Intent

At Oak Tree we believe that ALL children in our EYFS can succeed and reach their potential. We want all our children to develop holistically; make good relationships with others, feel confident, be independent and make progress in all areas of learning.

We have developed an ambitious curriculum that embeds learning and gives time for children to consolidate. We build on concepts and knowledge each term so that children recall what has been taught. In Reception we revisit concepts in more depth that were taught in Nursery. Many of our children are new to Oak Tree at the start of Reception.   

We want to give children a strong start to their school career that prepares them for the learning that follows in KS1 and KS2.

At Oak Tree we have high expectations of children and are committed to the Early Identification of Needs in order to support all our children to reach their potential and make great progress from their starting points.

Implementation

Our EYFS department create stimulating environments for children indoors and outside. Children are taught in a range of ways, using whole class sessions, directed adult led sessions and are also encouraged to consolidate their learning in their independent learning through carefully planned continuous provision. Children are encouraged to follow their own lines of enquiry in their child led learning, both indoors and out.

Quality First Teaching is found across all areas of the curriculum. Adults engage in problem solving with children where they are, as they are interested in an area of learning or the classroom. Adults also deliberately set up stimulating problems for children to engage with.

All adults look for opportunities to extend vocabulary and develop language skills. They rephrase everyday language as mathematical language, eg refining ‘big’ to ‘tall’, and introduce concepts such as ‘one more’ during the play.

All adults use consistent visuals in the classroom and on lanyards to support all children. Some children may also have individual timelines and now/next boards.

We have developed a curriculum that is flexible to respond to children’s interests, and has key learning intentions embedded within it. We use the Narrative Immersion Approach to shape our learning. Each half term we use a book that forms the basis for all our learning, in particular making links to Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Understanding of the World.

In phonics, we use Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised to ensure rapid progress with early reading. High quality phonics begins in Nursery and continues from the first weeks in Reception. Children quickly learn to blend and following regular assessments are supported to Keep Up with their peers.

In Number we have adopted the mastery approach and broadly follow the White Rose scheme of work. Maths is taught daily. White Rose Maths will be used in both Nursery and Reception to give ideas and structure to whole class, small group work and provision inside and out.

We pride ourselves on strong relationships with parents and use Tapestry to support children’s learning at home.

Impact

At Oak Tree we want to see:

• Happy, settled children who are secure in rules and routines of school life
• Engaged and motivated children who are eager and ready to learn
• A smooth transition from Nursery to Reception and from Reception into KS1 with children prepared for the next step of their learning.
• Children confident in their reading by the time they leave Reception.
• Children able to write simple sentences by time they start National Curriculum
• Children have developed number sense and are secure with a deep understanding of number up to 10 by the time they leave EYFS
• All children able to access a broad and balanced curriculum
• Strong relationships with parents and carers.
• Children who all make good progress from starting points     
• Children who feel cared about, respected and listened to.
• Impact at the end of EYFS is measured through the Early Learning Goals. Historically the percentage of children achieving the GLD within the EYFSP is in line with the national average.