EYFS / Badgers Class Information

Welcome to Haughton School. Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Class is Badgers Class, and we can have a combination of children who are Reception age and Year 1 depending on our intake for each specific year. We provide child-centred, developmentally appropriate and individualised learning opportunities for our children as they begin their learning journey at Haughton School. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage framework to inform and guide our provision, together with advice provided in each child’s Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP). Each child’s EHCP is reviewed 12 months after the previous Plan, where learning outcomes will be assessed and new outcomes will be set. We value our parents and carers as their child’s first educators and maintain communication through our Home and School Diary, phone calls, emails, targets on your child’s book-bag and Tapestry, which is an online learning journey we encourage parents and carers to contribute to. We liaise with other professionals such as Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Speech and Language Therapists when required.

In Badgers Class the children learn through an exciting balance of child-initiated learning (learning through play) both inside and outside in our own outside area and adult-led activities in a distraction-free space where we follow the interests of the children to ensure that high levels of engagement are maintained, alongside stimulating topics using a variety of quality books, which help to scaffold the children’s learning and provide us with an engaging hook to plan creative activities from. Our children learn through short, engaging whole-class, small group work and one-to-one sessions across the day whilst they enjoy plenty of child-initiated learning opportunities.

Our curriculum provision and practice is underpinned by the overarching principles of the EYFS:

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
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 build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and/or carers.

Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates.

As a team when planning and guiding what our children learn we consider and reflect how our children are learning and at what rate which then ensures that we adjust our practice appropriately. We ensure that we constantly reflect on the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning and they are:

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 their achievements
Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

We focus on the three prime areas within the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum which are:

Communication and Language where we provide a language rich environment which enables our children to develop vital listening and attention, and communication skills through a total communication approach using a range of specialised teaching activities which are PECs, Intensive Interaction, Attention Autism, objects of reference, photographs and symbols, Colourful Semantics, Communication boards and books and ‘Now and Next’ boards, visual timetables and quality interactions with skilled staff within our enabling environment. Children take part in a social snack session which encourages them to request for their chosen snack, pour their own drink, take turns and interact with their peers and the staff member leading this session.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development where we support the children with developing a positive sense of themselves and others, so they are able to form positive relationships with others. Within this area we provide opportunities for our children to be confident, independent, curious and creative learners, develop social skills and understand their feelings and be able to manage them. They take part in regular ‘CalmBrain’ sessions throughout the day which supports our children’s wellbeing. They also take part in a PSED lesson, Jigsaw each week and a member of our class attends regular School Council meetings.

Physical Development where we provide lots of fun and exciting opportunities for our children to be active learners both inside and outside. They learn to develop their gross and fine motor skills, and their coordination through activities such as low-level climbing equipment, mud kitchen, tricycles and balance bikes, balls, ‘Dough Disco’ and lots of ‘Funky Finger’ activities. Badgers also work on developing their swimming skills where they have a weekly swimming session. The children learn to understand and make healthy choices at mealtimes.

To enrich the prime areas of learning we provide learning opportunities through the specific areas of learning which are:

Mathematical Development where we provide engaging opportunities for the children to develop their counting skills alongside Numicon, recognising, understanding and using numbers. Maths is everywhere both inside and outside of our classroom. The children have access to a range of engaging equipment including natural items, enjoy a daily number nursery rhyme session using props and Numicon visual supports. They develop their understanding of shape, space and measures through multi-sensory opportunities in the sand and water and explore shape using a range of 2D and 3D shapes and block play.

Literacy where we provide opportunities for our children to develop a love for reading where they can access different books around the classroom, including a story telling area where children can act out familiar stories and mark-make and develop their writing skills through a range of messy, sensory activities both inside and outside, together with ICT. We follow Twinkl Phonics which is a systematic synthetic approach. The children have a home reading book and where this is a picture book, we support the children in telling a story through the use of a Colourful Semantic visual support.

Understanding the World where we provide opportunities for our children to make sense of their physical world through hands-on learning such as gardening, visiting the local farm, safari park and forests, looking after caterpillars until they change into butterflies, observing birds and insects in their environments, learning about the weather and seasons, learning about themselves and their families. They also develop skills using various tools, construction toys and technology safely, including remote control toys, programmable toys, Ipads, computers and cameras. They also learn about festivals and religious events over the year through multi-sensory activities.

Expressive Arts and Design where we provide our children with lots of fun and multi-sensory opportunities through music, Singing Hands, which supports our children learning Makaton, movement and dance, role-play and imaginative play, creative activities where they have free access to a creative area of the classroom, design and technology, including cooking. We sing lots of different songs in Badgers Class, including nursery rhymes which support our children’s language and communication.

Each child has a Key Person who builds warm, positive and professional relationships with their children and liaise with myself, and parents and carers. Our own personal care assistant works together with parents and carers to ensure that children are well supported to work towards achieving this important milestone. Within EYFS the team discuss children’s individual ways of learning, their unique abilities and how they best learn and achieve. If there are any barriers to a child’s learning, we share our experience and best practice to enable the very best outcomes for our children. As practitioners we plan clear and stimulating activities and record, reflect and evaluate daily what we provide for our children. Relevant assessments are updated where targets are set to ensure there is a focus to our children’s learning. We strive to keep up to date with best practice.

Our children join the rest of the school community through weekly assemblies linked to Jigsaw where we celebrate birthdays and Headteacher’s Awards are presented. The children join the rest of the school in celebrating through Christmas plays, Children in Need, Red Nose Day, Harvest and Easter celebrations, Remembrance Day, Spooky games, Christmas Dinner and Jumper Day, Sport’s Day and end of year celebrations.

At the end of our children’s time in EYFS we strive for them to be happy, confident learners who are ready for their next steps along their learning journey. Our children have well planned transitions to enable them to move up Key Stage 1 as smoothly as possible and for their new teachers to know exactly where to plan next steps of learning for them. The Key Stage 1 curriculum provides opportunities for them to continue to learn through play and engage in a creative curriculum which builds on the EYFS.