Early Years

Intent  

At Welland Academy we aim to develop our youngest children into resilient, independent learners. We encourage our children to value their own thoughts and ideas whilst respecting their peers, even if they are different to their own. Every child has access to a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum which prepares them for now and future opportunities and experiences. Following personal interests and individual needs, allows us to plan and provide opportunities to support learning and development across the setting. We aim for this approach to provide our children with the fundamental building blocks which they can apply during the rest of their education. We aim to work collaboratively with parents and carers to encourage independent, enthusiastic learners who thrive and reach their full potential.              

Implementation 

Children in the Reception year follow the Early Years Foundation Curriculum.  This provides a curriculum that can teach all social and academic skills whilst considering children’s own interests and fascinations. This follows on from the work they have done in a Nursery or pre-school setting. All children take part in a balance of ‘teacher led’ and ‘child initiated’ activities following a holistic teaching approach. The classrooms are organised so that there are clear areas of learning with resources that are easily accessible and provide challenge and application of skills. The outside area is seen as an essential part of our pupils’ learning journey. Children have access across the setting and our pupils are encouraged to spend time in both classrooms and the outside area. Gaining independence skills are encouraged and positive behaviour is reinforced through making sensible choices. Self-regulation is developed through emotional language being taught explicitly, supporting our pupils in developing their understanding of their own thoughts and feelings. Phonics is taught daily from the autumn term followed by corresponding decodable reading books being sent home. The Fantastics strategy underpins our commitment to developing our children’s oracy skills and are evident across the setting. Appropriate communication skills are taught overtly and applied across all areas of learning. The statutory Government baseline is completed within the first 6 weeks of children starting school. All children complete a Language Link baseline with targeted children continuing in an intervention for the rest of the academic year.  All children are assessed again at the end of the year providing updated information about which children require language intervention in Year 1.

Impact 

Children make good progress during their time in EYFS. Work is collated in exercise books and online learning journeys which document the success of the children’s time in EYFS and are accessed regularly by parents. As a team we carry out regular internal and external moderations to ensure our judgements are consistent and accurate. Our assessments include observations to ensure that skills that have been taught are able to be applied independently. We aim for our children to leave EYFS with a solid foundation in learning skills and attitude upon which to build on.