Early Years

Download a copy of our EYFS policy by clicking here.

Intent

Our intent for Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Oakridge Community Primary School is to inspire, engage and enthuse our pupils to be active learners every day so that they become confident and independent thinkers.  

It is important that our children feel happy, safe, secure and cared for within an enabling and nurturing environment.

Our high-quality provision areas both indoors and outdoors aim ignite curiosity and enthusiasm and promote the development of skills needed to learn, form relationships and thrive.  These areas include construction, mud kitchen, a woodwork bench, role play, sand and water and many more which the children are involved in creating. High aspirations are instilled in our pupils from a very early age and pupils’ self-belief and ownership of learning allow them to take risk and develop resilience.  

Our aim on leaving Reception is that children are: 

• Confident learners, who are resilient and willing to take risks. 
• Positive about their learning and are able to self-regulate. 
• Able to effectively express themselves.
• Able to form positive relationships and work collaboratively with others. 
• Feel part of the school and wider community. 

Implementation

Our approach is implemented through our EYFS curriculum. All areas of the EYFS curriculum are followed and planned for ‘in the moment’ to ensure there is a broad, balanced and progressive learning environment and curriculum. The children learn new skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate understanding through the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum.   

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development 
• Physical Development 
• Communication and Language
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Our little learners are encouraged to take ownership of their learning through a range of purposeful provision based on their interests, both indoors and outdoors. Play is enhanced through meaningful interactions with highly effective practitioners to ensure that the development of the whole child is supported and extended. All adults in EYFS are highly skilled at furthering the children’s development through open ended questioning and they have excellent knowledge of the children’s next steps so that they can facilitate opportunities and extend learning within the moment that is personal to each child. 

Our regular stay and play sessions for new starters allow children to get to know the school, their peers and teachers; combined with strong relationships with local childminders, this helps ensure a smooth and confident transition for when our youngest children start school. From their first day in nursery, we teach our pupils strategies to maintain good mental health using the MyHappyMind programme. 

We promote a language rich environment, through the Little Wandle Foundations programme - split into Phonics, Language and A Love of Reading - which incorporates the latest research about early language and literacy development. We supplement this with the poetry basket where children learn a poem by heart. They also join a daily story basket where they learn new stories through drama. All children take home books to be shared with parents and other family members. 

Once children reach Reception, they join a daily ‘Talk through stories’ session, exposing them to further, rich, tier 2 vocabulary. This enables them to communicate and express themselves effectively, and as a result grow in self-confidence. 

We have a rigorous approach to phonics teaching and once children start their Reception year they begin on the Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds programme. All phonics lessons are taught by a qualified teacher and comprise of four parts: revisit/review; teach; practise and apply. Three reading sessions a week (fluency, prosody and comprehension) ensure accurate reading at the matched level to their phonics attainment, ensuring children read books with 95% fluency before they are sent home to share with family. 

Mathematics in Early Years at Oakridge is based on the White Rose Mathematics programme of study. This is taught through a range of planned and structured play situations, both independent, and supported by teachers as play partners, where there is plenty of scope for exploration. Not a moment is wasted throughout the day, as Maths is emphasised in all aspects of the daily routine e.g. snack-time /lining up etc. Maths through real-life and meaningful experiences, using practical hands-on resources is key here, with maths learning occurring in all provision areas including the woodwork bench and mud kitchen. 

Our school is at the heart of our community so, from the start, pupils take part in a whole host of community events, giving them a sense of belonging and understanding of their locality. Examples of this are litter picking in the community, regular visits to the local library and trips to local farms. 

Impact

Our EYFS children are brave, independent learners who speak with increasing confidence in a range of topics. They love learning and particularly enjoy the range of opportunities they have to work in our gardens, where they explore nature and learn many life skills. They are able to talk with expert knowledge of the things they have grown and of the different living things we find in our school grounds. 

By the time our pupils reach Reception, they are able to concentrate for extended periods ready to begin the Little Wandle Revised Letters and Sounds programme. 

Our pupils are increasingly able to self-regulate their emotions by the time they finish EYFS. They know the adults in school and the community who keep them safe.

The impact of our curriculum is measured by assessment procedures which allow us to measure outcomes against all schools nationally. We measure the percentage of pupils achieving age related expectations throughout the academic year and put supportive interventions in place if and when needed. Class teachers use observations to make formative assessments which inform future planning for adult-led activities and ensure that all children build on their current knowledge and skills at a good pace. This ensures that children make good progress from their starting points. The impact of our Early Years approach is that children become independent and curious thinkers who carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens.  

Parents as Partners 

We value parents as partners in the children’s learning and use the secure online learning journey Tapestry alongside to record photos, observations and comments to capture and capitalise on the children’s achievements, not duplicating Tapestry observations. The learning journals celebrate children’s achievements both in school and at home. This system allows us to work with parents and carers to share information and record the children’s play and learning inside and outside of the classroom on a daily basis and it builds up a record of your child’s experiences during their time with us. 

 

The benefits of our mixed age class

 Our mixed nursery, reception, year 1 and 2 class has countless benefits for our littlest learners. Our nursery and reception children are constantly exposed to higher level vocabulary, are inspired by their older peers and are able to push their limits within a safe, secure environment. 

3 to 4 year olds

From the start of the term following a child’s 3rd birthday they are eligible for 15 or 30 hours a week of free nursery education.

Additional sessions can be paid for if required and are available. We currently charge £15 per session.

Sessions run between 8.45am – 11.45am and 11.45am – 2.45pm

Sessions to cover the 15 hour funding or the 30 hour funding can run between these times to suit your needs across the 5 days. Subject to availability, we aim to be flexible and to meet the needs of our children and families.

We offer a choice of sessions, subject to availability. Parents are asked to fill in a parental agreement and choose their preferred sessions that are included within the welcome pack. Additional sessions above their funded hours can be paid for and are again subject to availability.