Early Years

Our EYFS Curriculum Implementation

At Ogbourne CE Primary School, we follow and implement the statutory guidance Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework, Department for Education 2023, with the 2021 revised supporting guidance; Development Matters in the EYFS. The children follow a topic-based approach to learning where play and investigative experiences are valued and their emotional, social, physical and academic development are equally nurtured. 

All children are supported in developing the characteristics of effective learning, whatever their particular interests, skills or individual needs. We ensure that activities support these characteristics to ensure learning takes place: 

The Characteristics of Effective Learning are: 

Playing and Exploring – Engagement 

Finding out and exploring 

Playing with what they know 

Being willing to ‘have a go’. 

 

Active Learning – Motivation 

Being involved and concentrating 

Keep trying 

Enjoying achieving what they set out to do 

 

Creative and Critical Thinking – Thinking 

Having their own ideas 

Making links 

Working with ideas 

 

Our Early Years Curriculum follows the Early Excellence Curriculum Model.    

 

The prime subject areas that we teach are Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.  Phonics and Maths are taught daily in specific teaching sessions. Children are then supported and developed further by Continuous Provision – a range of hands on activities both around Acorns classroom and their dedicated outside area. We call this ‘Choosing our own Learning’. This provision includes fine motor and gross motor skill activities, art, music, construction, small world and role-play opportunities. Resources are planned so that children have the opportunity to develop language, academic skills (e.g. practising number order, spatial awareness) and social skills (e.g. conflict resolution, conversation, building relationships, etc). 

To support learning in some areas, we use published resources including: Can Do Maths, Understanding Christianity and Discovery RE, SCARF, Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS), Charanga, Kapow Art and Design, Primary Science Teaching Trust provision maps, Get Set 4 PE, Drawing Club and The Write Stuff. Our continuous and enhanced provision curriculum plan ensures high-quality continuous provision learning and planning is at its heart.  

Our EYFS Curriculum Impact

The impact of the EYFS curriculum is shown through the children’s excitement and engagement in their learning, both in directed activities and in the high levels of engagement in the areas provided in our continuous and enhanced provision.  

We measure the learning and progress of every child throughout the year with both formative and summative assessments. These assessments include: 

• Teacher baseline assessment to identify each child’s starting point in the prime areas. 
• The RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment) to show progress made from Reception to the end of KS2. 
• Regular phonic mock screening and termly ELS diagnostic assessments to inform the planning, teaching and interventions for phonics. 
• Daily observations and high-quality interactions to identify needs and next steps which inform planning and ensure progress. Observations within the continuous provision areas use the characteristics of effective learning and the common play behaviours to ensure planning supports progress for all pupils. 

• Regular moderation sessions with schools from across Excalibur Academies Trust. 
• Pupil progress meetings 3x a year to review progress and areas of need. 

By the end of their time in the Early Years, our children make good progress academically and socially, developing a sense of themselves so that they are well prepared for the transition into Key Stage 1. They have developed essential knowledge and skills required for everyday life and lifelong learning, showing themselves to be independent, inquisitive, confident and enthusiastic learners ready for the next challenge in education. 

At the end of Reception, children should be able to achieve the following 17 ‘Early Learning Goals’:  

• Listen, respond and hold proper conversations with peers and adults. 
• Speak using full sentences with correct tenses and have a wide vocabulary, including vocabulary they’ve learned from books read in class. 
• Show focus, follow instructions and understand the impact of their behaviour on others. 
• Be independent in toileting and dressing, be brave trying new activities and understand why we have the rules we have. 
• Work and play cooperatively, taking turns where appropriate. 
• Have secure age-appropriate gross motor skills. 
• Use a pencil, scissors and cutlery correctly. 
• Show good comprehension of stories, anticipating events and being able to retell a story in their own words. 
• Read simple sentences and books that use the phonics taught in Reception (Phases 2-4). 
• Use correctly-formed letters to write words and simple sentences. 
• Have a secure understanding of the numbers 1-10 including number bonds and how each number can be made. 
• Count beyond 20 and recognise numerical pattern. 
• Talk about the lives of people round them in both the past and present. 
• Understand how their lives differ from others around the world. 
• Know about different environments and how they compare, and understand environmental processes such as seasons. 
• Make art and models, explaining how they’ve done so. 
• Sing a range of songs and perform songs and poems.