EYFS Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the period of education from birth to 5 years. In our school we have two Reception classes; The Wrens and the Robins.
Our Vision
At Mereside we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life. We strive to give children a love of learning and a strong foundation to grow, explore and achieve as lifelong learners and members of our community. We offer a progressive, developmentally appropriate and child-centred curriculum for our children, understanding that engagement is key to enabling children to fulfill their potential.
Intent
At Mereside Academy we believe our school values underpin everything that we do in school. At the core of our school’s work is the Christian value of love. We link all other values that we teach to this; helping our children to understand and learn from God’s example of selfless love. Our motto is “Learn to Love, Love to Learn.”
The curriculum and early years practice have been shaped with respect to the four overarching principles:
- every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
At Mereside we believe that engagement in learning is of upmost importance. Children learn most successfully when they are fully involved in their learning. Children can only be fully involved in their learning if their well-being is ensured, in a context of warm, secure and safe relationships. We know our children well and have used this knowledge to create a curriculum that is interesting and appropriate, that meets the needs of our children, their families and our community.
Our EYFS curriculum has been designed to meet the statutory requirements and educational programmes set out in the Early Years Foundation stage Framework. It is supported by Development Matters document. It takes children from their baselines to the Early Learning Goals (age related expectations) and beyond. The EYFS curriculum at Mereside is a sequential, progressive and aspirational curriculum that is broad and rich with learning experiences. We view the Prime Areas of Learning; Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development as being of great importance in creating a strong foundation for learning in the specific areas of learning; Maths, Literacy, Understanding the World and Expressive Art and Design. We revisit learning again and again to ensure that skills and knowledge are embedded for when children move into Year One and beyond, knowing more and remembering more. Our curriculum links to the National Curriculum that is taught in years one to six.
Our curriculum focuses around a core of quality texts. The texts include familiar, texts at the start of the year and then introduce the children to some less well known books. They include a range of genres, settings and a range of authors. The books provide the contexts for learning across the curriculum and immerse the children in a language rich environment.
The Characteristics of Early Learning are a thread that is woven through all our provision to help shape our children into successful learners, providing them with the lifelong skills they will need to thrive; solving problems, being independent, being curious, persevering and working as part of a team.
Implementation
At Mereside we believe that our children learn best through a combination of directed learning (adult led learning), enhanced learning (adult initiated learning) and continuous provision (child-initiated learning). Our timetable has been carefully created to provide a balance of these three elements throughout each day.
Some learning, e.g. phonics, is most effectively taught in adult led learning, whether that be whole class, group work or individuals. We are mindful of ensuring this teaching is appropriate for our young children in terms of expectation and context. Young children can focus their attention and listening for short periods of time and will only do so if the learning is engaging, meaning that these sessions must be active and appealing.
“Play is the finest form or research,” Albert Einstein
At Mereside we really believe in the power of play. Play exposes children to an enormous range of opportunities for learning and enables children to work at levels than expected. Involvement is high as children are following their own interests. Play is not ‘a break from serious learning’, play is serious learning. When the children are playing, they are interacting with the adults, children and environments around them. These interactions are a priority for us.
“Nothing matters more than the interaction. Ensure a child gains something positive from the interaction that they did not have before,” Julie Fisher.
High quality interaction between adults and children provide opportunities for encouragement, shared thinking, inviting, explaining, modelling and challenge. Through these interactions, we are able to nurture each child and acknowledge the uniqueness of the children, their fascinations and their needs. Our daily timetable provides time for sustained periods of play to allow children to deepen their knowledge and skills.
Our environments, both inside and outside, play a very important role in our childrens’ development. We want our environments to be inviting, to stimulate curiosity and enable children to follow their interests, making links between their learning. They must support the childrens’ physical development, their confidence and risk taking, their health and well-being. Our environments begin the school year with a basic provision, full of the familiar and with lots of soothing, sensory play to support the transition into school. The provision develops along with the children, reflecting their interests and needs, always with an increasing level of challenge. Our carefully resources environments support each of the 17 strands of learning from the Early Years Framework.
We value our partnerships with parents and carers. They know the children best and it is through working together that we can ensure that each child is able to reach their full potential. This relationship begins through the transition process with welcome meetings, induction days and home visits. Staff are available every day; in person, by phone, email and Dojo. We invite parents into school throughout the year for information sessions, celebrations and Parents Evenings.
Impact
The impact of our EYFS curriculum and provision is measured by how effectively it enables our children to develop into well rounded individuals who embody our school values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and Characteristics of Effective Learning which will support them as lifelong learners and valuable future citizens. At Mereside, we have high expectations to ensure that all children make strong progress across all of the areas of the EYFS curriculum.
Baseline
During the transition process, staff offer every family a home visit and visit every pre-school setting to gain an understanding of the whole child. During the first half term, staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure strong progress is made for all children. In addition to our own school baseline, class teachers will also administer The Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA). This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from Reception until the end of KS2.
2024_Information_for_parents_reception_baseline_assessment
Assessment for Learning
At Mereside, we pride ourselves on really knowing our children. Significant time is given to interacting and engaging with our pupils, using our professional expertise to plan engaging learning opportunities. Through a reflective cycle of observation, planning and assessment, staff are able to ensure all children make progress. This formative, assessment for learning, does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paper work. Children have books for recording their learning for Phonics, Literacy, Handwriting and Maths.
Assessment of Learning
Throughout the year, assessments are carried out to record progress in children’s learning. Each strand of our curriculum has Observation Checkpoints built in to each term. These are the ‘golden nuggets’ of learning that we expect an ‘on track’ child to achieve. Each term we use our professional judgement to assess how children are progressing against these checkpoints and whether they are on track for attaining the Early Learning Goals at the end of the reception year. We use the whole school assessment tracker DCPro to record attainment. This allows staff to quickly identify pupils that are not making expected progress.
Attainment in Read Write Inc phonics is assessed each half term. Children are then grouped accordingly to ensure each individual is taught at the appropriate level. Every half term, childrens’ independent mark making/writing is assessed to identify next steps.
We use the Leuven Scale to assess pupils well-being and involvement each half term. We also use the scale to monitor the impact of our provision throughout the year.
In the Summer Term, the EYFSP is completed. Teachers assess whether the child has met each of the 17 ELG’s or whether they are working towards them. They will be assessed as either ‘emerging’ or ‘expected.’ Whilst there is no judgement to state if a child is exceeding beyond an ELG, teachers have a responsibility to provide a narrative for both parents and the Year 1 teacher as to attainment levels and next steps.
Impact is also evident through our successful transitions into Year 1. We enhance our provision to prepare children for new routines and expectations. The children visit their new classrooms to familiarise themselves with the new setting and meet their new class teachers. EYFS meet with Year 1 teachers to provide a detailed picture of attainment and well- for each child. Staff have a good understanding of how Early Learning Goals link to the National Curriculum, and through our robust planning and delivery across the spectrum of subjects – both core and foundation – children leave the EYFS stage with the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue their journey as mathematicians, scientists, historians, artists and geographers.
Mereside EYFS Policy 2025
The Big Picture EYFS
Time Table 24 25 EYFS
EYFS Autumn Newsletter 2024 EYFS Spring Newsletter 2025
Parent Information Sessions
Throughout the year we invite parents and carers into school to attend sessions about how the children are taught in school and how you can support learning at home.
Welcome to EYFS
Phonics Read Write Inc Parent Presentation
Reading & Writing Parent Presentation