EYFS at Swainswick
‘Play is the highest form of research’ – Albert Einstein
​
Here at Swainswick, our Reception learning journey is bespoke to our children, environment and community. We thrive on an explorative and playful approach to learning about the world around us and we keenly develop the skills and attitudes we need to have a very successful time throughout our school life.
​
We promote child-initiated learning to build early independence. To achieve this, each child is supported and challenged in tasks that are tailored to their individual needs. High priority is placed on a good grounding in literacy and maths skills, through daily phonics and maths lessons which ensure all children make rapid progress through the EYFS curriculum.
Our Curriculum
Early Years Curriculum
The statutory Foundation Stage Curriculum has seven key areas of learning. These are broken into 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas, as follows:
​
PRIME AREAS
Communication and Language – listening, attention and understanding, speaking
Physical Development – gross motor skills, fine motor skills
Personal, Social and Emotional Development – self regulation, managing self, building relationships
SPECIFIC AREAS
​Literacy – comprehension, word reading, writing
Mathematics – number, numerical patterns
Understanding the World – past and present, people and cultures, the natural world
Expressive Arts and Design – creating with materials, being imaginative and expressive
​​​​
​​
​
​
Getting outdoors
As well as having our very well-resourced indoor classroom, we also have an exciting outdoor area offering a covered workspace, astroturf construction area, mud kitchen-café, art boards, giant tyres, water systems and plenty of space to play and explore. The larger playground is also a brilliant space for playing with the older children and getting the bikes out!
We are lucky to be situated in the heart of beautiful countryside. We take full advantage of the natural world on our doorstep, with regular walks out into the valley and many days spent jumping in puddles – don’t forget your wellies!
Links to the community
​
Parents and Carers
Our partnership includes ‘parents, families, and practitioners working together to benefit the children' (EYFS Framework) We work closely with parents and carers and encourage the people close to our children to be as involved as possible.
​
Wider school
Year 6 buddies are imperative in ensuring our reception children feel safe and included in their new school. We pair up in the first week and then have lots of time for shared play, guided activities and reading partners!
Community
We are proud of our links to the surrounding churches, nurseries and businesses. We frequently have visitors and trips to the local area. If you are local and willing to get involved in teaching our Reception children something new and exciting please contact our school office!
Our curriculum
Reading and Phonics
We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised scheme. Reception children begin their journey in week 2 and are successfully blending and reading books independently by Christmas! We closely and continuously assess the children within our teaching, to ensure that everyone is ‘keeping up’ – getting rid of the need for any catch up down the line!
​
Literacy
We are excited to have started Drawing Club. Reception children explore the 3 M’s – mark making, making conversations and mathematics by immersing themselves in exciting texts and illustrations. We coat our literacy with new vocabulary – the more obscure the better! At Swainswick, teachers and young writers alike are passionate about a pleasure for literacy, and this starts right from the moment children arrive in Apple class.
​
​Maths
We follow White Rose Maths planning. This covers number, pattern, shape and measure using hands-on practical activities. Adult guided language is a huge part of this exploration, and children are encouraged to copy new vocabulary and apply their new mathematical awareness in lots of different ways.
​Recording Learning
Seesaw is a secure online platform where teachers save snapshots of children and learning. We collate these in discrete folders for each child and share them with parents at our parent teacher consultations
Links for further learning
Always review the sites ahead of time so that you are able to help your children find the best resources available within the sites. Some offer a great number of games, songs, stories, videos etc. so it is important to know the site well in order to support and develop your child’s learning. For help reviewing sites, apps and games that your child may access, please visit https://commonsensemedia.org
​
Excellent site built around the 7 areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. You can access a free 7 day trial but you need to subscribe after this period to access the content – various subscription packages available.
http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm
Great site with some free phonics games
Many games often recognised by children from their favourite programmes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/eyfs/
Links to particular cbeebies games from areas of learning.
Stories and rhymes read aloud.
​
http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/Interactive
Books and reading activities to share with your child at home.
Some excellent numeracy and literacy resources
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=37
Games of varying quality to support different areas of learning. Hit the button is a great game!
To support phonics!
​