EYFS Curriculum

At Vane Road, we recognise and value the unique opportunities and benefits that an excellent Early Years curriculum can bring. We pride ourselves on ensuring excellence for all by placing all children at the centre of everything that we do to give a memorable, enjoyable and effectively unique Early Years experience.

In response to the new EYFS reforms, we have taken the opportunity to revisit, reflect upon and share our expectations for a quality reception year, encompassing our Federation values, and collective experience – along with a realignment of the core principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

These principles are:

• 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,
• building upon their learning over time, children develop and learnin different ways and at different rates.

Whilst some aspects of our curriculum are academically challenging, we have fully embedded the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning which are;

• playing and exploring- children investigate and explore the opportunities given to them through hands on experiences,
• active learning- children concentrate, make their own mistakes and adapt the ‘I can’t do it YET’ theory,
• creating and thinking critically- children have and develop their own problem-solving skills to become fluent and resilient learners, developing strategies to promote sustained thinking. 

Our curriculum promotes that every child at Vane Road:

• Is exposed to ‘five a day' language rich experiences through stories, poems, nursery rhymes and songs.
• Has access to at least one physical education lesson weekly.
• Is expected to have the opportunity to develop accurate letter and number formationprior to year 1.
• Develops a love of learning– they are confident, articulate and increasingly 
  independent learners, because their curriculum is fun, inspiring and relevant.

Children are statutorily assessed against the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception but our curriculum is broader than this. Based on the 7 areas of learning and development listed below, we focus on igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning by exemplifying, broadening and balancing the curriculum, encompassing key life skills, experiences and expectations.

7 Key areas

• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development
• literacy
• mathematics
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design.

The abilities and attitudes of strong learners will support them to learn well and make good progress in all areas of learning and development.

Through the Archway Federation’s key principles;

1. We place the child at the centre of everything that we do,
2. We want excellence for all,
3. Excellence in safeguarding,
4. Excellence in education,
5. Excellence in leadership,
6. Excellent citizens,
7. Excellence in the community.

We ensure that the children leaving our Foundation Stage are individual, unique and creative learners.

Please scroll down to check our curriculum document or click here to download it.