EYFS Intent (taken from the School Self Evaluation)
The school recognise that we want our children to be the best they can be across all of the learning areas. Key to this is a strong ethos of outstanding personal development and behaviour. The PSHE curriculum is embedded throughout the school and the bar is set extremely high in EYFS. The school’s focus on our six values as well as the learning behaviours of ‘Resilience, Cooperation, Independence and Confidence’ begins here. As a result, the children and all stakeholders, develop the highest expectation for doing their best and working well together.
Leaders are extremely ambitious in their pursuit to build a firm foundation for learning at the start of the children’s learning at Wold Newton. Targets are set based on a secure baseline process and the systems in place for tracking pupil progress ensure that children achieve to the best of their ability, regardless of their prior attainment. Leaders recognise that the building blocks of learning are created in EYFS. As a result, the school’s curriculum is effectively planned together. This ensures there is a strong progression from EYFS and onwards through the school. Opportunities to enhance children’s self-belief, resilience and cultural capital are strong.
Planning scrutiny and observations show overall planning is thorough and ensures children are engaged in their learning. There is a thread throughout all of the EYFS curriculum that ensures the Prime and Specific Areas are regularly revisited and become a strength. In particular, staff are acutely aware of the children’s needs in phonics, early reading, communication and language, PSED and physical development and children progress well in these areas as a result. In particular, the staff are able to utilise the mixed year group make-up of the class and are able to stretch and challenge children by teaching in small groups relative to their ability and targets.
The close link with the key stage one class enables the staff to challenge the children’s learning and ensure that expectations are even higher. As a result, transition into year one is seamless and the children have little difficulty building on their well-established learning routines and high expectations.