EYFS
At Viking, we recognise the overarching principles of the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage:
- A unique child; every child is unique, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
- Positive relationships; children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
- 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.
- Learning and development; children develop and learn at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We strive to ensure children’s interests and existing needs are supported throughout the environment and across the curriculum, inside and outdoors. Children will experience a combination of different approaches to learning, including play, observation, guided learning and direct teaching. This mixed approach encourages pupils to enjoy a rich and relevant curriculum which includes depth and breadth of knowledge.
To promote independence, we recognise how children learn and use the characteristics of effective teaching and learning practice guide throughout the year:
• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
Early language and communication are a strong focus and are at the heart of our curriculum. We strive to cultivate children’s thinking and learning by promoting, and supporting, lots of experiences that stimulate speaking with peers and supporting adults. The development of children’s spoken language underpins all the seven areas of learning and development:
Prime Areas
Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active, interactive, independent and confident, both indoors and outdoors; developing strength, control, proficiency and agility, in large and small movements.
Personal, social and emotional development includes helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to learn how to manage their feelings and have respectful relationships with adults and peers; direct attention appropriately; learn how to look after their bodies and make healthy choices; enjoy challenges and independence.
Specific Areas
Literacy development involves developing a love of reading and writing; learning to read words and understand a range of texts; developing the ability to talk about what has been read; enjoying rhymes, poem and songs; developing handwriting to form words, phrases and sentences skilfully and independently. We use the Read Write Inc. phonics scheme to teach daily phonics sessions.
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their knowledge and skills in number, number patterns, shape awareness and spatial reasoning; counting, ordering, comparing, representing and calculating with quantities and numerals; developing a positive attitude, confidence and independence, in problem solving in the environment.
Understanding the world includes guiding children to make sense of their physical world, themselves and their community through opportunities to explore, observe, compare, question and investigate about people, places, technology and the environment; developing a rich and wide vocabulary to talk about images, stories, non-fiction, and figures of the past and present; as well as changes in the natural world.
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to observe and actively engage in the arts; explore and play with a range of media and materials; develop artistic and cultural awareness; develop an understanding of self- expression; learning how to communicate through the arts, including drawing, painting, collaging, music, building, dancing, role-play, performing and designing; developing confidence and independence in their own ability to be skilfully creative and imaginative.