Overview

Curriculum Intent

At Wellesley Primary School our ‘Aim High Reach for the Sky’ aspirations begin in the early years as we have high aspirations of all our children and have designed a curriculum which supports each individual child to reach their full potential. We feel it is engaging and enables children to develop positive learning behaviours as well as the knowledge and skills they need to prepare them for the next stage of their lifelong learning journey. We know children learn best when they feel happy so we endeavour to build positive relationships with all our children so they feel, safe, nurtured and ready to learn. Our curriculum is delivered through topics that interest and motivate children; encouraging curiosity about the world around them and learning through play. Our continuous provision is well resourced and allows the children to drive their own learning and follow their interests. A typical day in EYFS contains a balance of direct whole class teaching, adult led group activities and child-initiated learning, where the children learn through their play.

Implementation

Staff in the Early Years are experienced in supporting the children to make progress in all areas of the curriculum; enabling all children to make progress regardless of their starting point. Staff are knowledgeable about children’s next steps in their learning; children who are ready are challenged, whereas, interventions are quickly established for children who may need extra help. The EYFS is about how children learn, as well as what they learn. Children need opportunities to develop their own play and independent exploration; as this is enjoyable and motivating. They also need adults to ‘scaffold’ their learning by giving them just enough help to achieve something they could not do independently. Observational checkpoints are used throughout the year to ensure the children are on track to achieve a good level of development in regard to the 17 Early Learning Goals.
There are 4 overarching principles which shape the practice in EYFS, we recognise and uphold these. They are:

1. The Unique child- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
2. Positive relationships- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
3. Enabling environments- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
4. Learning and development- We recognise the importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates.

At Wellesley Primary School the learning experiences we offer are planned with consideration of the seven areas of learning and development within the EYFS Statutory Framework. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected.
The three prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. As the children should develop, grow and make progress in the prime areas they will naturally develop skills within the four specific areas.


Find out more our Prime Learning and Specific Learning goals by clicking on the links above.