Early Years Foundation Stage
At Wansbeck Primary School we place great value on the development of children as individuals and providing them the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them to be ready to take on the challenges of their next stage in education
Mrs Matthews is the EYFS Lead. We have 3 members of teaching staff – Mrs Robson, Miss Peers and Mrs Sharkett. There are also our Achievement Support Officers who are Miss Pickering, Mrs Young, Miss Owen, Miss Kaur, Miss Corner and Mrs Atkinson.
We aim to build strong academic foundations by providing a balanced curriculum which enables each child to develop their emotional, social and academic skills in a play-based environment.
In the EYFS, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework from the Department for Education.
This has four principles that we follow:
- A Unique Child
- Positive Relationships
- Enabling Environments
- Learning and Development
There are 7 areas of learning development that fall into two categories:
The Prime areas are:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Each of these areas will be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult led and child-initiated activity. The Foundation Stage is divided into two classes for direct learning time, before merging as a unit in the continuous provision. During this time, we enhance the learning from our lessons and independently apply the skills we are practising. Direct teaching includes Phonics, Literacy and Maths alongside Music, R.E, P.E. and Topic lessons.
EYFS Provision:
- Writing – children will be able to access a wide range of writing implements and papers throughout all areas of provision to encourage mark making and writing.
- Reading – a book corner containing a range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and class-made books. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and we aim to develop a love of reading. Books will also be evident in other areas of the provision eg counting books in the maths area. Children learn to read the thr Little Wandle Phonics Programme.
- Maths – a range of practical equipment for children to select to help develop concrete methods to solve problems.
- Creative – a range of media and materials for children to access to explore and express their imagination in art, design, music and technology.
- Construction – resources for children to explore, developing fine motor skills, communication and collaborative work and problem solving.
- Small world – resources to develop imagination, fine motor skills communication and language.
- Sand, malleable materials (e.g., play dough), and water play, where children can engage in practical investigations and further develop communication and language.
- Role play – linked to the topic that enable children to become immersed in it using real-life scenarios.
Our outdoor area is an extension of the classroom, and our children enjoy experiencing learning outdoors. Access to the outdoors is available at all times during the provision to ensure children are able to explore the areas they wish. We enhance this provision with engaging and memorable experiences including educational visits throughout the school year to support the learning taking place in school
Development and Assessment
Our curriculum needs to meet the needs of all our children, we observe and evaluating how children are learning by talking to children, looking at their work, observing their learning experiences. Every member of staff uses ongoing observational assessment to identify children’s starting points and plan experiences which ensure progress.
This is based on the Development Matters document which gives statements for the ages of the children. We share this with parents and base the next steps for the children on this.
Seesaw
We use the Seesaw App in the Foundation Stage in order to share your child’s learning with you. Parents are encouraged to sign up to this so that you can see more about your child’s day at school as well as sharing things you are doing at home too. We love to see all of the amazing activities that are shared and the children enjoy talking about these in school with friends.
Further information:
“My child is well cared at school she loves it!”
“My children are happy at school and have many opportunities to develop their learning.”
“Teachers make regular checks on the progress
that pupils make and use this information to adjust the activities that they plan.”
“The school has good systems in place to develop the leadership skills of staff.”
“Teachers accurately demonstrate to pupils the sounds that letters make. This
helps pupils to repeat the sounds they are learning.”
“There is a
consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Regular checks help teachers to
group pupils effectively so that activities are well matched to pupils’ needs.”
“Care is taken to ensure that the topics that are chosen attract the interests of the children.”
“Wansbeck Primary School is a happy, well-organised school that is at the heart of the local community.”
“You pay
particular attention to safeguarding issues that affect your local community and prepare staff well to support pupils.”
“Pupils receive a broad and balanced curriculum. You have a clear vision for what you want pupils to achieve; developing pupils socially, emotionally and
academically is at the centre of the curriculum you provide.”
“Brilliant school.”
“This has enabled
the school to continue to improve the quality of teaching and learning for pupils.”
“All my children have loved this school and all great memories of staff. Wansbeck is great.”
“The school is passionate about the community it serves and determined
to help pupils to be the best they can be.”
“Really happy with the way my child has developed whilst attending Wansbeck”
“Central to the work of the school is the development of pupils’ social skills and the support of their well-being.”
“My children are very happy at school and should I ever have any concerns, the school are happy to deal with it.”
“Best decision I made for my children’s education was moving them to Wansbeck. The progress the children have made is amazing. Very happy mum.”
“Spelling errors
are also routinely identified in pupils’ written work across a range of subjects. This
helps pupils to avoid future repetitions.”
“My two children have come on leaps and bounds regarding reading, writing and maths. The teachers are amazing.”
“Grammatical errors are discussed with pupils, and this helps them to improve their writing.”
“Pupils’ safety and well-being are central to your work. The leadership team has
ensured that all safeguarding requirements are fit for purpose.”
“My child is always happy and loves going to school. Teachers are always there when needed.”
“The school have created a strong leadership team by making good use of opportunities you have to collaborate with other trust schools.”
“Wansbeck is an amazing primary school that puts my children’s needs first. Great staff and friendly pupils.”
“Thanks for all the help & extra support that my child receives. It means that I know he is getting all the help he needs to progress to his potential.”
“Very happy with school. Feel really assured with the help we have had from SENCO with the assessment for my child regarding possible autism and ADHD. More than happy with teachers and support staff.”
“The designated safeguarding leader is tenacious in her approach and
leaves no stone unturned in order to ensure that pupils receive the best possible
support.”
“The school receives good support from the Hull Collaborative Academy
Trust, and trust leaders also provide you with effective challenge.”
“My child really enjoys attending school he tells me he loves his teachers and friends.”
“Teaching assistants provide effective support for pupils, prompting them to explain their answers and
providing them with the confidence to ‘have a go’.”
“The school leadership team are committed to helping pupils to succeed”
“Staff and governors
maintain an acute focus on these areas and establish excellent relationships with
pupils.”
“The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.”
“The quality of pupils’ handwriting has also improved, particularly in key stage 2.”
“Great school with fantastic teachers.”
“Any issues raised are always dealt with, absolutely no concerns brilliant school and lovely caring staff. My child learns a lot attending this school. Thank you.”
“This improvement is underlined by published data showing that pupils’ spelling and grammar scores are now above the national average at the end of key stage 2.”
“Pupils often have
opportunities to visit places of interest, such as the residential visit to Whitby that is linked to a class topic.”