Early Years

The Early Years Curriculum
The Early Years has its own curriculum which is known as the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’ curriculum. This document encourages development from birth to five years. The last year of the foundation stage is often referred to as the ‘Reception year.’
The children in the Early Years setting are very young. They will be at different stages of development and will have had different experiences. As such we have developed an Early Years curriculum that aims to respond to the needs of all our children.

Curriculum aims
We recognise that children learn best through playing and being active; play is their work and we do not see it as a separate activity.
We aim to:
•  Create an environment, both inside and outside, which supports a play-based            curriculum.
• Be aware of the needs of the under-fives and the ways in which they learn most       effectively.
• Plan activities which address the needs of the individual needs of each child.
• Provide opportunities for the children to extend their knowledge and               independence.
• Provide the children with ‘time’ to reinforce their skills and enable them to acquire   new ones. 

Curriculum outline
The Foundation Stage Curriculum has seven areas of learning and provides a solid foundation for later achievement in the National Curriculum. These areas are:

1.  Personal, Social and Emotional Development
2.  Communication and Language
3.  Physical Development
4.  Literacy
5.  Knowledge of the World
6.  Mathematical Development
7.  Expressive Art & Design

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

 This focuses on the child learning to work, develop confidence, play, co-operate and respond positively to others in a group beyond the family.

Ways you can help
Encourage your child to ‘have a go’ and do things for themselves
Teaching your child how to do up buttons/zips/shoes
Playing games that they don’t always win.

 Communication and Language

The children will have the opportunity to talk and communicate with others in a wide range of circumstances.

Ways you can help:
•  Sing songs and nursery rhymes together.
•  Talk with your child about the things that they are doing.
•  Listen and respond to each other taking turns in conversations.

 Literacy 

They will learn to explore and enjoy sounds and words and use them in the development of their early reading and writing skills.

Ways you can help:
•  Sharing and talking about books.
•  Develop fine motor skills through play writing and mark making using dough or     threading beads.
If you are teaching your child to write their name, then please use a capital letter at the beginning and lower case letters i.e. Sam not SAM. Don’t worry if your child cannot write their name yet or their writing looks to you like scribbles. They are play writing and it is one of the first stages- always praise your child for their mark making.

 Mathematical Development

 The children have the opportunity to develop their understanding of number, pattern, shape and space through practical activities and problem solving. We aim to make maths meaningful and fun.

 Ways you can help:
•  Provide real experiences where they can practise counting – shopping, going up     steps, laying the table.
• Sing number rhymes
• Solving problems – how many more cups do we need?
• Play simple board games, card games or do jigsaws.
• Talk about shapes and patterns in the environment e.g. at the park.

Knowledge of the World

This area focuses on the children's developing knowledge and understanding of their environment, other people and features of the natural and man-made world. It provides a foundation for historical, geographical, scientific and technological learning. We want the children to develop positive attitudes to discovery and experimentation and to develop the ability to predict, observe and communicate their observations, solve problems and explore the world around them.

Ways you can help:
•  Encourage your child to ask questions.
•  Develop their curiosity and observational skills.
•  Encourage them to talk about themselves how they have changed, their family,    friends and the world around them.
•  Build things from construction toys, boxes paper etc.
•  As adults we know the answers to many questions. However, children need    opportunities to find out these answers for themselves so that they can begin to    make sense of the world around them.

 Physical Development 

This focuses on the child developing physical control on both a small and large scale, awareness of space and manipulative skills in indoor and outdoor environments. A positive attitude towards a healthy and active way of life is also encouraged.

Ways you can help:
•  Having fun outside – going for walks, to the park having a kick around in the    garden
•  Playing ball games together- rolling to each other, rolling a ball under legs,    throwing and catching.

 Expressive Art & Design 

This focuses on the development of the child's imagination and their ability to express ideas and communicate feelings in creative ways. This expression is encouraged through art, music, dance, stories and imaginative play.

Ways you can help:
•  Play let’s pretend and dressing up.
•  Singing to the radio and making music together.
•  Exploring and using such things as paint, water, chalk, crayons, sand, dough and    even set jelly!
•  Always value and praise their ideas and be proud of their creations. 

Monitoring your child's progress

The children in Early years have a much greater knowledge than they are able to record on to paper. Early years record-keeping recognises children as individuals and reflects their development as a whole. The adults make observations of children’s learning both in their play and on focus learning with an adult. These are recorded in their online learning journal (Tapestry). Any work that is recorded is collected in their mark making journal.

Each term parents are invited to a ‘Next steps meeting’ to discuss their child’s progress against the seven areas of learning. At this meeting the teacher will talk about the next steps that their child needs to work on in order make progress. Children’s learning journals are also shared at this meeting. Any child who is identified as having special educational needs is supported, and time to work alongside parents is made available so that we can develop effective strategies to meet these needs.

During the summer term the teacher completes the Early Years Profile on each child to assess whether they have met the ends of year Early Learning Goals. This is reported to parents. End of year reports to parents are provided at the end of your child's time in Reception.

 What did Ofsted say

 Quotes from our Ofsted inspection, published November 2021

•  Pupils enjoy coming to this small, caring school. Everyone is welcomed at    Hawthorns. This means that pupils feel happy and safe.
•  Children in early years and pupils in key stage 1 behave well.
•  Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs.
•  Each subject is planned well because leaders have given careful thought to what    they want pupils to learn and when. This means that pupils get better at subjects    as they move through the school. Children in Nursery and Reception get off to a    good start. As a result, they have the knowledge they will need for future learning.
•  Reading is important at the school. There are many opportunities for children in    Nursery and Reception to listen to stories, poems and nursery rhymes. This helps    to instil a love of reading in pupils from an early age. A well-planned phonics    programme means that pupils learn to read quickly. Books are closely matched to    the sounds that pupils know. Careful monitoring helps leaders to identify pupils    who are not keeping up with the programme. These pupils are supported well    through additional phonics sessions. The school has a range of high-quality    books, which means that pupils can read books that are interesting and engaging    as they become more fluent. Pupils are given incentives to read daily, and many    achieve this goal.
•  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified    well here. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is experienced and    knowledgeable and has made significant improvements to the provision for    pupils with SEND. This means that pupils receive the help they need.                        

 • The personal development of pupils is a strength of the school. Leaders have    begun to change the culture at Hawthorns. They have done this by ensuring that    pupils are fully involved in all parts of school life. The ambassadorship    programme encourages pupils to get fully involved at the school. This leads to    pupils taking ownership of projects and becoming more responsible.
• Governors know the school very well and have clear roles and responsibilities.    They are committed to improving the school further.
• There is a high level of care that permeates the school. Staff know pupils and their    families well. They receive the appropriate safeguarding training. This means that    they recognise the signs that could mean a pupil is at risk of harm or is being    harmed.