Our Curriculum – Early Years

'All individuals matter' 

At Winchelsea Primary School, we use the EYFS framework.

To enable children to develop the seven areas of learning are followed:

Prime areas of learning:

• Communication and Language (Listening, attention and understanding and Speaking)
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships)
• Physical Development (Gross motor skills and fine motor skills)

Specific areas of learning:

• Literacy (Comprehension, Word reading and Writing)
• Maths (Number and Numerical patterns)
• Understanding of the World (Past and present; People, culture and communities and The natural world)
• Expressive Arts and Design (Creating with materials and Being imaginative and expressive)

The learning environment

In Diamond Class, we have several areas set up to support learning and play. These include: 

• a book corner containing a range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and class-made books
• a maths resource area which allows children to select appropriate items to help them solve practical problems
• a creative area containing resources for a range of art, design, music and technology activities
• a construction area containing resources for developing fine motor skills, social interaction and problem solving
• a small world area which allows children to extend fine motor skills, engage in imaginative play and develop language
• an area for sand, malleable materials (e.g. play dough) and water play, where children can engage in practical investigations
• a role play area which can be developed along a themed line to cover several aspects of learning in “real life” scenarios
• a home corner for role play 
• various writing opportunities are set up within a range of areas 

The outside area is seen as an extension of the classroom and the above opportunities will be available outside as well as inside.
Through all of our strands we aim to develop the children through the 3 characteristics of effective learning as shown below. 

Assessment

The staff are constantly assessing the children in their everyday activities, during play and through more focussed adult-led interactions and sessions. We use observations of the children, photos, the work that they do, feedback from parents and comments made by the children to assess where the pupils are working.  

The EYFS Framework and Development Matters documents are used to inform the curriculum, the enhancements in the provision and next steps for pupils.  Development Matters gives statements for the ages of the children. We share this with parents and base the next steps for the children on this.

The planning focus for each term and each week is taken from the Long Term Plan, which can be viewed below. 

There are 4 key principles that underpin our practice in the Nursery and Reception Classes at Winchelsea Primary School.