In Jacksdale School’s EYFS Unit, we know that it is vital to identify the learning pathway which will enable our youngest learners to achieve the nationally identified Early Learning Goals at the end of their Reception Year. 

This demonstrates the continuum for learning which underpins every aspect of the Jacksdale EYFS Curriculum Development (most recently evaluated, reviewed and rewritten in June 2024).

 

 

The identification of the Summary Goals from F1 – F2 is used as the starting point for ensuring that all opportunities are crafted to enable our children to make the progress expected at such a young age within our setting.

As every setting is unique, we use the information gained from observing and interacting with the children in our setting to identify both individual and cohort specific strengths and areas for development, using our bespoke baseline and ½ termly assessment tracking grids:

F1 (N1) Baseline & Half Termly Tracking

F1 (N2) Baseline & Half Termly Tracking

F2 Baseline & Half Termly Tracking

The EYFS staff meet every 6 weeks to assess all pupils individually and identify any pupils who are not on track to meet the summary goal for that time period.

Reference is made to the  EYFS Benchmarking Overview  to identify small steps to target teach and create bespoke opportunities for the children to achieve in particular areas the following half term.  This may take the form of individual targets or, in some cases, adapting the planned curriculum areas to meet the needs of the cohort in a particular area with a greater focus.

From September 2024, the whole school tracking programme – INSIGHT – will be used to gain an overview for each cohort based on factors such as gender, free school meals, term of birth and ethnicity.  This will continue to give us an insight into ensuring that the Jacksdale EYFS curriculum is ‘right’ for the children in our community.

 

 

Working in partnership with Sarah Quinn, one of the UK’s leading early years practitioners, we have developed our Jacksdale Early Years Curriculum , mapping out the learning for all EYFS children across 3 identified key themes:

Autumn: Celebrations

Spring: Big Adventures

Summer: Our Wonderful World

 

These key themes encompass our school values of kindness, safety and respect and provide key building blocks upon which learning is built on throughout Key Stage 1 and 2.

 

The 3 themes are furthermore broken down into half termly cycles:

 

By linking the themes to topics which relate to both the children in our community which reflect their lived experiences -  and the wider world which they may not have encountered before - we aim to give every child the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of their place in the world (in which they are familiar), leading to a greater knowledge and understanding of cultures and environments globally. 

 

The provision in our EYFS unit is carefully planned for so that all children have equal and enhanced opportunities to explore, investigate and lead their own learning based on quality first teaching and interactions.  By utilising key national documents including, but not limited to Birth to 5 Matters, including ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’; Development Matters;   EYFS Statutory Framework; Common Play Behaviours all staff who are planning, delivering and assessing our children are able to reference, elicit and make use of best practice from both statutory and non-statutory evidence based sources.

 

In line with Key Stage 1 and 2 of Jacksdale Primary School, our EYFS children access early reading and writing provision through the RWI programme, which has been embedded across Early Years, KS1 and KS2 since June 2022.  Within the EYFS unit, this is offset by the use of pre-phonics (Letter and Sounds).  Both programmes are planned on a bespoke process of a 6 weekly cycle so that every child has focused access to ‘keeping up, not catching up’.  The daily timetable demonstrates both discrete teaching and learning sessions, substantiated by the enhanced continuous provision within the unit.

 

Early maths is taught using White Rose Maths in line with our KS1 and KS2 maths provision.  Incidental maths is planned for and apparent in all parts of the day, both in discrete teaching and enhanced continuous provision.

 

The daily timetable overview identifies opportunities for F1 and F2 pupils have access to age appropriate taught sessions, alongside mixed age sessions so that all pupils are able to develop relationships with a wider age range of peers, thus focusing on their own identity, communication and personal development within the setting.  This mirrors the whole school vision of ‘every individual being valued and making a valuable contribution to school life so that they are the best that they can be’.

 

 

Reception Baseline (Statutory Assessment) - Parent Information Leaflet