Intent 

At Latymer All Saints Primary school, our early years foundation stage curriculum is designed to give all of our children a highly successful start to their education and provide a secure foundation for later success. We subscribe to the following four principles of high-quality early years provision as set out in Birth to Five Matters: 

 

 

We aspire to do this through: 

• A broad and balanced curriculum, which is evidence informed and aligned to the EYFS Statutory Framework promoting development across the seven areas of learning: 

• Prime Areas: Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development 

• Specific Areas: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, Expressive Arts and Design 

• Providing a language-rich learning environment where children are enabled to develop rapidly as early readers through the use of Little Wandle phonics and Literary Leaves daily reading lessons (from Reception). 

• Introducing children to a selection of core books and rhymes, giving them a repertoire of known stories, rhymes, songs and poems which they know well and can draw upon for future learning. 

• Providing a strong foundation in Early Maths which is informed by the NCETM, White Rose and Maths Mastery. 

• Adherence to the LDBS RE curriculum 

• A sharp focus on planned vocabulary across all areas of learning, reflected in both the continuous provision and taught lessons. 

• Reflecting the diversity of our children and wider community and fostering inclusion across our curriculum through careful resourcing, adaptive teaching, and providing wider experiences and trips.  

In designing our curriculum, we have carefully considered the key knowledge and skills that children will need to learn across all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS informed by Development Matters. We have taken into account what we know about our children and our wider community and the demands of our KS1 and 2 curriculum that we are preparing our youngest children for.   

Central to our EYFS provision is our Christian ethos which shapes our school culture and environment. Our children in EYFS will experience weekly RE lessons, daily collective worship, prayer and reflection. Our curriculum in EYFS is underpinned by our values of Love, Aspiration and Service which are woven through our continuous provision as well as teacher-led activities. Alongside our curriculum maps, this intent supports us to enable children to develop within the Characteristics of Effective Learning as learners who are: 

• Curious, independent and motivated to explore and learn 

• Able to concentrate, persevere and bounce back from challenges 

• Engaged in thinking critically, making decisions, and solving problems 

Our curriculum is articulated through our Long-Term Curriculum overview, Half termly Medium Term Plans and subject specific progression documents for Little Wandle and RE.  

 

Implementation 

Our staff are ambitious for all children, and plan activities and experiences for the children based on the Medium Term Plans that enable them to develop and learn effectively. In order to do this, staff working with the youngest children are expected to focus strongly on the 3 prime areas.  

Ongoing assessment is an integral part of learning and development processes. Staff observe pupils to identify their progress, development and interests. These observations are used to shape future planning. Staff also take into account observations shared by parents and/or carers and keep them up to date with the child’s progress and development. Staff will address any learning and development needs in partnership with parents and/or carers, and any relevant professionals. 

High quality interactions are central to ensuring our curriculum is implemented as intended. Staff develop warm and sensitive relationships, tune into children’s thinking and seek to extend and develop their learning through taking time to expand on children’s knowledge and ideas. In this way, adults and children regularly engage in incidents of sustained shared thinking to clarify thinking, solve problems and deepen understanding. These interactions provide a rich opportunity for supporting children’s Communication and Language development and extending their vocabulary across the curriculum.   

The Enabling Environment is planned for purposefully by staff on a weekly basis to enable children to develop their knowledge and understanding of all 7 areas of learning within the continuous provision. The environment also provides children with the opportunity to practise and deepen learning that has been introduced to them through adult-led activities. Staff review the environment in an ongoing way, ensuring it continues to challenge and provoke thinking in an age-appropriate way.  

At Latymer All Saints, we recognise that play is essential for children’s learning and that adults need to plan explicitly for what they want children to learn. We implement our curriculum through a balanced approach of adult-led group times and focus-activities alongside prioritising time for children to follow their own lines of enquiry and problem-solving through accessing the high-quality continuous provision throughout the school day.