The Early Years Foundation Stage sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old. At Belswains, it starts in the Nursery class and ends in Reception.

There is a strong emphasis on learning through play, through child-initiated and planned activities. The curriculum is delivered through a combination of whole class activities, adult led focused activities and child initiated activities. The curriculum is composed of 7 areas of learning; three prime areas and four specific. The curriculum is designed to provide practical experiences for our pupils which will provide them with the skills and knowledge as they progress into KS1. It is inclusive and inspiring and through planned experiences promotes a deep love of learning within the child. 

The new EYFS framework has a stronger emphasis on the three prime areas which are most essential for children’s healthy development. These three areas are: communication and language; physical; and personal, social and emotional development. The three prime areas are are an essential part of children's early development which contribute to the development of the child across the four specific areas. The prime areas focus on children's physical, emotional, cognitive and linguistic skills. 

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, co-ordination 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, co-ordination 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 co-ordination 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 practise of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

The EYFS curriculum consists of four specific areas which when combined with the three prime areas provide a holistic, child-centred approach to learning which enables children to make links to what they are learning.

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.

 Your child will be taking part in the Reception baseline assessment (RBA) which is conducted in the first six weeks when your child starts Reception. It became statutory for all schools from September 1st 2021. The RBA is a short, interactive and practical assessment of your child's early literacy, communication, language and mathematics skills when they begin school, using materials that most children of your child's age will be familiar with. 

PE

Reception will participate in PE on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please ensure that your child comes to school wearing their PE kit on those days. 

Encourage your child to dress independently and support where necessary. 

Clubs

Each term our pupils are given an opportunity to take part in various activities during lunchtime or after school. The clubs offered vary from term to term. Some of the clubs are run by members of staff and may have an additional fee. Others are provided by outside agencies who charge a fee. If you have any queries about clubs please contact the school office. 

Homework 

Homework will be uploaded onto Google Classroom every Wednesday for parents and pupils to access. Homework must be returned on a Monday. Homework can be uploaded by parents onto Google Classroom or completed in your child's homework book depending on the task given. Should you have any issues accessing Google Classroom, please inform your child's class teacher. Reading is an essential part of your child's homework and you should read with your child at least three times a week. Please remember to sign your child's reading record book every time they read a school book or complete a school reading activity. 

Communication

To report your child's absence, phone the school office and leave a message or send an email to admin@belswains.herts.sch.uk