Early Years Foundation Stage
"Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential."
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework
Intent
At Wessex Gardens, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life. We are committed to nurturing confident, curious, and independent learners who are well-prepared for the transition into Key Stage 1 and beyond. Our EYFS curriculum is designed to build strong foundations in both academic success and emotional well-being, fostering a lifelong love of learning.
Our curriculum aims to:
- Provide a broad and balanced curriculum, enabling children to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for good progress through school and life.
- Foster a safe, secure, engaging, and inclusive environment where children thrive through purposeful play and active exploration.
- Develop the Prime and Specific Areas of Learning and Development, ensuring children build crucial skills and understanding that support future learning and personal growth.
- Promote the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning: Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically.
- Build strong partnerships with families and carers to support children’s holistic development at school and at home.
- Encourage high aspirations alongside a love for reading, writing, mathematics, and creative problem-solving.
- Ensure consistency and quality in teaching and learning, so every child makes meaningful progress and no child is left behind.
- Enrich children’s experiences through meaningful outings, visitors, and hands-on learning opportunities.
Implementation
Our EYFS curriculum is delivered through a thoughtfully planned, yet flexible approach that responds to children’s interests and developmental needs. We ensure:
- A rich, stimulating environment that supports learning through play, exploration, and first-hand experiences.
- Planning is child-led and adult-guided, striking a balance to provide appropriate challenge and support differentiation.
- Close collaboration with parents, including home visits, workshops, newsletters, and shared learning records.
- High-quality systematic phonics instruction via Pearson’s Bug Club, ensuring strong early reading outcomes.
- A focus on early mathematical understanding using the White Rose Maths guidance, embedding number sense, problem-solving, and mathematical language.
- Daily mathematics inputs in nursery to establish core counting principles through songs, rhymes, and play.
- Targeted interventions such as Talk Boost, additional phonics, and fine and gross motor skills.
- A play-based curriculum model that encourages children to investigate real-world phenomena and construct knowledge meaningfully.
- Commitment to inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring equal access and support for all children.
- Regular learning outside the classroom, facilitating physical activity, contact with nature, and development of creativity and well-being.
- All EYFS staff meet the latest EYFS staffing and qualification requirements, ensuring that practitioners have the necessary expertise to provide high-quality early years education.
Assessment
At Wessex Gardens, assessment is ongoing and integral to teaching and learning. Our approach includes:
- Observing children’s development to identify achievements, interests, and learning preferences that inform planning.
- Conducting the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) within the first six weeks of Reception.
- Completing the statutory EYFS Profile at the end of Reception, assessing against the 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
- Moderating assessments internally and with partner schools to maintain accuracy and consistency.
- Sharing clear, comprehensive progress reports with parents to involve them in their child’s learning journey.
Impact
Our inclusive approach ensures that all children, irrespective of background or need, have equitable opportunities to flourish.
- Phonics assessments show most children apply their phonics knowledge confidently in reading and writing.
- By the end of Reception, children achieve solid foundations across the ELGs, with our 2024 Good Level of Development (GLD) at 70%, exceeding both National (65%) and Barnet (63%) averages.
- Children transition into Key Stage 1 as confident readers, writers, mathematicians, and curious, resilient learners.
- Staff have a clear understanding of EYFS to National Curriculum progression, ensuring continuity across phases.
- Pupils develop perseverance, self-belief, and positive learning behaviours, celebrated through initiatives such as our Star of the Week assemblies.
