Early Years

Intent

At Farncombe Infants we aim to provide every child with a positive and confident start to their educational journey through a broad and balanced Early Years Curriculum. We offer an environment that is nurturing, friendly and supportive. We provide a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities, to facilitate meaningful play experiences both indoors and outdoors. We believe in play-based learning, which supports cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth. By implementing thoughtfully designed activities, we support children's ongoing learning and development. Our reception timetable is carefully structured so that children have directed teaching in maths and phonics every day. Through continuous provision opportunities the children are then able to make connections in their learning.

At Farncombe Infants our curriculum is designed in accordance with the government’s document, ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’ (EYFS, September 2021). This document outlines the standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five years old. Reception is the final year of the EYFS.

The EYFS focuses on seven key areas of learning, these are divided into two areas: the prime areas and the specific areas.

The Prime areas essential for development and form the child’s foundations of learning.

Communication and Language: Developing speaking, listening, and understanding skills through conversations, storytelling, and play.

Physical Development: Encouraging movement, coordination, and healthy habits, including fine motor skills (e.g., writing, using tools) and gross motor skills (e.g., running, jumping).

Personal, Social, and Emotional Development: Helping children build confidence, understand emotions, and develop relationships with others.

 

The Specific areas are essential for enhancing knowledge and learning. These help children build on the prime areas and develop essential skills for future learning:

Literacy: Encouraging early reading and writing skills, including phonics and a love for books.

Mathematics: Introducing numbers, shapes, patterns, and problem-solving.

Understanding the World: Exploring the environment, different cultures, and how things work through hands-on activities and discussions.

Expressive Arts and Design: Developing creativity through art, music, dance, role-play, and storytelling.

 

Our Early Years curriculum is designed to foster and reinforce the Characteristics of Effective Learning. These characteristics refer to the behaviours children demonstrate as they engage in their learning.

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 own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

 

Implementation

At Farncombe Infants, we ensure that all areas of the EYFS curriculum are facilitated through carefully planned adult and child led activities which engage the children in their learning. Our curriculum implements a half-termly, overarching theme to our learning which allows the children to make links across different areas of learning. The children are given time to explore, observe and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. The children have daily phonics sessions using the ‘Little Wandle’ scheme, this is then followed up with adult led targeted reading groups. The maths curriculum is taught using White Rose mathematic scheme of learning. Both are used throughout our school curriculum.

In EYFS we aim to: 

  • Ensure the curriculum and learning is inspiring and motivating, ensuring all pupils learn and progress

  • Ensure all of the areas of the EYFS Curriculum are covered through our indoor and outdoor provision, which provide challenges and inspire exploration and creativity which will enhance connections in learning and promote skill development 

  • Ensure our continuous provision is carefully planned with child initiated and adult led focus groups

  • Build strong relationships with parents and carers and involve them in their child’s learning. This will be through tapestry, sharing observations and photos and providing workshops to share relevant information

  • Foster a love of the natural world through regular outdoor learning, including an afternoon in our wonderful forest school 

  • Enrich children’s experiences through workshops, visits and visitors

  • Provide appropriate levels of challenge for pupils, no matter what their starting point

 

Impact

At Farncombe Infants our children enjoy coming to school, they have a nurturing start to school life, developing the necessary skills to foster a love of learning.

  • Children develop skills across all areas of the curriculum, making connections within their learning

  • Children demonstrate high levels of engagement in their learning 

  • Children apply the characteristics of learning to various situations, developing links and explaining their ideas and understanding

  • Children are prepared for a successful transition to Year 1 as resilient, independent, and curious learners