learning opportunities, as well as adult guided group work. We use questioning to encourage the children to query the world around them and through their own exploration they develop their independence, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Throughout their day the children have a mix of opportunities to work collaboratively, independently and with members of staff.
Impact
We work hard to ensure that all our children’s progress across the EYFS curriculum is good, based on their various starting points. Evidence and observations of the children’s progress is recorded in their individual learning journeys.
We use our observations of the children to make formative assessments of their attainment and to inform future planning and build upon the children’s current knowledge. Our summative assessments look at children’s attainment in relation to age related expectations, taken from the Development Matters. Our assessment is moderated both internally and with other external schools, including schools within the Nuture Academy Trust of which we are a part.
The impact of our curriculum can be measured by the way in which our children are inspired and excited about their learning. We work to ensure our children develop into confident and positive learners, who are excited by new challenges and not put off by difficulty. We endeavour to ensure that our children leave the EYFS ready to move with confidence into KS1 and their lifelong learning journey.
