EYFS

Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent

The Early Years Foundation Stage at Ilmington C of E Primary School offers a curriculum that is rich in wonder and memorable meaningful experiences. Teaching is intended to enable all children to develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally in an environment that values all cultures, communities and people. The aim is for children to be confident and independent, to believe in themselves and interact positively with others. Play is an integral part of learning and this is at the heart of the Ilmington Early Years provision. A balance of adult directed and uninterrupted child-initiated play ensures the best outcomes for pupils. Warm and positive relationships between staff and children, consistent routines and strong relationships with parents are key to success. High quality Early Years education plays a crucial role in providing firm foundations upon which the children can build as they move through the school.

Our Early Years curriculum:

Provides a stimulating learning environment that promotes challenge, exploration, adventure and a real love of learning
Provides a broad and balanced language-rich curriculum in which children have opportunities to practise, revise and extend their knowledge and skills in an environment in which they feel safe to take risks with their learning
Develops curiosity about the world around us by providing exciting learning opportunities that embrace the local environment
Enables children to develop characteristics of effective learning, which leads them to become independent, resourceful and resilient life-long learners
Nurtures the intellectual, spiritual, physical and emotional wellbeing of all learners, promoting a healthy lifestyle
Promotes caring and respectful friendships built on integrity and kindness
Treats all children as individuals, linking their ideas and interests to the curriculum in order to provide further inspiration for their learning

Implementation

The Early Years provision at Ilmington C of E Primary School provides a critically important starting point to children’s primary education, laying firm foundations for independent, resourceful and resilient life-long learning. The curriculum is driven by topic work that is based on high quality texts which provide stimulus for inspiring learning opportunities. We promote a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of stories, songs, nursery rhymes and quality interactions with adults and peers across the entire age range of the school. Staff ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and acquire new vocabulary in order to become confident communicators.

Development Matters is used as a basis to plan the curriculum. Teaching staff have developed their own bespoke curriculum, with clear progression, which takes account of the context of the school and the needs and interests of the pupils. Learning is made up of child-initiated learning, play partnering, direct instruction, adult-led group work and individual work, the balance of which changes as the year progresses. High quality interactions with staff have a positive impact on the progress of all children. The ‘Ilmington Learner Toolkit’ of skills (enthusiasm, focus, friendship, perseverance, polishing and pondering) is introduced to compliment the characteristics of effective teaching and learning (playing and exploring, active learning, creating and thinking critically) and this supports and nurtures the children’s natural desire to learn. Enriching experiences are threaded throughout the curriculum including food tasting (e.g. Chinese food), cooking (e.g. Gruffalo crumble), exploring the local environment (e.g. going on a bear hunt), inviting visitors into school (e.g. a bee keeper) and undertaking trips (e.g. The National Sealife Centre). A love of reading is promoted through a daily ‘story time’ and children are encouraged to become early readers through the enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics using the Little Wandle programme.

We have invested considerably in the planning and development of a new outdoor classroom, which has been designed to enable children to strengthen their core muscles through physical play, as they spend time in the outdoors in all weathers. A range of sensory experiences are provided including a mud kitchen, a large sandpit, a sensory garden and Forest School.

We understand the importance of parental engagement and believe that our parents have a crucial role to play in their children's education. We work hard to create strong partnerships between home and school. Parents receive a Curriculum Information Evening at the start of the academic year to inform them of what and how their child will be learning and to explain how they can support this at home. Parents use the Evidence Me platform to share learning experiences from home (e.g. learning to ride a bike).

As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed in relation to their progress towards the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). These judgements are made on the basis of accumulative observations and in-depth knowledge of the children. These ongoing assessments are used to inform planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all children throughout the year.

Impact

A high percentage of children reach a good level of development, with results being consistently well above national average (Ilmington C of E Primary GLD 83% in 2023, compared to national average of 67.2%)
Children are well prepared to move into Year 1 and undertake a smooth transition into the next year group
Phonics screening tests produce a consistently high pass rate in Year 1, with 100% passing in 2022
Behaviour of children is consistently excellent, as they demonstrate their understanding of our school rule, ‘Respect’
Children leave the Early Years Foundation Stage as confident communicators who have acquired a love of learning