Lower Wortley Primary School
Early Years Foundation Stage
How Children in the Early Years Learn
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework explains how and children in our Early Years setting will be learning to support their healthy development. Children will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:
Communication and Language
Physical Development
and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
These prime areas are those most essential for young children's healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
and Expressive arts and design
These 7 areas are used to plan children's learning and activities using cross curricular topics as well as some subjects specific teaching such as phonics. The professionals teaching and supporting the children make sure that the activities are suited to each child's unique needs. Our Early Years curriculum is designed to be flexible so that staff can follow children's needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outdoors.
In addition to the Early Years framework, our Foundation Stage curriculum also follows the principles of intent that our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculums are designed around. To read more about our Early Years curriculum design please click here.
Foundation Stage Curriculum Information
We operate a two year rolling programme in our Nursery classes (Cycle A and Cycle B). This is because some of our Nursery children may be with us over more than one academic year and this ensures a variation of learning experiences. Our Reception classes follow a one year planning cycle.
Topic planning is based on a question based theme approach but is flexible to allow child initiated interests to lead the learning.
Please click on the links below to see the long term plan for Cycles A and B for Nursery.
Nursery Long Term Grid - Cycle A
Nursery Long Term Grid - Cycle B
Please click here to see the plan for our Reception cycle of learning.
You will find more detail about each current topic in the 'This Term' pages for Reception and Nursery. Please also see the Topic work pages Reception and Nursery.
In addition to the topic approach to covering the curriculum, children also have weekly Literacy and Mathematics activities.
Foundation Stage children also follow the whole school approach to teaching writing called 'Talk for Writing' and the 'Floppy's Phonics' programme of learning for phonics.
Please click here to read more about 'Talk for Writing'.
To see the long term plans that Foundation Stage follow for Talk Writing please click on these links: Nursery Reception
To find out more about curriculum coverage in Literacy and Maths for our Reception classes, please use the link below: