Early Years Curriculum
Our aim is to provide your child with a firm foundation on which they can build their future education. We believe all children deserve to have an equal chance of success. Early education is about offering a high quality curriculum for all children. Our curriculum is ambitious and central to everything is developing children’s language. Spoken language underpins everything we do. By knowing every child we are flexible with our plans and go with children’s interests. Our school aims to develop children in to ‘good citizens’, who will go on to do ‘great things’. Developing children’s character, through positive attitudes, resilience, bravery, kindness, respect and care are central to daily life at Corporation Road Primary School.
Intent
Our children learn to be strong and independent through developing positive relationships. Learning and development opportunities are planned around the needs and interests of each individual and are assessed and reviewed regularly. We continue to develop a stronger partnership, working between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
Subject Leader: Mel Hirst
National Curriculum
Our curriculum is broad and balanced, encompassing key life skills, experiences and expectations. In response to the 2017 ‘Bold Beginnings’ report and the revised 2021 Development Matters and EYFS Framework, we have taken the opportunity to revisit, reflect upon and share our expectations for a quality reception year, encompassing our Trust values, and collective experience – along with a realignment of the core principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage:
These principles are:
- every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
- children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates
Whilst some aspects of our ‘Trust Ready’ curriculum are academically challenging, we fully embed and ‘live’ the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning of:
- playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
- active learning – children concentrate, 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.
Our curriculum is designed to develop all aspects of child knowledge and skills through the characteristics above, with a memorable, enjoyable and effectively unique Early Years’ experience. We also realise the value of teaching table manners, responding to greetings and cooking skills.
Our Trust Curriculum demands that every child across the Trust:
- Actively listens and takes part in ‘five a day’ language rich experiences each day (stories, poems, raps, rhymes, nursery rhymes, tongue twisters, songs)
- Has access to weekly at least one physical education lesson
- Is expected to have the opportunity to develop accurate letter and number formation prior to year 1
- Develops a love of learning – they are confident, articulate and increasingly independent learners, because their curriculum is fun, inspiring and relevant.
There are seven areas of learning and development that must shape the way we teach children at Corporation Road in our early years setting. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the prime areas, are:
- communication and language;
- physical development; and
- personal, social and emotional development.
Teachers and teaching assistants also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
- literacy;
- mathematics;
- understanding the world;
- expressive arts and design.
Communication and Language | Listening, Attention and Understanding Early Learning Goal: Communication and Language | Listening, Attention and Understanding
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions when being read to and during whole class discussions and small group interactions.
- Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding.
- Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers.
Communication and Language | Speaking Early Learning Goal: Communication and Language
Speaking Children at the expected level of development will:
- Join in with small group, class and on-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using their newly learnt vocabulary.
- Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary.
- Offer explanation for why things might happen, making use of introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate
Personal, Social and Emotional Development| Self-Regulation Early Learning Goal: PSED | Self Regulation
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Show an understanding of their own feelings and those of others, and begin to regulate accordingly
- Set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate
- Give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and show an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas or actions.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development| Managing Self Early Learning Goal: PSED | Managing self
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge
- Explain the reason for rules, know right from wrong and try to behave accordingly
- Manage their own basic needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices
Personal, Social and Emotional Development| Building Relationships Early Learning Goal: PSED | Building Relationships
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Work and play cooperatively and take turns with others
- Form positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers
- Show sensitivity to their own and others needs
Physical Development | Gross Motor Skills Early Learning Goal: Physical| Gross Motor Skills
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others
- Demonstrate strength, balance and coordination when playing
- Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing
Physical Development | Fine Motor Skills Early Learning Goal: Physical Development| Fine Motor Skills
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Be able to hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing – using the tripod grip in almost all cases.
- Be able to use a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery.
- Begin to show accuracy and care when drawing
Literacy | Comprehension Early Learning Goal: Literacy | Comprehension
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to me by retelling stories and narratives using my own and recently introduced vocabulary;
- Anticipate, where appropriate, events in stories;
- Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role-play.
Literacy | Word Reading Early Learning Goal: Literacy | Word Reading
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs;
- Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending;
- Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words.
Literacy | Writing Early Learning Goal: Literacy | Writing
Children at the expected level of development will:
- I can write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed;
- I can spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters;
- I can write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.
Mathematics | Number Early Learning Goal: Mathematics | Number
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;
- Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;
- Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.
Mathematics | Numerical Patterns Early Learning Goal: Mathematics | Numerical Patterns
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Be able to verbally count beyond 20, recognising the patterns of the counting system
- Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than, or the same as the other quantity
- Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including odd and even numbers, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally
Understanding the World | Past and Present Early Learning Goal: Understanding the World | Past and Present
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society;
- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
- Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling;
Understanding the World | People, Culture and Community Early Learning Goal: Understanding the World |People, Culture and Communities
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps;
- Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
- Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and – when appropriate – maps.
Understanding the World | The Natural World Early Learning Goal: Understanding the World | The Natural World
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
- Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.
Expressive Arts and Design | Creating with Materials Early Learning Goal: Expressive Arts and Design | Creating with Materials
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture and form
- Share their creations, explaining the process they have used
- Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories
Expressive Arts and Design | Being Imaginative and Expressive Early Learning Goal: Expressive Arts and Design | Being Imaginative and Expressive
Children at the expected level of development will:
- Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
- Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
- Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
