Paediatric First Aid Certificates: Gemma Holmes and Holly Beresford

Headteacher: Sarah Hudson

Deputy Headteacher: Lindsey Guest

Chair of Governors: Chris Orridge

Designated Safeguarding Lead: Sarah Hudson

Deputy Safeguarding Leads: Lindsey Guest, Rhalina Kershaw & Jane Harrod

Early Years Foundation Stage Vision

At Darley Dale Primary, our vision is to.......

• Develop happy, confident and secure learners.
• Provide and stimulating environment, that allows pupils to take risks and be enthusiastic, curious, independent learners.
• Ensure that all children in our setting, regardless of background or needs, make at least good progress.
• Support our knowledgeable staff to create a highly stimulating and enabling environment, that facilitates all our pupils to flourish. 

Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Darley Dale Primary School, our curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning, both from previous settings and their experiences at home. We work in partnership with parents, carers and other pre-school settings to provide our pupils the best possible start, ensuring each individual reaches their full potential from their various starting points. Our curriculum has been designed to enable children to succeed through cooperative and collaborative learning principles. As such, there is a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of Learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, and Communication and Language.

Our enabling environment and warm, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link learning to their play and exploration right from the start. We believe that high level engagement ensures high level attainment. We therefore provide an engaging curriculum that maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences, as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking. Each term we theme our learning around a new topic, and follow children’s interests and ideas to foster a lifelong love of learning both in and outside of school. Key skills in Maths and English are taught through short, directed, teacher-led activities throughout the week, including daily phonics lessons.

At Darley Dale Primary, we recognise that Emotional Literacy not only improves academic outcomes, but is a life skill to ensure success beyond school; it develops children’s thinking and understanding, which in turn promotes self-confidence, resilience and empathy which support the child’s well-being. Our skilled Early Years team work to develop children’s Emotional Literacy, through supported child-initiated play and our weekly Forest School sessions. By the end of the Reception year, our intent is to ensure that all children make at least good progress from their starting points, and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to have a smooth transition into Year 1.

Implementation

Each half term, EYFS staff introduce a new theme to provide inspiration for learning, whilst providing the flexibility for children to follow their own interests and ideas. Children learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities. The timetable is carefully structured so that children have directed teaching during the day. The timetable changes throughout the year to take into consideration the changing needs of the children. These sessions are followed by small focused group work. This means the teacher can systematically check for understanding, identify and respond to misconceptions quickly and provide real-time verbal feedback which results in a strong impact on the acquisition of new learning. Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in ‘exploration’ throughout the variety of experiences carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and equal importance is given to learning in both areas.

English / Literacy

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to encourage a love of reading right from the start. In EYFS we teach focus texts through our literacy sessions each half term, along with additional books shared at story time. The aim is to expose children to a range of books that not only develop a love of reading, but have been chosen specifically to develop their oracy, vocabulary and comprehension. These books will be embedded in our provision through activities, story sessions and on display for children to access independently. Through this, children begin to internalise new vocabulary, language patterns and begin to retell stories. There is cohesion and consistency with our approach to align with the whole school English Curriculum that is followed from Years 1-6:

• The inclusion of high-quality texts which are age and stage appropriate
• Modelled reading and re-telling opportunities across each session
• Structured comprehensions questions  
• A focus on Tier 1, 2 and 3 Vocabulary
• Dedicated phonics sessions, employing tricky and high-frequency words
• Cooperative learning behaviours which develop oracy and interdependence

Phonics

We follow the Little Wandle programme to ensure consistency across the school. In Reception, children begin Phase 2 as soon as they begin in September. They will develop GPC and segmenting and blending skills to decode words, whilst continuing to embed Phase 1 skills such as oral blending.  During the Summer term, children may move on to Phase 4 if they are ready. Children read to an adult in school three times a week. Each session has a different focus: decoding, prosody and comprehension. Books then go home to be shared with parents and to allow children to embed what they have learnt in school. Pupils are given books that match their phonic knowledge in order for them to apply their learning with the aim of becoming successful, confident and fluent readers.

Mathematics

In Reception, we focus on three units of work per term, allowing us to revisit and embed key mathematical concepts throughout the year. High quality learning environments and meaningful interactions with adults, support children in developing mathematical thinking and discussion. Pupils learn through games and tasks using concrete manipulatives and pictorial structures and representations which are then rehearsed applied and recorded within their own child-led exploration. Children in Reception have daily, ‘Maths Meeting’ to develop fluency, revisit key concepts and address misconceptions. There is a focus on the following counting principles; one to one correspondence, stable order and cardinal principle. Children’s fine manipulative skills are a focus to develop 1-1 correspondence so children count each object only once.

Wider Curriculum

Our wider curriculum is taught through the learning areas: ‘Understanding of the World’ and ‘Expressive Arts and Design.’ EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s feed into the National Curriculum through our robust planning and CPD opportunities. In reverse, colleagues throughout the school are also aware of the key ELG’s that link to each foundation subject and the progression of the subject. Exciting, purposeful and contextual activities are planned to build on children’s natural curiosity. For example, building a boat for Oliver Jeffers ‘Lost and Found’ penguin enables them to think like a ‘Scientist’ and ‘Engineer’ as they explore a range of materials and test out their own ideas. Building further on our oracy focus, children will be encouraged to employ subject specific language and terminology in foundation subjects, and such vocabulary will be modelled, both verbally and orally, by supporting practitioners. Our inclusive approach means that all children learn together, but we have a range of additional intervention and support for children who may not be reaching their potential, or are showing a greater depth of understanding and need further challenge. This includes, for example, sessions for developing speech and language, social skills, fine motor skills, phonics, and mathematics. Regular monitoring of teaching and learning by SLT and the EYFS leader ensures staff develop good subject knowledge. The EYFS leader ensures staff receive CPD specific to Early Years to develop their practice. For example, we offer CPD on effective observations, in order to understand where pupils are, and their ‘next steps,’ for learning.

Impact

Our skilled staff use a range of formative and summative assessments, to assess the impact of our curriculum and to identify pupils attainment and next steps for learning.

Baseline:

Prior to children starting, staff spend time speaking to the child’s parents, previous settings and read previous learning journey’s to gain an understanding of the whole child and where they are at. During the first half term in Reception, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure progress. The following baseline assessments are also carried out.

The RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment):

This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from Reception until the end of KS2.

Ongoing Observation:

All ongoing observations are used to inform weekly planning and identify children’s next steps. This formative assessment does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paper work. Practitioners draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgements through discussions with other practitioners, photographs and physical examples such as a child’s drawing / making. Some observations are uploaded using Tapestry and shared with the supporting parents and carers and examples kept in individual files.

Assessment:

Phonic assessments are carried out using phonics Tracker every half term to quickly identify pupils that are not making expected progress. Our aim is for children to ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’ where possible. Assessments are completed three times per year and shared with parents, whereby the Class Teacher updates the progress children have made. In Summer Term 2, the EYFSP is completed where teacher judge whether the child has met each of the 17 ELG’s. They will be assessed as either ‘emerging’ or ‘expected.’ Whilst there is no judgement to state if a child is exceeding beyond an ELG, teachers, have a duty to provide a narrative for both parents and the Year 1 teacher. Impact is also evident through our successful transitions into Year 1. EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s link to the National Curriculum, and through our robust planning and delivery across the spectrum of subjects – both core and foundation - children leave the EYFS stage with the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue their journey as scientists, historians, artists and geographers.