The Bay CE School Early Years Foundation Key Stage
Welcome to our warm and friendly school. At the Bay CE School, we want all children to believe in themselves, be inspired and develop interests in learning for life, and excel within a happy, creative and secure environment.
We believe that children learn most effectively when they are given choices about what they learn and how they learn. To ensure children know more and remember more, we know that they must also fundamentally enjoy learning. Therefore, there is a strong focus on ensuring that all children develop strong and effective characteristics of effective learning. In addition, a strong and secure base in the prime areas of learning;
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Communication and Language
Secure development in these areas are critical if children are to thrive in all other subject areas. We ensure we spend significant time on securing high levels of confidence in these prime areas of learning. We know that, as teachers, we have a responsibility to equip all children with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes for the next stage in their learning.
What does EYFS practice look like in our school?
- We make language a priority, embedding spoken language, vocabulary development and listening comprehension into all aspects of the children’s work.
- We teach reading in a systematic and structured way, building up children’s phonic knowledge and skills explicitly.
- We provide regular story times where children can be taught to understand what they hear.
- We teach writing composition by building on children’s spoken language and their comprehension of stories.
- We teach spelling and handwriting discretely.
- We deepen children’s understanding of core mathematical concepts rather than moving them on too quickly to formal calculations and written methods.
- We secure children’s personal, social and emotional readiness to learn, including resilience, perseverance, concentration, the ability to listen, to take turns and to cooperate. We instil and embed the Zones of Regulation to help the children express and discuss how they are feeling.
- We develop strong relationships with our parents/carers and support them to encourage and celebrate their children’s learning and development and engagements through Tapestry.
What is Tapestry?
Tapestry is an easy-to-use and secure online learning journal helping staff and families celebrate their children’s learning and development. Tapestry builds a very special record of a child’s experiences, development and learning journey through their early years.
Curriculum Information
Click here for EYFS in a nutshell
Click here for Reception long term overview
Development Matters Birth to 5: Development Matters Document
(This non-statutory document content is to change under the new reforms for September 2021).
Click here to view the Starting School Booklet
How can you support your child at home?
Developing Reading Skills
Research shows that early reading experiences, opportunities to build vocabularies, and literacy rich environments are the most effective way to support the development of pre-reading and cognitive skills. (Make Way for Books 2020)
- Read aloud to your child daily
- Surround them with a variety of books and stories
- Take them to the local library
- Encourage your child to join in with stories, rhymes and poems
- Make up your own stories, songs and rhymes
- Encourage children to explore books independently, looking at the pictures and talking about them too!
Developing your child’s Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Developing your child’s gross motor skills and large muscle development plays a vital part in your child learning to write. A child needs strength in their arms, shoulders and wrists before they can begin to be able to hold a pencil and make marks. Mark making is one of the first stages of a child learning to write and is the main focus for us when your child first starts Reception at The Bay. We encourage the children to make small and large marks with different types of media such as with pens, paintbrushes, giant chalks, paint and mud. Maybe you could try this at home too!
