EYFS
INTENTTo deliver the content of the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework, giving children a secure foundation and enabling them to enjoy, engage and excel in their learning at Gillingham Primary School.
We place great value on the development of children as individuals and providing them with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them for their futures. A child’s early education lasts a lifetime and therefore we believe that everything we teach in Reception has to be the very best it can be. Our aim in the EYFS is to build the strongest foundations rooted in academic success as well as moral and spiritual development so that ultimately our pupils can be successful, curious, life-long learners who are active, happy and thoughtful citizens.
Our curriculum is the cultural capital we know our pupils at Gillingham Primary School need, so that they can gain the knowledge, skills and understanding they require for success. They can only do that if we embed the right habits for learning by embracing the Characteristics of Effective Learning – Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking.
At Gillingham, we immediately focus on teaching our youngest children how to listen, follow simple instructions, expand their vocabulary and support their personal, social and emotional development. As such, we prioritise the Prime Areas of the EYFS framework with a particular focus on personal, social and emotional development and communication and language. Our enabling environment and warm, skilful adult interactions support the children as they begin to link learning to their play and exploration. We believe that every day counts in Reception and begin teaching quickly as the children settle each September, including teaching the specifics of reading, writing and number. We see it as our duty to provide a sufficiently challenging curriculum for our children that builds on their previous learning. All staff have high expectations for all children and recognise the need to move children on quickly from their starting points.
We are inspired by research including that published in Bold Beginnings. This enabled us to create our vision for the Reception Year at Gillingham and includes the following specific characteristics:
- Stimulate children’s interests and generate a love of learning and an enjoyment of school
- Start quickly, from the first week of the new academic year
- Build on children’s learning from the end of pre-school and respond to their emerging needs
- Instil a day-to-day routine and visual timetable so the children feel safe and secure
- Develop children’s confidence, concentration, ability to listen and to follow instructions
- Secure the essential skills of reading, writing and maths, as the foundations for successful learning across all other subjects
- Create effective working relationships with parents
- Connect to the wider school community
- Prepare children for the demands of Year 1 and the high expectations of the National Curriculum
(Ofsted November 2017)
It is our aim to ensure that every child, regardless of their background or any additional needs they may have, has access to the highest quality education in their earliest years, which enables them to progress confidently to the next stage of their education and onwards through life.