Our Early Years Vision:
'To empower our children to be independent, well rounded individuals who have a love of learning and seek challenge in everything they do.’
A warm welcome to our Early Year Foundation Stage where every day is a busy day. We enhance children’s skills with moment to moment planning which takes into account each and every child’s interest and next steps where we focus on the 3 Ms; Making Conversation, Mark Making and Mathematics. We create an interesting and fun environment by challenging the children within their play. By utilising our extensive outdoor provision as free flow learning, the children explore our natural environment and incorporate forest skills ethos into their learning.
'To empower our children to be independent, well rounded individuals who have a love of learning and seek challenge in everything they do.’
A warm welcome to our Early Year Foundation Stage where every day is a busy day. We enhance children’s skills with moment to moment planning which takes into account each and every child’s interest and next steps where we focus on the 3 Ms; Making Conversation, Mark Making and Mathematics. We create an interesting and fun environment by challenging the children within their play. By utilising our extensive outdoor provision as free flow learning, the children explore our natural environment and incorporate forest skills ethos into their learning.
Our Indoor Learning Environment
"Through thoughtful provocations and stimulating environments, children get lost in the imaginary world, mesmerized and excited by the thought of fantasy and make believe."
"Through thoughtful provocations and stimulating environments, children get lost in the imaginary world, mesmerized and excited by the thought of fantasy and make believe."
Our Outdoor Learning Environment
"We create enchanted pockets of learning that have a visually appealing manner which highlight the magic, wonder and possibility of the resources on offer."
"We create enchanted pockets of learning that have a visually appealing manner which highlight the magic, wonder and possibility of the resources on offer."
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Provision
Plastic tea sets get dropped, thrown, drawn on, used in the water area or in the sand outside, get scratched and occasionally chewed. They get flung across the room or dumped without care or regard. These resources don't break or bend, they can withstand mistreatment. What messages are we giving our children, when everything we allow them to play with is pretend or an unbreakable resource? Children love to mimic adults, they want to re-enact real life scenarios and be like mummy and daddy. Children love to have what we have, they want REAL! That’s why we use real resources in our setting, we teach children to value resources and in turn show them that we value their play. Parent Partnership
We value the importance of parent partnerships and promote this throughout the year. We host a session every term where we invite parents in to work alongside their children in a Stay and Cook session. We also invite our parents in to share their professions which provides real life enrichment opportunities. The children love having their parents in and thoroughly enjoy learning about their job roles and recreating these in their play. Sand and water play
When it comes to sand we believe the bigger the better! We have invested heavily in sand and water play this year creating a vast outdoor sand pit, water pump and outdoor platform. The children can experiment with the effect water has on sand – how it makes it more moldable and how much water should be added to create firmer structures. Our children love experimenting with water channels using the water pump allows children to strengthen their arm and hand muscles. The pulley system allows children to work together encouraging cooperation and communication. Cooking
“If a child can bake independently at the age of 4… imagine the possibilities!” In EYFS it is our fundamental belief that children should be encouraged to be independent in all aspects of their life. We facilitate this through our weekly baking sessions. We begin the year baking in small groups using the balance egg method, which builds the children’s confidence in the process as well as strengthening their understanding of shape, space and measure. As their skills develop we bring baking into continuous provision, enabling children to bake independently as the pictures show. Forest Skills
We are very fortunate to have our very own forest within the school grounds. Each week the children participate in a variety of activities which develop their self- esteem, confidence and life skills. These activities encourage the children to make their own choices, problem solve, take responsibility for their actions and risk assess. In EYFS, our priority is to embed the importance of the forest school philosophy by taking care of oneself, each other and our environment. The activities we provide include cooking around the campfire, stick whittling, den building, map reading, helping animals and the environment. Woodwork
"It sparks creative thinking and imagination, qualities that are at least as important in our changing world as the practical skills gained." From day one in our setting the children are exposed to real tools and equipment. We model how to use the equipment safely and then trust them to manage their own risk. By giving them these opportunities they wow us with what they are able to create and achieve. Deconstructed Role play
Role play is an incredibly important part of early childhood. It usually starts on a child’s experience from home. You won't find a travel agents or Chinese Laundry in our setting! We provide children with open ended resources such as boxes, drapes and loose parts to let their imaginations guide their play. We enhance this space with props and artefacts to expose children to new cultural experiences. Art studio
The outdoor studio is often a hive of activity with children exploring the properties of clay, transient art and painting on a large scale. Nature is at the forefront, inspiring children’s creativity. It is a valuable place where children come together to become absorbed in a sensory task, where imagination comes to life. Animals
Children who care for animals show many benefits. It helps them not only develop positive feelings towards animals but also contributes to their self-esteem and self-confidence. Animals assist with understanding the world and developing empathy and caring skills. In our setting, we have our two Guinea Pigs, Brownie and Flash. |
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Rainbow Challenges
To encourage the children to access a range of learning opportunities, both inside and out, we set a number of open ended challenges each wee.k. These encourage the children to independently put into practise skills previously taught. The children enjoy collecting a stick for each challenge, discussing it with their key worker group and taking on board suggested improvements. We feel this approach allows children to lead their own learning whilst still being encouraged to try new things. Children show deeper levels of engagement, independence and sustained concentration.
To encourage the children to access a range of learning opportunities, both inside and out, we set a number of open ended challenges each wee.k. These encourage the children to independently put into practise skills previously taught. The children enjoy collecting a stick for each challenge, discussing it with their key worker group and taking on board suggested improvements. We feel this approach allows children to lead their own learning whilst still being encouraged to try new things. Children show deeper levels of engagement, independence and sustained concentration.
Maths in Reception
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Our mastery approach to the teaching of Maths develops confidence as all children can achieve. Success in maths for every child is possible. It is about making connections which leads to deeper understanding instead of accelerated learning.
We teach in a fun, practical way the foundations of mathematical understanding so all our children leave ready for the next stage in their learning. Enabling environment Our provision is set up to allow children to independently apply their maths in a range of real life situations e.g. using real money in shop, using scales to measure when baking, using measuring equipment to measure capacity and length. Resources We use a variety of resources including: Numicon, counters, ten frames and numberblocks. Useful links https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/numberblocks |
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Stay & Cook We value the importance of parent partnerships and promote this throughout the year. We host a session every term where we invite parents in to work alongside their children. The activities showcase independence and turn taking. 'It was lovely, both my child and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff are always welcoming with smiles and it makes such a difference when being in the school.' |
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How playing outdoors benefits our children
Research shows that working with with soil builds up the immune system and builds resilience to allergy and germs and provides a rich sensory experience. When working with mud and soil serotonin levels increase so this enhances children's well being and brain development.
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Fun and Fire
We enjoy hosting several Fun and Fire sessions throughout the year on a Saturday morning or after school to enable parents to be part of their child's learning. Activities include fire building, den building and cooking on open fires. It provides a great opportunity to have lots of fun with our dads, mums, granddads and grandmas!. 'A great morning. Thanks for giving up your weekend.' 'Really well organised. Great to think of the dads! Thanks.' 'A great skill to learn. Loved the session.' |
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Please click here for the Early Years Foundation Stage Handbook
and here for the Am I ready for school? Tips for parents
and here for the Am I ready for school? Tips for parents
Here are some ideas to help your child at home:
New Starter Activities to do at Home
Early Learning Goals
See this useful guide from Alphablocks – CBeebies on phonics so you can practise using sounds, segmenting words and blending them with your child.
End of year EYFS Expectations
New Starter Activities to do at Home
Early Learning Goals
See this useful guide from Alphablocks – CBeebies on phonics so you can practise using sounds, segmenting words and blending them with your child.
End of year EYFS Expectations
Curriculum News & Homework Resources:Your child will bring home a phonetically decodable book closely linked to our current phonics teaching. Please help your child to look at, read and discuss the books at least 4 times a week. We also supplement this with Bug Cub online.
Doodle Maths: To support your child's maths please encourage them to complete their 5 a day questions on the Doodle Maths app. EYFS Grapheme Card Sound Mat EYFS Tricky Word Mat EYFS Number Patter EYFS Letter Patter |
Recommended Websites:
www.phonicsplay.co.uk Interactive phonics games www.oxfordowl.co.uk Over 250 free ebooks, games & advice www.activelearnprimary.co.uk/login?c=0 Bug Club www.doodlemaths.com/ DoodleMaths Apps to consider: Reading eggs - Sight words Teach my monster to read |
E-Safety
We regularly teach the children the importance of staying safe on the internet. We take part in e-safety day each year and it provides an opportunity for schools to make the most of the positive opportunities offered online, whilst giving young people the resilience, skills, knowledge and support they need to navigate any online risks they may come across. We also have weekly e-safety circle questions to broaden the children's thinking and raise important topics to keep them safe online.
By clicking on the link below you will see more about Internet Safety at Elloughton.
By clicking on the link below you will see more about Internet Safety at Elloughton.
