EYFS KHED

Below you will find our Early Years Foundation Stage Kings Hedges Education (EYFS KHED)

It details all of the key concepts and skills that the children will be taught from nursery through to the end of reception.

Early Years

Vision

Excellence achieved through care, creativity and challenge.

Intent

Our early years curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, the knowledge, skills and cultural capital they need to succeed in life.  The early year’s curriculum and its delivery are designed to support pupils to remember long term, the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas, so that they can apply their knowledge and skills with increasing fluency and independence.

Implementation

The early year’s foundation stage teach weekly themes linked to Curiosity Corner.  We initially focus on the Prime areas and when the pupils are confident we develop the Specific areas of learning. We provide rich opportunities for pupils to gain a wider understanding and an appreciation of the best of ideas, concepts and human achievements.

We explore a wide range of relatable themes on a weekly rotation, which expose the pupils to many meaningful learning opportunities.  The curriculum is coherently planned and builds on pupil’s prior knowledge as well as their interests. The curriculum is taught through a variety of child initiated learning opportunities as well as adult-led activities.  The timetable is carefully structured to ensure that all pupils have directed teaching time every day; this is built up from nursery in to reception and leading into KS1.  The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside environments and equal importance is given to learning in both areas.   Real life experiences provide hooks for pupils to link their knowledge.

Teachers ensure that their own use of language models best practice for pupils to develop their language and vocabulary well, as well as providing a language rich environment.  Key vocabulary for each theme is planned in to all learning areas and is progressive from So to Speak 2 through to reception.  The teaching of reading is in line with the whole school approach to ensure consistency across all years.  We ensure a rigorous, interleaved and sequential approach to the reading curriculum which develops pupils’ fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading.

Pupils are able to apply mathematical knowledge, concepts and procedures appropriately for their age with fluency and reasoning being the key elements in our mathematics curriculum.

Impact

Pupils’ starting points are identified through baseline assessments, whether those are teacher judgements in nursery or the RBA (statutory Reception Baseline Assessment) at the beginning of reception.  Outcomes from these baseline assessments are then used to inform planning and ensure the curriculum closely matches pupils’ needs.

Teachers use interleaved learning to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently, and to check understanding.  Ongoing observations and termly assessments help to inform future planning and teaching. A well planned assessment calendar ensures leaders understand the limitations of assessment and do not use it in a way that creates unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils.

Enhancements

Where appropriate we invite visitors in to our early years classes to enhance our curriculum and offer real life opportunities for our pupils.  Opportunities include a visit from a travelling farm, police and fire service visits and talks from dentists and nurses.