Varna Community Primary SchoolEYFS
The way in which young children engage with other people and their environment is through playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Play is a very important part of all children’s development.
Everything in the environment has been put there for a purpose, to help children acquire the skills they need.
Children have access to a variety of materials including sand, water, paint, collage materials, large and small construction sets, large and small role play areas, music resources, books, mark-making, jigsaws, dough, maths games and ICT equipment.
Outdoors children can run, climb, explore natural and reclaimed resources, use wheeled toys and take care of the garden. Children are encouraged to make their own choices.
The joy of being outdoors!
Children’s spiritual and moral development is an important aspect of their whole development. We foster this through giving children opportunities to share the wonder of the world, e.g. looking at the beauty in the world around them, a new baby, animals, flowers; helping them develop responsibility towards friends, other people and the environment.
Underpinned by the Development Matters document (EYFS) and National Curriculum (Year 1), each subject specifies, in detail the knowledge children will learn. We ensure children are well taught, acquiring powerful knowledge that prepares them well for national assessments and the gives them ability to contribute positively to an ever changing and developing society. We have considered the knowledge and skills we want our children to have learnt and mastered in each curriculum area to enable them to achieve our mission to 'develop good moral principles and achieve exceptional outcomes that allow ambitious life choices'. We are ambitious in providing experiences for our children which we know will support their understanding of the world and their place in it.
The EYFS Curriculum is made up of 7 areas. The EYFS Teachers create and mould the curriculum around the children's interests. This gives all pupils a great start to their education, where we foster key independent learning skills of engagement, motivation and crtitical thinking. We follow the EYFS Framework and use Development Matters to support our planning for next steps development. Please see below for the 7 areas of learning and how we support children to develop their skills in each area.
Our sequential curriculum begins in EYFS to ensure that children successfully access a broad and balanced curriculum from the very beginning of their all-through education. Our EYFS is underpinned by structured phonics, writing and mathematics lessons to ensure core knowledge is secured and that transition into KS1 is successful. Through a careful balance of child led and adult initiated activities, children are exposed to a wealth of knowledge and experiences to develop their understanding of the world around them. During KS1, we remain focused on securing the foundations of effective communication, ensuring that all children have learnt to read fluently and can write and speak cohesively by the end of Year 2. Through the NCETM and Power Maths programme, we ensure core mathematical knowledge is mastered and practised. Connected by a high quality core text and overarching question, the teaching of humanities and the arts is continuous and further embedded through the use of enhanced provision.
Across the phase, PSHE themes have been carefully grouped around a moral focus. Alongside a focused weekly assembly, children explore themes deeper within their individual classes to support them to make educated and informed choices when keeping healthy, happy and safe.
Please click the image below to see our curriculum overview from Nursery to Year 1.
