Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage

At Irby Primary School we believe that our Early Years Foundation Stage is crucial to developing firm foundations to be built upon throughout our school journey and beyond. It is our intent that the children who enter our EYFS develop physically, verbally, emotionally, creatively, intellectually and spiritually whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning in order for each child to achieve their full potential. We set high expectations throughout all areas of school life and beyond. Our school motto is…Be kind, Work hard and Never Give up and this is then embedded in all aspects of our children’s lives as they become lifelong learners in an environment of acceptance and support. We believe that all children deserve to be valued as an individual and we are passionate in supporting all children to achieve their full, unique potential. Our Foundation stage classes follow the EYFS curriculum, which has seven main 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 Arts

We provide a safe, stimulating environment that allows children to discover, be challenged, consolidate and achieve their very best whilst developing their resilience and independence. There is a combination of adult-led, teacher taught whole class, group and individual support. Throughout all of these areas of learning and at the heart of the EYFS Curriculum are the “Characteristics of Effective Learning”. We strive to develop these key characteristics of “Playing and Learning”, “Active Learning” and “Thinking Critically” in order to give the children the skills that they will continue to draw upon throughout their development. We get to know our families and children well and use their interests and knowledge to support and inspire our children’s knowledge and understanding of themselves, our local community and beyond. Our learning environments, both inside and outside are adapted to meet the different and developing needs of our children. We are passionate advocates for ensuring all of our children are able to share how they feel and work with them to support any worries or concerns they may have as we fully believe…Happy Children Learn.

Within our EYFS Curriculum, children are  assessed to inform future planning and children’s individual next steps in their learning. This enables us to ensure learning is embedded and consistent and that all children continue to make the best possible progress within our EYFS setting.

Our children become happy, inquisitive learners that leave Foundation Two with a good level of development, ready for the new challenges of Year One. It is a privilege to be part of such an important stage in our children’s development and our dedicated staff work tirelessly to deliver the best possible outcomes for all of our children.

Curriculum

At Irby Primary, our curriculum is designed to follow the EYFS Statutory Framework and is further guided by a document called ‘Development Matters’ that sets out the learning, development and assessment requirements for all children until the end of the Foundation Stage. We plan and deliver a wide range of learning opportunities and experiences to support each child’s educational development across the seven areas of learning. The EYFS framework has never prescribed a particular teaching approach and the statutory framework holds true to this value.  Our philosophy of early year’s education remains that play and well-being at the heart of everything we do.

Early Learning Goals:

In the final term of the children’s Foundation Two year, a profile will be completed for your child. This provides parents and carers, practitioners and teachers with a well-rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, their attainment against expected levels, and their readiness for year 1. The children will be observed and assessed, mainly through their play, in order to gain insights and make reasonable judgements against the early learning goals. We will use the terms ‘emerging’ or ‘expected’ to describe our judgements, under the new guidance the term ‘exceeding’ has been removed.