Early Years

At Northdown Primary School, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and we are guided in our practise through Development Matters and the Statutory Framework for the Early Years.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of seven key areas. These areas are as follows:

Prime Areas

● Communication and Language
● Physical Development
● Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Specific Areas

● Literacy
● Maths
● Understanding of the World
● Expressive Arts and Design

Children's development across these areas are met through a curriculum that is well designed to meet the children's interests and a themed approach.

In order for a child to reach a good level of development we must first ensure strong foundations in the Prime areas and then the Specific.  Each area of development is intrinsically connected and dependent upon each other. Children's development occurs through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning.

In the Early Years, we ensure our environment and provision is enriching and exciting to maximise enjoyment and engagement from the children. On the first day of each term we have a ‘Hook Day’, which is specifically designed to spark teh children's curiosity into the new theme. At Northdown we are passionate about providing additional enrichment experiences during the term, which further engage the children in the topic – these can include trips and visitors coming into school.

Assessing Child Development

In the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment is part of daily intrinsic practice. Through regular observations and interactions practitioners gain fundamental knowledge of a child's achievements within the 7 areas of learning and are able to then use this information to identify and plan for individualised next steps.  Development is continuously monitored and at the end of Reception, children are then assessed against the Early Learning Goals which equates to Good Level Development.

Throughout the day, the children have opportunities to extend their learning through play.  We call this ‘Curiosity Time’.  Through access to indoor and outdoor continuous provision children  have opportunities to experience new learning as well as build upon or embed previous learning. This dedicated time is influential to a child’s development as they are able to grow as an individual as well as learn important life skills. 

During this time, children show a wide range of characteristics which influences their learning. The characteristics of effective learning are as follows:

• Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’ 

• Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements 

• Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

During 'Curiosity Time', the role of the adult is to facilitate, scaffold and extend the children’s learning experiences.

The Early Years environment is to inspire independent, creative, curious learners that will harness and develop an array of skills that they can apply independently to extend their own learning.

They will be encouraged to use their imagination and communication skills to engage in exciting new experiences. All of the resources and activities inside link to the children’s current learning and will build upon the knowledge they have learnt from the adult-led sessions. 

The outside environment is extremely important for a child’s development as it supports not only the learning but the wellbeing of all.  We provide the children with regular experiences outside and ensure the learning is reflected through well resourced continuous provision and planned enhancements. 

The role of the adults in all areas is to encourage, scaffold, extend, observe and play alongside the children. We strongly believe that through high quality adult interaction  the children’s development across the Prime and Specific areas will be facilitated.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we work closely with parents and carers to foster positive relationships.  By working closely together to support the development of the child we  will enable strong foundations for learning.

Throughout the year, we have regular opportunities for parents to participate in a range of activities with their children in class. Parents are expected to engage and contribute towards their child’s learning journey through the use of the Evidence Me app.  This ensures a joint understanding of the child’s development and we can jointly celebrate their achievements.

At Northdown it is important to have an ‘open door’ policy with parents, where they are able to communicate with us their worries and concerns. We also have a whole school communication system called, ‘Parent Gateway’ where the school is able to communicate important information and notices to parents.

At Northdown Primary School we have The Cove Nursery.

Children are able to begin their learning journey within The Cove the term after their third birthday.

Our Nursery sessions consist of morning, afternoon and all day provision. Our morning sessions run from 8.45am until 11.45am, our afternoon session from 12.30pm until 3.30pm, with our all day provision being 8.45am until 3.30pm.

Choosing to do either five morning sessions or five afternoon sessions per week, term time only, will equate to the 15 hours of which your child is entitled to as part of the government’s three and four year old free part-time nursery education funding. Qualifying families may also use 30 hour government funding for our all day provision.

Whilst in our care, Nursery children are provided with a range of exciting and new experiences which offers them unlimited opportunities for development across the Prime and Specific areas of learning within the EYFS framework.

The close collaboration across our Early Years setting, ensures smooth and consistent transitions and the best support for the Nursery children continuing their learning journey into our Reception classes.