Early Years Foundation Stage - Gwladys Street Community Primary & Nursery School

Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum page. We are currently in the process of building our EYFS curriculum and updating this page. Please come back soon to see the changes.

‘In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour, in play, it’s as though he were a head taller than himself ’Lev Vygotsky 1978.

EYFS Curriculum

At Gwladys Street Primary and Nursery School, we follow our own EYFS curriculum based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters.

The EYFS curriculum separates learning into seven 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 Art and Design

Development Matters – Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage

Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage for group and school providers

Gwladys Street EYFS Curriculum

Our Early Years team have planned an exciting and immersive curriculum, ensuring play is balanced with enhancements and experiences which ensure maximum progression in children. We keep updated with evidenced based practice to ensure that children at Gwladys Street Community Primary and Nursery School have access to the very best curriculum offer. We have reflected upon and refined our curriculum based on common interests, themes and predicted interests. Reflecting on contextual information and needs of the children we prioritise the development of Communication Language throughout the EYFS. We have identified the following schemes and ways of working to support us to strive for the maximum progress and the highest expectations for children.

Adult-Directed Teaching and Learning

At Gwladys Street Community Primary and Nursery School, we keep adult-directed teaching short, purposeful, and delivered in small groups wherever possible. This targeted approach promotes high levels of motivation and active engagement for our youngest learners.

Given the unique context of our school, we place a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of Learning. To help you navigate our timetables:

Personal, Social, and Emotional Development (PSED) is interwoven into everything we do, alongside the intentional development of executive function skills. Knowledge and skills within Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design are seamlessly embedded through our rich continuous provision and explored through carefully selected stories.

Neli

Self-Registration

NELI-Preschool

Check in

NELI preschool

Outdoor Learning

Daily Story Time

Mathematics

Nursery Rhyme of the Week

Word Aware (Concept Cat)

Book Focus on the Foundation Subjects

Pegs to Paper

Communication and Lanaguge

All staff are highly trained, using strategies to enhance children’s thinking, communication and language. Children are supported to extended their knowledge and understanding through high quality interactions. Practitioners narrate and comment on children’s early play, extend and model correct sentences and add suitable questions to enhance children’s sustained thinking. These moments will often be unplanned spontaneous moments starting from the child. Additionally, we endeavor to close the vocabulary gap for the most disadvantaged children, changing life trajectories for these children. Our key texts are chosen because of the rich language they immerse the children with. Vocabulary development is carefully planned to ensure good coverage throughout children’s time in EYFS.

Continuous Provision & Independent Learning

While our core continuous provision remains consistent throughout the year, our teachers work diligently to enrich and adapt provision to stretch and challenge every child.

Our EYFS team has carefully mapped these progression steps using the Development Matters framework to ensure learning is holistic and supports clear progress across all areas. Children’s achievements, skills, and milestones are regularly assessed and monitored using our Learning Journals platform (detailed below).

Outdoor Learning & Physical Development

Physical development is at the heart of our EYFS curriculum. Our dedicated outdoor environment is designed to build essential gross motor skills, risk confidence, and physical coordination. Children explore the outdoors every day, in all weather conditions, ensuring active learning takes place rain or shine. The curriculum is planned for both the inside and outside classrooms and equal importance is given to learning in both areas.

Assessment

We use Learning Journals to assess and track children’s attaintment and progress. This enables us to mointor coverage and ensure progression. We value parent contributions using this online platform to see what learning children are doing outside of the classroom.

Laying the Foundations for the National Curriculum

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we strive to prepare every child to sucessfully engage with the National Curriculum in Key Stage One and beyond. Have a look at ways in which we prepare children by clicking on the links.

Daily Timetable

Please see the Autumn Timetables for both Nursery and Reception:

Nursery timetable

Reception timetable

Narrative Immersion Medium Term Plans

Nursery (Two Year Cycle)

Autumn One I love Me

Autumn Two The Jolly Postman

Spring One Clothes line clues

Spring Two Pirates Love Underpants Pirates Love UnderPants Narrative Immersion Planning EYFS – Medium Term Planning (1)

Summer One Twist and Hop Minibeast Bop Twist and Hop Minibeast Bop Narrative Immersion Planning EYFS – Medium Term Planning

Summer Two Somebody swallowed Stanley