Tickenham Church of England Primary School

Tickenham Church of England Primary School

EYFS @ Tickenham

EYFS Intent Statement

At Tickenham, our Reception and Year 1 class is called Willow. We have a brilliant indoor classroom and outdoor area which allows us to create an excellent learning environment for children when they start school. 

We believe that all children deserve an education rich in memorable experiences that allows our children’s creativity and curiosity to grow, alongside the development of key skills and knowledge. We believe that offering our children a strong foundation and a love of learning gives children the best chance to become well-rounded and happy individuals. 

Our curriculum has been designed to enable children to succeed through cooperative and collaborative learning principles. As such, there is a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of learning; Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language. 

At Tickenham, our engaging curriculum aims to maximise opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences, as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking. We follow children’s interests and ideas to foster a lifelong love of learning both in and outside of school.

We recognise the importance of giving our children the best possible start to their education by planning and implementing teaching and learning opportunities that support them in reaching their full potential. We know that children will learn most effectively when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met and when they have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. We aim to provide an environment that is safe and stimulating where children are able to enjoy learning and grow in confidence that helps them to achieve their potential.

EYFS Implementation Statement 

The curriculum is planned and implemented using a thematic approach that changes each term. Our curriculum provides the flexibility for children to follow their own interests and ideas. Children learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities.

The timetable is carefully structured so that children have directed teaching during the day. The timetable changes throughout the year to take into consideration the changing needs of the children.  This means the teacher can systematically check for understanding, identify and respond to misconceptions quickly and provide real-time verbal feedback which results in a strong impact on the acquisition of new learning. Children are provided with plenty of time to engage in 'choosing time' throughout the variety of experiences carefully planned to engage and challenge them in the provision. The curriculum is planned for the inside and outside classrooms and equal importance is given to learning in both areas. 

Phonics

Children will learn to read following the systematic, synthetic phonics programme ‘Little Wandle Letters and Sounds.' We start teaching phonics in Reception and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. As a result, all our children are able to tackle any unfamiliar words as they read.  

At Tickenham, we also model the application of the alphabetic code through phonics in shared reading and writing, both inside and outside of the phonics lesson and across the curriculum. We have a strong focus on language development for our children because we know that speaking and listening are crucial skills for reading and writing in all subjects.

Please see the link below to the Little Wandle website for more information.

https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/

 EYFS Impact Statement

 Our children will be actively engaged in their learning and the enjoyment of this learning will be apparent in their daily provision.  All children will have experienced a curriculum that provides exciting and enriching learning experiences and opportunities for them to learn through educational visits and practical experiences and make great progress.   

At Tickenham, our children will be able to appreciate and understand the world around them by experiencing and learning about different cultures, celebrations, music, dance, art and history. Children will actively ask questions about the world around them and their learning experiences. They will be able to take risks as this is an opportunity to learn. 

Children will learn to value and respect each other through our teaching of the Christian values and 'The Tickenham Way.' Due to having a mixed-age class, there is a seamless transition between EYFS and the National Curriculum. Children are already safe and secure in their learning environment and are able to quickly take the jump into Year 1 learning.