The Early Years Foundation Stage
Intent
Prior to entry to Cusgarne, we work closely with our parents, carers and pre-school providers to ensure we know as much as possible about our young children before they start school. Our motto at Cusgarne is ‘make the most of every moment’ and this begins as soon as you are allocated a place at our school! You and your child will be invited along to meet us, and we will arrange some transition times in class before the start of the Autumn Term. Throughout the year parents and families are invited to our numerous events such as assemblies, Harvest Assembly, productions, Sports Day, parent meetings and open afternoons.
At Cusgarne Primary School, the Reception children are welcomed into Robin class and the implementation of our EYFS curriculum ensures that our children can develop as independent, confident, and successful learners. Community is at the heart of our classroom practice; our children have high aspirations and understand the value of making positive contributions to the world around them. Our goal is to ensure that all our children are happy and engaged.
We provide an enabling environment that allows each child to display high levels of concentration, creativity, energy, and persistence. The rationale behind this is that high levels of well-being and involvement foster positive development for children and facilitate deeper learning. Our practitioners use ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage’ as their key guidance to support planning.
Implementation
At Cusgarne, we ensure that our children experience the wonders of the world through the seven areas of learning. We believe that children should be able to lead and extend their learning by initiating activities that are significant to them, derived from their own interests and ideas. Our curriculum is centred around our children. We use observations to understand your child’s learning and progress and to identify their next steps of learning. These observations are then shared with parents and carers, forming each child's learning journal, through our EYFS communication network, Tapestry.
We use a blend of ‘adult led’ and ‘child-initiated’ learning and children are encouraged to access the learning enhancements through ‘continuous provision’ to consolidate all that that they have been taught and to practice applying them independently. We take every opportunity to encourage exploration and develop the broad range of skills and knowledge that provide a solid foundation for future learning through the indoor and outdoor environments.
At Cusgarne, we teach Phonics daily and draw upon a range of interactive activities to consolidate learning and embed knowledge. Your child will also have a reading book alongside a reading record where we encourage parents and children to sit and read a book together. We also have a class library where they can choose a book to share at home.
Impact
Practitioners have a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn and what they know. We recognise and value the principles of the unique child; we strive to ensure that our Reception children feel inspired and motivated to actively engage with our EYFS curriculum during their first year at Cusgarne Primary School. We understand that by establishing these foundations will enable our EYFS children to transition to Key Stage 1 with the confidence and skills required to flourish as independent, resilient, and lifelong learners.
Since Robin class is a mixed Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 class, transition into Year 1 is seamless. The children are taught by Mrs Turner and Mrs Denton with support from other adults, ensuring that a bond is made, and this continues into Year 1 and Year 2. The children are confident finding their way around the classroom and are ready to move onto the next stage of their school journey. For more about our class structure, please see our class pages.
