1. Welcome to Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum Workshop Mrs Pavia, Mrs Tillotson, Mrs Williams

2. Aims for today: To help you understand the curriculum which is covered in Early Years Foundation Stage To understand how we teach and assess in Reception in order to cover the requirements of the curriculum To identify ways in which you can help your child at home and in school

3. What is Early Years Foundation Stage? The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the stage of education for children from birth to the end of the Reception year. It is based on the recognition that children learn best through play, active learning and thinking critically.

4. Young Children Need: To be supported and encouraged when facing new experiences Help to develop positive relationships and attitudes To have their security and well-being considered To be responded to as individuals To have time and space for active exploration in and out of doors To be provided with meaningful contexts for learning.

5. In the EYFS curriculum there are seven areas. All areas are connected to one another and are equally important. 1.Personal, social and emotional development 2.Communication and language 3.Physical development 4.Literacy 5.Mathematics 6.Understanding the world 7.Expressive arts and design

6. Personal, Social and Emotional Development The children will be learning to: become self-confident take an interest in things know what their own needs are dress and undress independently become independent tell the difference between right and wrong

7. Communication and Language The children will be learning to: listen and pay attention understand and talk clearly and confidently enjoy listening to stories, songs and poems

8. Literacy The children will be learning to: hear and say sounds, linking them to the alphabet (phonics) read and write familiar words learning to use a pencil effectively

9. Physical Development The children will be learning to: move themselves and handle equipment stay healthy and look after themselves control their body develop fine and gross motor skills

10. Mathematics The children will be learning to: develop an understanding of maths through stories, songs, games and imaginative play become comfortable with numbers and with concepts such as ‘heavier than’ or ‘bigger than’ be aware of shapes recognise, form and use numbers recognise and use coins

11. Understanding the World The children will explore: finding out about the world around them and ask questions about it build with different materials, know about everyday technology and learn what it is used for find out about past events in their lives and their families’ lives find out about different cultures and beliefs

12. Expressive Arts and Design The children will explore: colours and shapes making things from a wide range of media role play making music

13. Monitoring and Assessing Progress Each of the seven areas of learning have their own set of ‘Early Learning Goals’ which determine what most children are expected to achieve by the end of the Reception year. To work towards these goals we monitor and assess children’s progress using a document called ‘Development Matters’ Children work towards these goals throughout the year and are awarded ‘emerging, expected or exceeded’

14. Development Matters

15. Characteristics of Learning

16. How we assess your child: Observations: Take place as part of the daily routine Formal/focussed – these are observations which are planned for i.e. against a specific Development Matters statement (Learning Detectives) Informal/incidental – these happen spontaneously i.e. when a child is selecting from child-initiated activities Informs our planning on a weekly basis Allows us to make decisions about when a child needs to consolidate their achievements or when they need to move on to the next steps

18. Why Observe? We learn about the children. We can focus on their achievements rather than failures. We can become aware of how the children function across all areas of the curriculum. We can identify next steps in learning. We can begin to see learning from the point of view of the child. Observations are essential to complete any assessment!

19. What do we do with the observations that we make? The observations that we make contribute to our assessment of how the child is progressing towards the Early Learning Goals. Each child is different and therefore will have different strengths and weaknesses Each Development Matters statement needs to be observed 3 or 4 times in a variety of different contexts Every adult is involved in the observation process

20. Long Focussed Observations

21. Short Observations

22. Your contribution to the observation process: Yellow observation slips

23. How you can support your child’s learning at home Homework Daily reading High frequency words Talk Stars of the week Weekly newsletter Half-termly long observations More regular short observations Parents evening (November and March)