The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the period of education from birth to five. The last year of the EYFS is often described as the reception year since most children are admitted to the reception class of a primary school. During their reception year at school, the children will work towards the Early Learning Goals. Most children are expected to achieve the early learning goals by the end of the Foundation Stage.

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Well-planned play is a key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge during their early years. Children further their understanding by talking, observing, planning, questioning, experimenting, testing, reporting, reflecting, and responding to adults and to each other.

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In following the EYFS framework at Bardwell, we aim to provide a broad, balanced, differentiated curriculum that addresses the children's social, emotional, physical, intellectual, moral, and cultural development within a safe, secure and stimulating environment.

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Our curriculum enables the child to learn and develop skills, attitudes, and understanding in seven areas of learning:

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The Prime Areas:

• Personal, Emotional, and Social Development

• Communication and Language

• Physical Development

 

The Specific Areas:

• Mathematics

• Literacy (reading and writing)

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Art and Design

 

In planning for and guiding the children, we reflect on the different ways that they learn through 'The Characteristics of Effective Learning':
 

• Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things and 'have a go'

• Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements

• Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

 

At the end of the EYFS, each child will be assessed against 17 key areas called the Early Learning Goals (ELG).

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The EYFS prepares children for learning in Key Stage One when National Curriculum programmes are taught.

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Phonics

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At Bardwell, we recognise reading as a key life skill which underpins access to the rest of the curriculum. We aim to develop confident, fluent, and passionate readers and writers from an early stage and use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a complete systematic synthetic phonics program (SSP). This is a process that first teaches the letter sounds, building up to blending these sounds together to achieve full pronunciation of whole words.

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Phonics is taught daily to all children in Reception and Y1. Phonics teaching is systematic, engaging, lovely, and interactive.

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Please see these resources for parents that will help support your child with saying their sounds and also with writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school, so you can feel confident aout supporting their reading from home.

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