EARLY YEARS

Did you know that we run a free NEARLY AT NURSERY group on Monday mornings? Click here for more information.

‘Children in the early years make good progress.’ (Ofsted)

The Clavering Early Years comprises our Nursery children and our Reception children. We have two Nursery intakes (morning and afternoon) and two Reception classes.

‘The quality of teaching is good. Staff use assessment information accurately to plan activities that will meet the needs and interests of children.’ (Ofsted)

‘Children behave well. This is because all staff model and reinforce good manners. They encourage children to turn take and to share, and to respond appropriately to each other.’ (Ofsted)

‘Children use their early phonics skills effectively to read and to write.’ (Ofsted)

Mrs Corr (Clavering Assistant Headteacher) is our Early Years Coordinator.

‘The early years leader has a good understanding of how young children learn. She has secured accurate assessment and ensures that all welfare requirements are met.’ (Ofsted)

The Early Years Framework explains how and what children in our Early Years will be learning to support their development. Our pupils learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through seven areas of learning and development.

Children develop the three prime areas first. These are:

  • Communication and language;
  • Physical development; and
  • Personal, social and emotional development.

These prime areas are those most essential for children’s healthy development and future learning.  

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in four specific areas. These are:

  • Literacy;
  • Mathematics;
  • Understanding the world; and
  • Expressive arts and design.

These seven areas are used to plan our children’s learning and activities. Our Early Years staff members teach and support the children, making sure that the activities taking place in the Early Years unit are suited to each child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like the curriculum in the rest of the school, but it is particularly aimed at and suitable for very young children; and it is designed to be really flexible so that the Early Years staff members can follow the children’s needs and interests.

‘The Reception and Nursery classrooms and shared outdoor provision are well resourced, vibrantly displayed and accessible to young children. Staff ensure that children are respectful of their environment and that they are fully involved in the tidying up routines. Consequently, the environment is well maintained and all areas of learning are enticing to young children.’ (Ofsted)

Children in our Early Years typically learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.

2019-2020 Topics:

  • Autumn Term: 'I'm special, I'm me' and 'People who help us';
  • Spring Term: 'Food and celebrations' and 'On the move';
  • Summer Term: 'In the garden' and 'Houses and homes'.

2020-2021 Topics:

  • Autumn Term: 'My Family' and 'Polar Regions';
  • Spring Term: 'Toys' and 'Dinosaurs';
  • Summer Term: 'Once upon a time' and 'Holidays'.

To find out more about our Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, please speak to Mrs Corr or one of our EYFS teachers.

EARLY LEARNING GOALS (ELGs)

The Early Learning Goals (ELGs) are listed below. A pupil can use their established or preferred mode of communication for all the ELGs except Speaking.

PRIME AREAS OF LEARNING AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ELGs

Communication and language development

This involves giving pupils opportunities to speak and listen in a range of situations and to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves.

ELG 01 Listening and attention: pupils listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

ELG 02 Understanding: pupils follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

ELG 03 Speaking: pupils express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Physical development

This involves providing opportunities for pupils to be active and interactive, and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Pupils must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.

ELG 04 Moving and handling: pupils show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

ELG 05 Health and self-care: pupils know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. They manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

Personal, social and emotional development

This involves helping pupils to: develop a positive sense of themselves and others; form positive relationships and develop respect for others; develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and have confidence in their own abilities.

ELG 06 Self-confidence and self-awareness: pupils are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.

ELG 07 Managing feelings and behaviour: pupils talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride.

ELG 08 Making relationships: pupils play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

SPECIFIC AREAS OF LEARNING AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ELGs

Literacy

This involves encouraging pupils to read and write, both through listening to others reading, and being encouraged to begin to read and write themselves. Pupils must be given access to a wide range of reading materials for example books, poems, and other written materials to ignite their interest.

ELG 09 Reading: pupils read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

ELG 10 Writing: pupils use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Mathematics

This involves providing pupils with opportunities to: practise and improve their skills in counting numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and describe shapes, spaces, and measures.

ELG 11 Numbers: pupils count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract 2 single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

ELG 12 Shape, space and measures: children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Understanding of the world

This involves guiding pupils to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

ELG 13 People and communities: pupils talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

ELG 14 The world: pupils know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

ELG 15 Technology: pupils recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.

Expressive arts and design

This involves supporting pupils to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. It involves providing pupils with opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role play, and design and technology.

ELG 16 Exploring and using media and materials: pupils sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

ELG 17 Being imaginative: pupils use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.