That children access a broad and balanced curriculum that gives them the broad range of knowledge and skills needed for good progress through school and life.
Quality and consistency in teaching, learning and assessment so that every child makes good or better progress and no child gets left behind.
Effective working partnerships between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
Every child is included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.

Co-op Values

Co-op Academy Woodlands is part of the Co-operative Academies Trust. The Co-op was founded on a set of values describing a different, fairer and better way of doing things. We demonstrate our commitment to these values in everything we do.

• Equality

• Equity

• Solidarity

• Honesty

• Openness

• Caring for others

• Self help

• Self-responsibility

• Social responsibility

• democracy

Introduction

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers the time from when a child is born to the end of the year in which the child is five. At Co-op Academy Woodlands, the EYFS consists of Nursery and Reception.

The EYFS is important in its own right and we recognise it as a crucial stage in education, preparing children with the basic skills that they will need for their later school years.

The EYFS is based upon four guiding principles:

• 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, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers

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

Inclusion

Our school ethos, as well as that of the EYFS, embraces and promotes inclusion. We celebrate the differences of our children, families, staff, local communities and the wider world.

“These differences include, but are not limited to gender, pregnancy and maternity, ethnicity, culture, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or belief, marital and civil partnership status, education, learning styles and those with a caring responsibility.” 2

We recognise and respect the abilities and strengths of our children at all levels of development and the wealth of knowledge and experience that they bring from their differing backgrounds and cultures.

We actively challenge gender stereotyping and discriminatory attitudes, remarks or behaviour.

We give our children every opportunity to achieve their best. We do this by taking account of our children’s range of life experiences when planning for their learning. We set realistic and challenging expectations that meet the needs of individual children, so that children are able to reach their full potential.

As part of our commitment to inclusion we provide:

A wide range of opportunities to motivate and support children and to help them to learn effectively
A safe and supportive learning environment in which the contribution of all children is valued
Resources which reflect diversity and are free from discrimination and stereotyping
Challenging activities for all children

We will monitor children’s progress and take action to provide support as necessary. Where a specific need is suspected we will liaise with the Special Educational Needs co-ordinator and seek advice from outside agencies. We adhere to the Equal Opportunity and Inclusion policies of the school.

The Curriculum

The curriculum in the EYFS is outlined in the document Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, written by the department for Education. This is available to download at https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2017/03/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf.

This document outlines what should be taught within the EYFS.

The Statutory Framework separates the seven areas of learning and development into three prime areas, which are:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development
And four specific areas:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

At Co-op Academy Woodlands, we believe in the importance of offering children well planned, challenging learning experiences and opportunities to practice their skills through play.

Learning is delivered through our creative EYFS curriculum incorporating activities and experiences across the seven areas of learning and development as outlined by the statutory framework for the EYFS in section 1.5:

Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
hysical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their coordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity6, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measure.
Understanding the world involves guiding children 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.
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, roleplay, and design and technology. 5

Please also see our ‘Phonic Expectations Policy’, which gives further detail about the teaching of phonics in the EYFS.

Characteristics of effective learning

When planning, teachers reflect on the different ways in which children learn. They plan opportunities for the children to explore and experience new things. Children are introduced to the characteristics of effective learning and these are regularly referred to by practitioners in order to encourage these behaviours. For example, children are praised for concentrating, persisting and trying new approaches. Practitioners support the development of these characteristics through their positive relationships and considered interactions with the children and through providing an enabling environment.

Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning 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 achievements
Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

Structure of the EYFS

The Nursery has fifty two part-time places available for children aged three and above. Each child in Nursery attends for fifteen hours a week. There are two full-time Reception classes each with 30 places for children aged 4-5.

In Nursery, the children are split into two classes. One class attends at the start of the week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning) while the other class attends at the end of the week (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday). Each of the classes is staffed by a teacher and two teaching assistants, one of whom has a NVQ level three teaching assistant qualification.

The staffing in Reception consists of one full time teacher, two part-time teachers (Job share) and three support staff. One of these members of support staff is a qualified Nursery Officer, one has a BTEC national diploma in children's care, learning and development and the third has a level three diploma in childcare.

There are two members of staff with level three pediatric first aid certificates, one in each year group. First aid is managed in line with our school first aid policy.

When children are taken out of school on educational trips, a higher ratio of one adult to four children is observed with the Nursery children and one adult to six children with the Reception children.

Please see the Co-op Academies Trust safer recruitment policy for how a quality workforce is ensured.

Partnerships with parents and/or carers

We believe that children’s families are their first educators and work hard to ensure that parents and/or carers are involved in their child’s journey through the EYFS. Parents and/or carers are welcomed to a range of activities throughout the year from supporting us on trips outside of the setting to attending sharing events, performances and sports days.

Each child is assigned to a class, their class teacher is their key person. When children start in the EYFS and at the transition between Nursery and Reception, individual induction meetings take place between the child’s parents and/or carers and their child’s key person. This is an opportunity to discuss the child’s needs, abilities, and interests and to address any questions or concerns that parents and/or carers may have. The prime areas are a particular focus for these discussions.

At induction to Nursery parents and/or carers are also provided with a Nursery welcome booklet which gives details of the school day, staffing, provides a summary of the 7 areas of learning and our approach to outdoor learning. It also offers suggestions for how parents can support their children at home and highlights the schools contact information. On entry into Reception parents are given the school Prospectus.

Parents and/or carers can access and comment on observations of their children’s learning daily using Tapestry. We also encourage parents to sign up to “Woodlands Weekly” our school newsletter and to access the EYFS stories on the school website.

In Nursery we offer an open door policy where parents and/or carers are invited to stay at the start of every day to help the children settle and spend time talking to the class teacher about their child’s needs, learning and next steps.

In Reception as well as informal opportunities to talk with the class teacher on a daily basis, at the start and end of the day, all families are invited to attend parent's evenings.

If teachers are concerned about any child’s progress and/ or attainment this is discussed with the child’s parents and/or carers in addition to contacting any relevant specialist support.

English as an Additional Language

When children who enter the EYFS are new to English, we assess them using the English Proficiency Test as well as baselining them against the Development Matters in the EYFS statements.

During each child’s induction meeting, parents and/or carers are encouraged to continue to develop the child’s home language. Children are also encouraged to use their preferred language as they play and explore the environment.

Language Development

In order to support children who are new to or developing in English we provide targeted interventions run by trained staff including Early Vocab Group (supported by Chatterbug Speech and Language Therapy team), Early Talk Boost and in Reception offer teacher-led preteach sessions to introduce new topic vocabulary.

The teachers liaise closely with the onsite speech and Language Therapy service (Chatterbug) to ensure that any children with specific speech and language needs are supported.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

In Foundation stage we use the observation – assessment - planning cycle outlined in the document Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE 2012). We start by gaining an understanding of where the children are in terms of their development and current interests through observation. We then use the development statements in Development Matters to identify next steps for each child to deepen, challenge and extend their learning. These next steps, as well as the children’s interests, inform our planning. During planning sessions, discussion takes place to ensure activities allow for the characteristics of effective learning to be demonstrated and embedded.

In Nursery, we give a strong focus to the prime areas of personal, social and emotional development, communication and language and physical development. This is particularly evident when we receive a new intake of children.

Where children need support with toilet training, we work closely with parents and/or carers to facilitate the children becoming increasingly independent in their self-care. Please see our Intimate Care Policy for further detail on how this support is delivered.

We also have a very strong focus on language development, offering targeted intervention groups in addition to well-planned phase one teaching.

The children’s personal, social and emotional development is central to everything we do in the EYFS. The children are encouraged to build relationships with a member of support staff as well as their class teacher (key worker). In Nursery this is facilitated through the use of two family groups, where children meet with the same adult each day, to share a snack and have opportunity to talk about their interests and news from home.

The Nursery day is structured so that the children have opportunities to take part in whole class and small group adult-initiated skills-based learning as well as child-initiated play. Adult-initiated activities are planned allowing learning to happen through creative opportunities, a supportive environment and a sound pedagogical understanding. Children can choose whether they would like to explore inside or outside. We facilitate the use of the outdoor area throughout the year by providing additional outdoor clothing for wet, cold and hot conditions.

In Reception, following a whole class input, the children have the opportunity to work with a teacher in small groups following differentiated planning to provide the appropriate level of challenge and support for each pupil.

The remaining children in the year group are working independently inside or outside where they are encouraged to challenge themselves through self-selecting tasks and activities. The activities offer opportunities for extended learning and are structured to develop their learning. The practitioners in the setting monitor children’s engagement and learning across the areas, providing considered interactions to help support and extend the child’s thinking.

At the end of each week the children in Reception are given the opportunity to contribute to planning their own learning for the following week. The teachers use these ideas to support planning of activities and experiences across the areas of the setting.

Observations of the children exploring the setting are made using Tapestry. These are leveled against Development Matters in the EYFS as well as the characteristics for effective learning. In Reception, children also undertake a standardised maths and reading test during the spring and summer terms. These formative assessments support Teachers to make judgements about each child’s attainment.

If a child has SEND it may be deemed appropriate to measure their progress and attainment against the SENIT developmental Journal and use this to inform their next steps.

After children’s initial baseline assessments, their progress and attainment is tracked against the statements from Development Matters in the EYFS. A summative assessment is recorded in O Track, for each child, in each area of learning, at the end of each term. Teachers analyse individual children’s assessments and attend termly pupil progress meetings in order to discuss these findings with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Individual pupil reports, including the EYFSP data, are written by their Class Teacher at the end of Nursery and Reception. These are sent home to parents and/or carers as well as being used to support transition discussions with Year 1 Teachers. Parents and/or carers of Reception children are invited to attend a parents evening to discuss these reports.

At the end of the Foundation Stage, an EYFS profile is completed for each child, stating whether they have achieved a ‘Good level of development’. Children are judged as meeting, exceeding expected levels or not yet reaching expected levels in each of the Early Learning Goals.

Moderation

As part of staff continuing professional development, we hold half termly moderation meetings. This ensures that observations are levelled accurately in line with the document Development matters in the EYFS.

This document can be downloaded at

https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT AMENDED.pdf.

November 2020

In the spring term, Reception teachers attend the statutory moderation meetings held by the local authority. During the last term of Reception, teachers also meet with staff from other similar settings to moderate their judgements, ensuring consistency.

Transition

We recognise that starting school and transitioning to new classes has the potential to be a stressful time for both children and parents and/or carers. To this end we have established a strong procedure for transitions to ensure that our children and parents are as confident and secure as they can be when facing the challenges of each year group.

In the summer term, prior to the main nursery intake in September, children and their parents and/or carers are invited into the nursery for a stay and play session. This is an informal opportunity for families to get to know the staff and explore the nursery environment.

Prior to starting Reception, parents and/ or carers are invited to a meeting in the summer term. This is to provide parents and/or carers with key information, school expectations, knowledge on our curriculum and assessment and advice on how they can help their child.

All parents are then invited to an individual induction meeting with the child’s class teacher (key worker) as outlined in the partnership with parents and/or carers section of this policy.

At the beginning of the school year new nursery and reception children are given staggered entry times to ensure that they have the time to feel welcomed and to support them in exploring their new environment.

At the end of reception children have the opportunity to meet with their new teachers on several occasions prior to starting Year one. The first of these meetings takes place in foundation stage before the children then have the opportunity to visit their new classrooms.

At the end of each school year teachers have the opportunity to share their knowledge of each child’s knowledge, understanding and achievements, including end of year assessment data, with their next class teacher to ensure that all teachers have a well-rounded picture of the children prior to the new school year.

Children in both nursery and reception make use of the whole school facilities, such as the hall, playgrounds and playing field for appropriate activities to ensure that children are confident and well prepared for moving around the school and for mixing with older children when they start school.

Throughout the reception year, when children are ready, they are gradually introduced to whole school activities such as assemblies and to using the key stage one playground.

Safeguarding and welfare

In Foundation stage we adhere to the school policies regarding safeguarding and welfare. Please refer to the following documents:

The Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
Co-op Academies Trust Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
Co-op Academies Trust Staff Conduct Policy
Co-op Academies Trust Staffing and Recruitment Policy
Health and safety Policy
First Aid Policy (which includes the administration of medicines)
Positive Behaviour policy
Data Protection Policy
Complaints policy
The Prevent Duty
Keeping children Safe in Education
Intimate care policy
Co-op Academies Trust Whistleblowing Policy
Co-op Academies Trust Allegations of abuse against staff