EYFS
In the Early Years Foundation Stage at Farcet, we believe that all children are entitled to the best possible start in their school life. It is our intent that all children who join our EYFS have opportunities, experiences and support to develop, physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally, whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning.
Our EYFS curriculum will take children on a journey from their local area to outer space, from the fascinating world of dinosaurs to the ancient stories of Greek Gods. Children will encounter interesting people such as George Stephenson, known for his steam train ‘The Rocket’ and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.
They will explore captivating places such The North Pole and Mount Everest. They will grow plants, study maps, look closely at fallen leaves, observe ice melting, design floating boats, and much more. Importantly, they will be learning and using new vocabulary in a wide range of contexts.
Children will learn more and remember more as they progress through their early years, enriching their play and their conversations with the powerful knowledge in our curriculum.
Children in our Reception class follow the EYFS curriculum, which has seven main areas of learning.
The Prime Areas:-
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
The Specific Areas:-
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts
We aim to ensure the teaching of these areas of learning are practical and playful with support and challenge from adults in class sessions, small group sessions and working with individuals. There is a combination of adult-led sessions, as well as a wealth of stimulating continuous provision opportunities for children to access independently. Throughout all of these areas of learning and at the heart of the EYFS Curriculum are the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’. At Farcet, we strive to develop these key characteristics of ‘Playing and Learning’, ‘Active Learning’ and ‘Thinking Critically’ in order to give the children the skills that they will continue to draw upon throughout their time at Farcet, and beyond.
Our indoor and outdoor learning environments, and the resources within them, are regularly adapted to meet the different needs, and stages of development of the children. We aim to ensure that these areas are exciting and stimulating, offer opportunities for open-ended exploration, and are accessible to all children. The environments are developed to promote independence within all our children, allowing them to access all areas of the EYFS curriculum, with confidence, and enable them to motivate and challenge themselves in their learning.
Throughout the year, children are continually assessed through the use of accurate observations, and purposeful engagements. EYFS practitioners make professional judgements, which provide us with information for future planning; for both individual classes, and individual children’s next steps in their learning. They enable us, as EYFS practitioners, to ensure learning is embedded and consistent, and that all children continue to make good progress, and reach their full potential within our EYFS setting.
We recognise that parents are children’s first and most enduring educators and we value the contribution they make. We recognise the role that parents have played, and their future role, in educating the children. We invite parents, carers and siblings in to enjoy our EYFS environments and curriculum, and welcome their input of their children’s achievements.
Useful websites to support the EYFS:
White Rose Math White Rose Maths Team has prepared a series of five maths lessons for each year group from Year 1-8. Every lesson comes with a short video showing you clearly and simply how to help your child to complete the activity successfully.
Active Learn: Read online Bug Club Books and visit the Math Factor.
Numberblocks: Sing along and learn all about numbers with the Numberblocks!
Alphablocks: Watch as the letters of the alphabet tell stories and make words using phonics. Play the learning game, watch clips and print colouring pages.
Phonics Play: You will find lots of games and ideas to explore with children at home. Free membership.
Stay at Home Story Time: Oliver Jeffers will be reading one of his books every weekday and talking about some of the things that went into making it.
Time To Come In, Bear written by Kim St. Lawrence - A story explaining social distancing to young children
Useful APP's to support the EYFS:
Meet the Numberblocks: Can you count the Numberblobs? FREE
Numberblocks: Hide and Seek: Find and add the Numberblocks!
Numberblocks: Card Fun!: Learn with the Numberblocks!
Alphablocks: Letter Fun: Learn to read with phonics