At Canewdon Primary we greatly value the importance of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in providing a secure foundation for future learning and development.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

In the EYFS we aim to:

• give each child a happy and positive start to their school life, so they can establish a solid foundation for a love of learning, to enable each child to develop socially, physically, intellectually and emotionally.

• encourage children to develop independence.

• support children in building relationships through the development of social skills.

• work alongside parents to meet each child’s individual needs to ensure they reach their full potential.

The EYFS provides a balanced curriculum which takes children’s different stages of development into account. We promote the learning and development of children to ensure they are ready for the next stage of their education. We do this through: Working in partnership with parents, planning challenging learning experiences, based on individual needs, which are informed by observation and assessment, implementing a key person approach to develop close relationships with children and providing a safe and secure learning environment.

There are seven areas of learning and development that make up the EYFS curriculum. These are split into two sections – prime and specific; however, all the sections are interconnected and important.

The ‘prime’ areas of learning and development are:

• Communication and language

Listening and attention

Understanding

Speaking

• Physical development

Moving and handling

Health and self-care

• Personal, social and emotional development

Self-confidence and self-awareness

Managing feelings and behaviour

Making relationships

The ‘specific’ areas of learning and development are:

• Literacy

Reading

Writing

• Mathematics

Numbers

Space, shape and measure

• Understanding the world

People and communities

The world
Technology

• Expressive arts and design

Exploring and using media and materials

Being imaginative

Activities are planned to reflect children’s interests and individual circumstances in order to provide each child with a challenging and enjoyable experience. There are also three Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning in the EYFS which focus on the ways in which children should be learning from their environment, experiences and activities:

• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things.

• Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy their achievements.

• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

The Reception children learn all about themselves and the world around them through different topics over the year. They also start to learn about and have opportunities to mark make, develop early reading and writing skills, experiment with creative and inquiry skills and investigate their environment through a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities.