Early Years
Welcome to the Early Years!
The main purpose of Early Years education is to help the children develop the skills and attitudes that they will use throughout a lifetime of learning.
At Liberty, our aim is to help your child become as independent as possible and to foster a love of learning by making it exciting and fun!
Our Nursery and Reception classes make up our EYFS. We have 2 Reception classes consisting of 30 children in each and our Nursery classes consist of 39 children in both the morning and afternoon sessions. In all our EYFS classes, we provide welcoming, supportive, caring, happy, secure and stimulating environments where children are given equal opportunities to develop and learn in a way and pace appropriate to them as individuals.
Children in Nursery and Reception follow our EYFS curriculum which gives children a broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundations for good future progress through school and life. Our curriculum is language rich and each of our topics uses inspiring stories as starting points.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
Playing & Exploring
Children are encouraged to play with what they know and to develop the confidence to "have a go."
We are committed to offering children an experience that will foster a love of learning within a safe and stimulating environment.
We build secure and trusting relationships which allow our children to flourish.
Active Learning
The indoor and outdoor environment is carefully resourced so that children become motivated to be independent learners.
Children are supported to become more resilient: to keep trying and achieve what they set out to do.
Children become more engaged; showing high levels of energy and fascination.
Creating and Thinking Critically
As children engage in a broad range of activities in Early Years, they begin to actively think about the meaning of what they are doing.
Children will begin to generate new ideas, make links between experiences and learning and become problem solvers.
Play Based Approach To Learning
The children will have the opportunity throughout their day to engage in play-based activities indoors and outdoors. They will have access to a variety of areas within the classroom where they can independently choose and lead their own learning. Play-based learning provides opportunities for children to actively and imaginatively engage with people, objects and the environment. Children are naturally motivated to play. Our play based curriculum builds on this motivation, using play as a context for learning. In this context, children can explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in a imaginative way.
Our play-based approach involves both children-initiated and teacher-supported learning. At Liberty, we encourage children's learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch their thinking to higher levels. Our aim is to have an environment that is welcoming, friendly and supportive and challenging. We wish for both you and your child to have a happy and confident beginning to their school life at Liberty Primary School.
Curriculum
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework 2021 which sets standards for the learning, development and care of our pupils. The standards ensure pupils will learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. This includes promoting good oral health.
The EYFS framework outlines the seven areas of learning and development and educational programmeS which inform our curriculum. There are three prime areas of learning, which are particularly important for your child’s development and future learning. They are:
1. Communication and Language
2. Physical Development
3. Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and language underpins all areas of learning within our Early Years curriculum and continues to be developed within our provision, teaching, learning and planning methods. The prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. Planned learning supports the progress and development of listening and speaking, enabling children to process information into thinking and understanding. Children practise their physical skills alongside developing social skills, which supports greater independence and higher levels of confidence.
There are four specific areas of learning, through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied. They are:
4. Literacy
5. Maths
6. Understanding the World
7. Expressive Arts and Design
The 4 specific areas of learning provide a context for development and reflect cultural knowledge and accumulated understanding. They are dependent on learning in the prime areas. Our continuous provision demonstrates a strong emphasis upon supporting children’s understanding of the world along with enabling them to express themselves imaginatively and creatively, using art and design. New learning and topics are adapted to reflect the needs and interests of the children throughout the year.
Assessment
Assessment is ongoing throughout the EYFS (Nursery and Reception).
From September 2021, all schools will be taking part in the statutory ‘Reception Baseline Assessments’ from the DfE which have to be completed within pupils’ first six weeks of starting school. The Reception baseline assessment (RBA) is a short and simple check of a child’s early literacy, communication, language and maths skills as they begin school. The assessments will form part of their daily activities and learning and will provide staff with a snapshot of where pupils are at when they enter reception, so they can be supported in the most appropriate way. Data from the assessment will only be used by the DfE when pupils have reached the end of Year 6, to provide the baseline to measure the progress of pupils’ year group from reception to Year 6. The data from the assessment, including numerical scores, is not shared with parents, pupils, teachers, or external bodies, including schools, and there will be no published scores at pupil, school or national level.
At the end of the EYFS, an Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is completed for each child. Pupils are assessed against 17 Early Learning Goals covering each area of learning and development. Judgements are based on ongoing observations and assessments carried out by the EYFS staff throughout the year. Pupils will be awarded one of these levels for each ELG;
- Emerging- not yet reaching the expected levels for their age
- Expected- working at the expected level for their age
Starting Nursery and Reception
The Nursery and Reception classes will be new environments for pupils who will need to adjust to the new people, experiences and changes in their normal routines. This can sometimes cause anxiety for you and your child. All children are individuals and may take some time to settle. We try to make the adjustments as easy as possible for everyone- this sometimes involves making arrangements for your child to settle at their own pace. We ask all families to work in partnership with us in this transition from home to school in the best possible way that meets your child’s needs.
Partnerships With Parents
We welcome parents to be actively involved in their children’s learning in school and are able to share learning experiences through ‘Stay and Play’ sessions, soft starts, learning journeys, attending celebration afternoons and class assemblies and parent workshops. We recognise that parents are the first educators in children’s lives and value contributions to learning journeys and judgements about children’s development. We use this information to support our assessments and share information about what children need to do next to develop and thrive.
Our friendly and enthusiastic members of the EYFS team are constantly updating their knowledge and experience of the Early Years and are committed to making sure every child reaches his or her full potential by planning activities and experiences which are motivating, challenging, engaging and fun.