EYFS

At Barnfield we aim to give each of our children the best possible start to their school journey, igniting a passion and curiosity for learning.

We recognise that each child is unique and that their paths to success may take different routes. At Barnfield we place great importance on working closely with our families, to ensure together we scaffold each child to feel secure as a learner as well as ambitious to be the best that they can be.

We have a stunningly diverse community, where exploring and embracing our cultural differences and similarities is at the heart of our setting. We strongly believe that in embedding an openness in our children from their earliest start, enriches their life experiences as well as develops their skill to work together and be empathetic.

We follow the guiding principles from the new EYFS framework and our curriculum is also supported by the Birth to 5 Matters document.

We take a cross curricular approach in planning our play-based programme for both the indoor and outdoor environments, looking for ways to stimulate both creativity and curiosity in the seven areas of the EYFS framework. At the core of each experience is the opportunity for children to strengthen their Physical Development, their resilience and emotional regularity through their Personal, Social Emotional Development, as well as creating opportunities that are language-rich to strengthen and extend each child’s Communication and Language.

Weaved through every learning opportunity are the Characteristics of Learning, this is how the child learns. We want our children to be intrinsically motivated to explore their environment with enthusiasm, be able to sustain their focus for long periods of time, be independent in seeking learning and strengthen their resilience when they hit hurdles, having a can-do attitude.

Opportunities are created to broaden knowledge and skill in Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World as well as Expressive Arts and Design.

Another core feature in planning learning across our EYFS is following children’s interests, using these as a springboard to extend children’s thinking, problem-solving, communication as well as supporting them to make connections, developing their understanding of the world around them.

The continuous provision is core in both our environments, where children’s imagination and creative responses are encouraged through self-initiated challenge.

Alongside independent challenge time, adult-led focuses take place in both environments to extend children’s skill, ideas and experiences. There are also timetabled sessions in the day for the direct teaching of Phonics using Bug Club, Mathematics using White Rose and English, following the Power of Reading.

Tapestry is used to document significant and personal milestones for each child and this is used as a tool for teaching staff to set next steps. Tapestry is also used to support children to recall their experiences, as well as share with their families each child’s success in their independent learning.

We place great importance on working closely with families so our children can be the best they can be. We encourage our families to be an active part of their child’s learning and offer different opportunities throughout the year to support this.