Intent

At Barlby Primary we aim to help children realise and achieve their full potential. Our curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of all children, recognising uniqueness and diversity within our school community and encompassing the key foundational skills needed to support them throughout life. We aim to provide a range of experiences for children to engage in learning with enthusiasm, motivation and curiosity and in an environment where they feel safe, happy and valued. We encourage children to follow the Barlby values of Respect, Creativity, Determination, Ambition and Resilience. These underpin our teaching and encourage children to be adaptable, hardworking, ambitious and devoted towards their learning. We hope to support children with forming positive relationships with adults and peers, promoting inclusivity and working collaboratively with one another. At Barlby Primary School we aim to provide children with the best start in their Early Education, forming the foundation for all future learning and helping to create lifelong learners.

Implement

The core aim of the Foundation Stage at Barlby Primary school is to provide a strong foundation for learning for the rest of each pupil’s life. We work closely with parents to support their children’s learning and enable them to reach their full potential. The Nursery and Reception classes follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and work towards the Early Learning Goals. 

We follow a topic-based curriculum. Our topics are as follows:

 

During their time in the Foundation Stage, your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:

• Communication and Language;
• Physical Development; 
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.  As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

• Literacy;
• Mathematics;
• Understanding the World;
• Expressive Arts and Design.

These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. Planning for this curriculum is designed to be flexible so that your child’s unique needs and interests are supported. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. Our outdoor area is used all year round and in all weather conditions (excluding blizzards, gale-force winds and torrential rain!).

A typical day in a Nursery or Reception class would include a focus, adult-led activity which is completed by each child either individually or in a small group.  There are also a range of stimulating and engaging activities which the children can access independently as part of the continuous provision and a variety of opportunities for child-initiated play. In planning and guiding children’s activities, we reflect on the different ways that children learn and reflect these in our practice.

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.

Impact

At Barlby Primary School we have curriculum goals which we help children work towards. By the end of their time in the Early Years Foundation stage, we hope that they are:

We use Tapestry to record and track daily observations and learning, which we use to inform future planning to ensure we are responding to the needs of all learners. We also reflect on the outcomes from adult-led focus activities to monitor progress and make appropriate adjustments to future learning. 

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