Our aims for the Early Years Curriculum (Intent)

Our vision at Barlow Church of England School embodies our belief that each individual has a voice to be valued and talents to be nurtured.  Through our curriculum, we provide all children with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to be effective, inquisitive, independent learners and to meet their next steps by growing in wisdom and becoming their best possible self. We are preparing the children to achieve the Early Learning Goals, by making progress from their starting points, by providing first hand learning experiences for the 7 areas of learning (see below) and through a balance of whole class direct teaching and play based learning.  This is influenced by the children’s interests and planned themes, both indoor and outdoor.

How we teach the Early Years (Implementation)

We follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, revised in September 2021 by the DfES. This Framework specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years and provides prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum.

 These areas are:

· Personal, Social and Emotional Development

· Physical Development

· Communication and Language development

· Literacy

 · Mathematics

 · Understanding the World

· Expressive Arts and Design

We plan a broad and balanced curriculum which provides children with a range of experiences which are relevant and of interest to the children. A vital aspect in the development of essential knowledge and skills is the use of play and Continuous Provision. Continuous Provision is the resourcing and opportunities for purposeful play provided through both the indoor and outdoor environments. We understand how early year's education plays a vital role in children's overall development and learning and so we help children to develop their curiosity and knowledge in a fun way through play based activities.  It is through play that children learn to develop skills, such as language, emotional, creativity, social and intellectual aptitude. It is from here that they practise new ideas, take risks, show imagination and solve problems on their own or with others.

As well as learning through the Continuous Provision, children also access Adult Directed activities in which adults teach children particular skills, with objectives taken from Development Matters.

Children take part in daily synthetic Phonics sessions, which follow the Read Write Inc. scheme, and Maths sessions supported by the NCETM Mastery materials. Children are encouraged to transfer the skills they learn in these sessions into their independent activities in the Continuous Provision. We also follow Greg Botteril's Drawing Club approach leading with a well chosen text or video clip each week, teaching a daily vocabulary focus through this and sharing a love of literature and story telling with the children.

We value the contribution parents can make to their children’s progress, encouraging them to share learning that takes place at home with us through Evidence Me. There are yearly meetings with details of how we teach phonics, reading and Maths so they can support their children effectively at home.