EYFS OTHER | Villareal

EYFS FURTHER INFORMATION

DEFINITION

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework sets the standards that all early years’ provisions must meet to ensure children learn, develop well and are kept healthy and safe.

Our EYFS promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’, providing a broad and balanced foundation of skills and knowledge for good future progress through school and life thereafter.

AIMS

Villa Real School aims:

To provide a safe and secure environment in which children can enjoy learning, learn through play, have fun, explore and develop;
To provide a broad, balanced and rich curriculum that focusses on preparing children for future learning and developing skills for life;
To ensure that every child is included and has their specific, individual needs met;
To ensure the quality of teaching and learning is consistently good or better so that every child achieves the outcomes specified within their Education, Health and Care Plan;
To work closely with parents/carers to achieve the best possible outcomes for their child, both at school and at home.

Our play-based and sensory curriculum for Early Years Foundation Stage learners aims to supports pupils:

To begin to recognise their thoughts and feelings;
To learn how to play independently, whilst building and practicing gross and fine motor skills;
To engage in self-care routines to later learn how to look after themselves;
To attend to adults modelling thinking skills, ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ to build vocabulary and language across all areas and learning opportunities;
To develop a love of learning and exploration based on new knowledge taught, practiced and put into practice;
To learn how to play with each other to get along with others;
To learn to communicate with their friends and other known people through frequent and high-quality interactions with adults and others;
To promote early skills, e.g. early reading, writing and number including the regular sharing of stories, rhymes, and songs and practice what is taught, across all area of learning.

ENTITLEMENT

All pupils are entitled to a broad, balanced, differentiated and relevant curriculum appropriate to their individual needs. The curriculum is structured and sequenced to ensure progression and continuity for all, based upon the statutory EYFS framework.

Villa Real School offer 15hr Nursery placements within EYFS provisions from 2 years of age and 30hrs from age 3years and fulltime to the end of Reception, the year in which they turn 5yrs old.

We have the potential to accommodate N-YR in all three cohorts of our school, SLD, ASD and CE.

RATIONALE

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential, from whatever their unique starting points may be. Children’s development at this early stage of life are the building blocks for the rest of their life and can have a major impact upon their future life chances.

The Villa Real School EYFS seeks to provide:

Quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress, and no child gets left behind.
A secure foundation through planning for the learning and development of each individual child, and assessing and reviewing what they have learned regularly.
Partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

The four guiding principles that shape our early years setting are:

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
Importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates – we ensure their curriculum is bespoke to meet their individual needs.

ASSESSMENT

From unique starting points, our pupils and students make individualised progress at a challenging and appropriate pace, in all areas of the curriculum. This progress is measured against bespoke REAL targets set termly, which are linked to the objectives of their EHCP.

In Early Years, our pupils are assessed on REAL progress, with guidance from Development Matters and the Statutory Framework for the EYFS.

Parents and carers are kept informed of progress through parent / carer stay and play, parents’ evenings, CTM/TAFs, Earwig, written reports, Class Dojo / home school diaries and the statutory annual review.

More formal, summative assessment takes place twice in the Revised EYFS Framework.

Firstly, when a child is between 24 and 36 months – outcomes of this assessment are recorded and parents and multiagency professionals use the information gained to identify a child’s strengths and their learning needs.

The second assessment takes place towards the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage when children are in the final term of the school year where they turn 5yrs old by Aug 31st. Staff report to the local Education Authority as part of your child’s Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) – showing the levels different children have achieved in the seven areas of learning and development in the Revised EYFS.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS

We know that when parents and staff in the early years work together what a positive direct impact it has on children’s development and learning. Both partners have much to learn from one another and a great deal to share with each other. Working together to really understand and meet a child’s individual needs, valuing and respecting the different roles that each partner plays, sharing information and skills and building relationships based on mutual respect and trust. Open two-way communication is vital to make sure that knowledge and expertise is shared between parents / carers, multiagency partners and school.

At Villa Real EYFS parents and carers are kept informed of progress through parent / carer Stay and Play, parents’ evenings, CTM/TAFs, Earwig, written reports, Class Dojo / home school diaries and the statutory annual review.

Stay and Play sessions in EYFS classes are scheduled for one session per half term, with parents being notified via Class Dojo / Home School Diaries.

SAFEGUARDING AND WELFARE

Villa Real School EYFS provision is covered within the whole school policy and procedures for Child Protection and Safeguarding. Please see the policies section for additional information.

Early Years Foundation Stage pupils’ access to the Internet will be by adult demonstration with occasional directly-supervised access to specific and approved online materials which supports the learning outcomes planned for the pupils’ age and ability.

Members of staff are not permitted to use their own personal phones or devices for contacting children, young people and their families within or outside of the setting in a professional capacity.

Any pre-existing relationships which could compromise this will be discussed with leaders/managers. Staff do not use personal devices such as mobile phones, tablets or cameras to take photos or videos of children and will only use work-provided equipment for this purpose.

Staff do not use any personal devices directly with children and only use work-provided equipment during lessons/educational activities.