Skerne Park
Early Years Foundation Stage Policy

Review Date: December 2018

Adopted/V1 / V2
Dec 2018

Purpose
At SPA we aim to provide the highest quality of care and education for all our children by giving them the best possible start in their educational journey by providing a safe, happy environment that motivates children to learn. We plan purposeful opportunities within our environment that allow children to play, explore, experiment, develop confidence, be curious and learn. We believe it is our duty to develop a joy for learning within our children, enabling them to feel motivated and excited about learning through play and first-hand experiences. This policy outlines the purpose, nature and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Skerne Park Academy.

Mission statement

At SPA we:
Strive for the highest aspirations and persevere through new challenges so we can continuously achieve.
Provide a stimulating curriculum, which ignites our imaginations with passion, creating awe-inspiring learning experiences.
Whilst supporting our whole school family, we provide a nurturing and safe environment within which we can all aspire to greatness.

Aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage

As outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (2017):

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.” (p. 5)

We adhere to theEYFS Statutory Framework and the four guiding principles that shape practice within Early Years Settings:
• Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
• Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
• Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
• Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.

As part of our practice we:

Recognise that all children are unique and special.

Understand that children develop in individual ways and varying rates-physically, cognitively, linguistically, socially and emotionally.

Provide a safe, secure and caring environment in which children feel happy and know that they are valued by the practitioners that look after them.

Foster and nurture children’s self-confidence and self-esteem through respecting all children’s thoughts and ideas.

Encourage children’s independence and decision making, supporting them to learn through their mistakes.

Support children to develop care, respect and appreciation for others, including those with beliefs, cultures and opinions which differ from their own.

Develop children’s social skills and the values and codes of behaviour required for people to work together harmoniously.

Understand the importance of play in children’s learning and development.

Provide learning experiences in play which reflect children’s personal interests and areas of curiosity in order to encourage and develop a natural desire, interest, excitement and motivation to learn.

Provide experiences which build on children’s existing knowledge in order to challenge, stimulate and extend their learning and development.

Provide effective learning opportunities in a range of environments inside and outside.

The EYFS Curriculum

Teaching in the EYFS is delivered in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The document is a principled approach to Early Years education, bringing together children’s welfare, learning and development.

There are seven areas of learning and development that shape the way we do things. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These threeareas are:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

These areas of learning and development address children’s physical, linguistic, social and emotional development. No one aspect of development stands in isolation and all are very closely inter-connected. This ensures the delivery of a holistic, child-centred curriculum which allows children to make lots of links between the things they are learning. All areas of learning are given equal weight and value. Throughout EYFS, we believe that Early Years education is important in its own right and should not be viewed simply as preparation for the next stage of children’s education. We believe that the EYFS Framework allows a natural progression into the National Curriculum at the beginning for Year One.

Characteristics of Effective Learning: The characteristics of effective learning play a significant role in the daily running and activities in the EYFS classroom. In planning and guiding children’s activities, practitioners reflect on the different ways that children learn and mirror these in their practice. The three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:

• 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 ownideas, make links with what they are doing and what they already know and choose different ways to do things.

Our Ethos on Learning through Play:

“Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.” (EYFS Statutory Framework, p. 9)

We recognise that young children learn best when they are active. We understand that active learning involves other people, objects, ideas and events that engage and involve children for sustained periods. Therefore, we believe that Early Years education should be as practical as possible and our EYFS setting has an ethos of learning through play. We recognise the importance of children’s play. It is an essential and rich part of their learning process, supporting them in all areas of development. Play is a powerful motivator encouraging children to be creative and to develop their ideas, understanding and language. Play is also flexible and able to suit the preferred learning style of the child. It can provide multiple ways for children to learn a variety of different skills and concepts.

In the EYFS, practitioners provide play opportunities, inside and outside. These activities are designed to engage children in practical, first-hand experiences which will support them to discover, explore, investigate, develop their personal interests and areas of curiosity, and help to make sense of the world around them as they begin to understand specific concepts. The environment is also set up to provide children with opportunities to apply newly acquired knowledge, demonstrating their skills and level of understanding. In providing these active learning chances through play we understand the central position of play within the EYFS framework.

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” (Frederich Frobel)

“In play the child is always behaving beyond his age. Above his everyday usual behaviour, in play he is, as it were, a head above himself; play contains in a concentrated form, as in the focus of a magnifying glass, all development tendencies; it is as if the children tries to jump above his usual level.” (Lev Vygotsky)

The Learning Environment

“The enabling environment mobilises the energy, curiosity and focus of children.” (Howard Gardener)

At SPA we recognise that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending the children’s development and consider it as ‘the third teacher’. Our environment, both indoor and out, is carefully planned using continuous provision and learning invitations which we call provocations. The environment reflects the children’s interests and is reviewed daily in order to challenge, extend and move on the children’s learning.

Observation, Assessment and Planning
On-going assessment is an essential aspect of the effective running of the EYFS and is an integral part of children’s learning and development. Daily assessments are made of the children’s learning and individual needs through following the observation, assessment and planning cycle (see below). We notice what the children are doing, assess where they are and then decide how to move them on then and there,because we understand that young children learn in the here and now, not storing up their questions until tomorrow or next week.

The cycle is also used on a daily/weekly basis to inform our small teaching input groups and environment. We notice what the children are interested in, where the gaps in knowledge are and plan to meet those needs.

Learning is recorded in the children’s individual learning journal through written observations in both Nursery and Reception. Parents have access to these learning journals at any time as they are stored in the classroom. They are encouraged to contribute to the learning journals, and their child’s learning and development, though home-school diaries, making comments on observations and questionnaires.

On entering both Nursery and Reception a Baseline Assessment is carried out for each child and this is done during their first six weeks. Data is inputted onto the Darlington Tracker Tool every half term and all adults across the phase contribute to this. On-going teacher assessment is done daily through the observations, assessment and planning cycle. At the end of Reception we assess the children’s Good Level of Development through following the statutory guidance of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook (2017).

In the Moment Planning
As we understand the importance of play on child development and view children as having an innate capacity to learn, our focus for planning is primarily on the environment and positioning of staff for quality interactions. Staff stay in an area of the classroom (Studio, Imaginary Space and Garden) for half a term and are responsible for the learning that occurs in that area. As we follow the children’s lead on their learning and follow their interests, we cannot be sure what that interest is going to be, so therefore plan ‘in the moment’. This is about seizing the moment for children to progress. Based on what the children are already deeply involved in, this way of planning relies on skilled practitioners using quality interactions to draw out the children’s knowledge and build on it there and then (in the moment). This means that practitioners need the skill to be able to see the ’teachable moment’ from the child’s perspective and be skilled enough to know when to intervene and when to stand back and observe.

Planning in the moment is all about capturing the moment of engagement and running with it to make sure the children progress.

Planning for Maths, Literacy and Phonics input in Reception
Although we value play as the best way children learn, we recognise the importance of some adult- focused teaching sessions to ‘teach’ key skills. Each day the children will have small group input for Maths, Literacy and Phonics in which all staff are utilised effectively. Each adult will be responsible for a group and teaching that group in a key worker style. Groups can change in order to differentiate and support children’s needs and abilities.

“Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs (in accordance with paragraph 1.10), to help the child become familiar with the setting, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents.”(Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, p. 22)

Role of the Adult across the Early Years
Adults have a crucial role in stimulating and supporting children to reach beyond their current limits, inspiring their learning and supporting their development. It is through the active intervention, guidance and support of a skilled adult that children make the most progress in their learning. This does not mean pushing children too far or too fast, but instead meeting children where they are, showing them the next open door, and helping them to walk through it. It means being a partner with children, enjoying with them the power of their curiosity and the thrill of finding out what they can do.

We believe that it is in the moment of curiosity, the ‘teachable moment’, that the skilful adult makes a difference. By using the observing, assessment and planning cycle on a moment-by-moment basis, the adult will be always alert to individual children (observation), always thinking about what it tells us about the child’s thinking (assessment), and always ready to respond by using appropriate strategies at the right moment to support children’s well-being and learning (planning for the next moment).

Parents as Partners

Throughout SPA we recognise the importance of establishing positive relationships with parents, as highlighted by the EYFS Framework (2017). We understand that an effective partnership between Academy and home will have a positive impact on children’s learning and development. Practitioners endeavour to encourage the regular sharing of information about the children with parents. We value the role of parents as children’s primary educators. Through questionnaires andinformal chats at the beginning and end of the day, practitioners encourage parents to share their unique knowledge of their child, providing further insight into the child as an individual (e.g. characteristics, interests, experiences, likes, dislikes). This supports practitioners in establishing interesting and stimulating learning experiences, responding to children’s needs and interests.

Parents are kept informed of what is happening in the setting through regular letters, Marvellous Me app and informal chatting at the beginning and end of the day. This also provides suggestions of how parents can support their children’s learning at home, consolidating and building on what has been covered in the setting. Parents are invited to attend parents’ evenings during the course of the academic year. The first of these takes place during the autumn term to allow practitioners and parents to discuss how children have settled into the setting. Another parent’s evening takes place during the spring term where practitioners feedback on children’s learning and development progress.

Parents are also invited to get involved with Academy life. There are opportunities for them to help with activities such as educational visits to support children’s learning. Parents may be invited into the setting on other occasions such as open sessions where parents can come and play, open evenings and parental information sessions. We are committed to providing a friendly, open-door ethos and practitioners are available to talk to parents at the beginning and end of the day. Parents are always welcomed into our setting and encouraged to discuss any concerns they might have.

Safeguarding and Welfare

“Children learn best when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met, and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them.” (Statutory Framework for the EYFS, p. 16)
Children’s safety and welfare is paramount. We create a safe and secure environment and provide a curriculum which encourages children to be safe, make choices and assess risks. As a staff we promote a healthy lifestyle though valuing healthy food choices and exercise. We adhere to school policies such as those covering safeguarding, health and safety, risk management, food and data protection. Please see the Safeguarding and Risk Assessment Policy.

Members of staff may not take photographs in the EYFS using their own mobile phones or cameras.

At least one person who has a current paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate is on the premises and available at all times when children are present, and accompany children on outings. All newly qualified entrants to the early years workforce who have completed a level 2 and/or level 3 qualification on or after 30 June 2016, have either a full PFA or an emergency PFA certificate within three months of starting work in order to be included in the required staff:child ratios at level 2 or level 3. Certificates can be made available on request.