Introduction to the Early Years Foundation Stage
In the Early Years Foundation Stage the children participate in ‘structured’ play. Children are given time to engage in their own play (self-initiated learning), as well as time when they are given a directed task. Our learning environment provides access to all areas of the curriculum. We are developing well-rounded children, so therefore we value all areas of the curriculum equally. The six areas of learning covered in the EYFS are:- Please see the additional booklets for an in depth explanation of each area of learning. In the Blue Unit, the classrooms have been zoned in order to provide a stimulating and diverse learning environment. In the afternoons the children are given coloured bands to wear, which specifies where they will be learning in their self-initiated time. This system has been implemented in order to ensure that all the children have had access to all the areas throughout the course of the week. Alongside play, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) is also at the heart of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This is an important area of development that allows children to develop skills for life!
Our aims at Maidenbower Infant School are for children to:• Feel safe, secure and trust the practitioners that work with them.
• Develop respect for themselves and others.
• Respect children’s culture so that they develop a positive self image. • Learn about relationships and the importance of friendships. • Become life long learners • Solve problems. Early Years Foundation Stage AssessmentChanges made this yearLast year we were required by the Government to implement a new curriculum in Reception. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) replaces the Foundation Stage and now covers children’s learning from birth to five years. Over the last two years staff have spent a lot of time reorganising and re-planning the curriculum and the way the unit works. The changes made were progressive and were forward thinking, so as a result of these major changes further changes to our planning have not had to be made in order to implement the new curriculum.
When changing the unit we embedded good practice with regard to assessment. The changes we have had to make have been in the ways in which we record our assessments of the children. West Sussex have now provided us with ‘Learning Journals’ for each child (previously Developmental Records were used which you may have seen at your child’s pre-school/nursery). AssessmentThe children are observed during play to see how they tackle a task, how they interact with others and to see where they are in their understanding and learning. The observations are then used to plan further activities and learning steps.
In this school we record children’s progress through an in depth tracking document, which is then summarised on their individual Progress Overview Sheet (the stage sheet in their Learning Journal).
The curriculum is split into the six areas of learning (please see the additional booklets for an in depth explanation of each area of learning).
• Communication Language and Literacy (CLL)
• Mathematical Development (PSRN) • Creative Development (CD) • Physical Development (PD) • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) • Knowledge and Understanding of the World (KUW) The learning for each area is broken down into developmental statements which progress towards the Early Learning Goals. There are 6 stages of development within each curriculum area plus the Early Learning Goals. The curriculum covers children from birth to the end of Reception, so when children enter Reception they would generally be expected to be working within Stage 3 and Stage 4. The aim is that be the end of the Reception year, the children will have achieved, or be well on their way to achieving, the Early Learning Goals.
In the first few weeks of the Autumn Term, we spend time observing and getting to know the children in order to assess their learning upon entry. We also spend time looking through any information and records passed up to us from nurseries or playgroups. In October, we then highlight on the tracking document any developmental statements which we believe children have achieved. In order to highlight a developmental statement we need to have evidence that the child can consistently achieve the specific statement, not just that they have done it once or twice. In order to then transfer this assessment and highlight a stage on the Progress Overview, the children will need to have achieved a large number of developmental statements. This means that even if the children have achieved all of the statements in the summary box on the Progress Overview, they may not have achieved other aspects of this area of learning yet, so it will not be highlighted.
This process of highlighting developmental statements and Early Learning Goals is then repeated in February and June, and is monitored throughout the year in order to target and plan further learning.
At the end of the year, we look at all our evidence, and use our professional judgement to decide which of the Profile Statements each child has achieved, (the Profile Statement sheet is also in your child’s Learning Journal). These statements are very similar to the Early Learning Goals, but not quite the same! You can see that the six areas of learning across the top are further broken down into thirteen columns, and each column has nine numbered statements. These numbered statements are mostly, but not in every case, progressive down the columns.
The Government has told us that a good autumn-born child should have achieved six out of the nine profile statements in each column by the end of the Reception year.
When the children move into Year One, they will carry on working within the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum until all Early Learning Goals have been achieved. For most children this will be the case throughout the Autumn Term of Year One.
In July, your child’s Learning Journal (which contains all of the above assessment sheets), will be given to you, along with the PSED report for you to look through. You will then be given the opportunity to discuss these documents with your child’s teacher when you return them at the informal parent consultation the following week. The records will then be passed on to your child’s Year One teacher so that they can make initial plans for the children’s learning as they enter Year One. The records will be returned to you when your child moves to Year Two.
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Name: Teacher: Date: Time: |
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Observation:
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Personal and Social
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Communication Language and Literacy
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Mathematics:
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Knowledge and Understanding of the World (History, Geography, DT, ICT, R.E, Science):
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Physical Development:
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Creative Development (Role-Play, Music, Art):
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Next Steps:
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Date: 15/2/07 |
CLL/KUW | |
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Name: |
Class: | |
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Activity: Making train from own design | ||
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Observation: · Can talk about my design · Can choose appropriate materials to make train
· ·Can use appropriate materials for joining, masking tape/glue/double sided tape · Can talk about what they are doing as they are constructing · Can talk about any modifications · Can reflect on their construction Comments:
Ways forward: | ||
What can you do to be a part of assessing your child?
From time to time we will remove all of your post-it notes and stick them into your child’s Learning Journal. If one of your post-its duplicates an observation we already have, we may not deem it necessary to stick it in, but we would love to read it anyway, as it will give us a good idea of whether your child is consistently achieving that particular developmental statement/ELG.
Your child may come home wearing an ‘Ask me about…’ sticker (occasionally) when something special has happened at school that we would like them to share with you. Keep your eyes peeled and remember to “ASK ME ABOUT…” You can also write your own ones. Please pick up a sticker from the table in the cloakroom. Example – ‘I stood up on stage at the weekend and sang…’ ‘I went to the seaside and made my first sand castle…
Behaviour
If this behaviour persists they will then have their name put onto the ‘Sad Face.’
Each new day is a fresh start in terms of behaviour and every child has their name on the ‘Smiley Face’ at the beginning of the day.