The Early Years Curriculum

Intent

At Cogenhoe Primary School we intend for all of our pupils to be independent, well-rounded, curious individuals. Within our exceptional Early Years setting (including our Forest School), we prioritise children’s social and emotional well-being above all else, as without this, the intention of instilling a life-long love of learning and endless amounts of courage and confidence would not be possible.

Our staff hold the same shared belief that all children have their preferred way of learning. Therefore, we do not believe that every child should fit the curriculum; the curriculum should fit every child. We pride ourselves on ensuring that our themed curriculum captures every child’s imagination and brings it to life the way they see it; engaging with their personal interests effortlessly inspires and motivates every child to achieve their true potential.

Implementation

Transitioning to ‘big’ school can be daunting for any child, therefore, we carefully plan for this next step through a variety of different ways, such as: pre-school/nursery visits; family picnics and transition days in the setting. It is paramount that our children feel safe, happy and cared for from the offset, in order to truly thrive.

We pride ourselves on the seamless transition that we provide by enabling the children to have home visits by the Early Years team prior to starting, ensuring that their first meeting with the staff is somewhere the child feels comfortable. As a school, we know that parents know their child best and home visits provide staff with the valuable insights needed to plan for the future accordingly to meet every child’s needs. Furthermore, our children attend school on a reduced timetable initially as we are passionate about the importance of all staff really getting to know every single child personally as an individual. This opportunity also ensures that children become accustomed to their new environment with only half of the cohort being present, resulting in them being far less anxious and having more opportunities to make new friendships and explore their new surroundings.

At Cogenhoe, the bespoke learning opportunities are centred around stimulating, overarching themes which are based on our Talk for Writing Literacy unit overview to ensure that high expectations are set for academic, physical and emotional achievement and development. ‘In the moment’ planning is also utilised when a particular interest arises and this is usually explored as a class so that the children know that they are valued and important. This balanced approach allows for us to continually strive for the best for your child and their future journey at Cogenhoe.

Reading and Phonics is a fundamental aspect of the EYFS curriculum and lays the foundation for their future reading and writing success. We invest heavily in adult support- the children have daily phonics sessions in small groups to ensure that children can be supported and challenged accordingly and take part in individual and whole class reading through ‘Book Talk’ sessions. Parents are invited to join us for ‘Book and a biscuit’ weekly and the children enjoy ‘Reading Buddies’ sessions with older children.

A whole class, daily Maths lesson is also taught to secure a strong understanding of the concept of number and shape knowledge. Further opportunities are provided within the indoor and outdoor environment for children to consolidate their learning and address misconceptions by exploring and experimenting with a wide range of representations moving from concrete and pictorial to abstract.

The EYFS open plan indoor classroom and outdoor environment continually ensures that a wide range of practical, fun and challenging activities are always planned for and are accessible for all learners. They are rich in language opportunities to develop vocabulary awareness and provide children with the opportunity to independently access their own resources; ensuring that they are central to their own learning and development and can clearly demonstrate their newly learnt skills in their own unique way. Our children have free-flow access to all areas, regardless of the weather so if a child loves the outdoors, that’s where their learning will take place.

On entry into the school’s Reception class, our children will be assessed via our baseline assessment on their progress in the prime areas of learning (Personal Social Emotional Development; Physical Development and Communication & Language) in addition to Maths and Literacy so that our experienced, knowledgeable staff can adapt their provision effectively. All of these assessments lead to action for the child; identifying the next steps needed. Moreover, we use ‘check points’ throughout the year to also assess whether children are ‘on track’ to meet the Early Learning Goals at the end of the academic year and to identify children at risk of making poor progress. Once these children are identified, planning is specifically focussed and adapted to meet their needs. Staff also identify the more able children (assessed as exceeding the expected levels of development) to ensure that we plan for rich and stimulating experiences which will extend their learning.

We value our working partnerships with all parents and understand that children may demonstrate particular skills at home that they may not always demonstrate in school. For that reason, all of our children have an individual ‘Online Journal’. This is software that allows parents to frequently view the assessments and observations of their child. It also allows (of which we encourage) parents to post comments, observations, photos and videos of their children during evenings, weekends and school holidays. This is offered prior to children joining Cogenhoe to allow parents to record their summer adventures, thus supporting transition even further.

Impact

Our children truly believe that they can do anything and be anything that they want to be. They leave EYFS as resilient, independent individuals who view a mistake as a present in disguise and continually challenge themselves to think differently, act differently and be different. They are ready to embark on their next step of education.

In 2023, 70% of children at Cogenhoe achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD), compared to 67% of children achieving GLD nationally.

We continue to achieve significantly above the National average every year for our GLD and our Phonics assessments in Year 1.

Please see the more in-depth outline of our EYFS curriculum for September 2023 below and our own, personal exceeding statements: