Intent

Within our happy and nurturing setting, we provide high quality learning opportunities where children can thrive across all areas of the Early Years curriculum. Our provision encompasses child-focused interests and ideas with well thought out resources to enhance and inspire their development. The curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning from previous settings and their experiences at home.

We respect that children have different starting points and we strive to provide a nurturing environment for all that has a strong and excellent partnership with our children’s families. Partnership and communication is important to us and we greatly value the relationship that we develop with parents and the community throughout these vital years so that children feel valued, safe and have a sense of belonging. It is our motto to ensure we leave no stone unturned to ensure all children have the very best start to their education at Oldway.

All staff are committed to ensuring that the learning foundations laid down within the early years are solid and secure so that your child will continue to flourish and become lifelong learners. We provide a range of child-led, hands-on learning opportunities where the ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. As such we provide many first-hand, rich experiences to underpin the children’s knowledge, with the aim of broadening their understanding of the world around them. 

We believe that children’s first experiences of school should be happy and positive, enabling us to develop a lifelong love of learning. We provide an environment which will enable children to trust in themselves and in their peers, building resilience, ambition and integrity. 

Implementation

Across our EYFS, we follow the Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Development Matters: Non-Statutory Curriculum Guidance. This Framework and Guidance specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years and provides prime and specific areas of learning to be covered in our curriculum. 

Prime Areas: Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development 
Specific Areas: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

During the beginning of the autumn term, children focus on the prime areas. These form the foundation of a child’s learning. The children are encouraged to follow their personal interests and explore the world around them. This enables staff to baseline children and enhance the learning environment to develop children’s understanding and skills.  Our two year rolling programme, provides a curriculum full of awe and wonder with a promotion of excellent  expectations and outcomes.

We are proud of our ‘Oldway Wild Learning’ environment and are pleased to be able to offer the children a wide range of activities to ignite their love of learning.

Our curriculum is carefully designed with ‘awe and wonder’ at the heart of it. We take a hands-on approach to all learning and the children particularly enjoy planting, building camps, using real tools, making potions, pies and cakes in our mud kitchen and exploring the properties of water in the indoor and outdoor water areas. 

These rich experiences ensure that oracy is the bedrock of our curriculum. It is embedded into our whole curriculum, to enable pupils to become effective communicators. They learn about the importance of 'whole body' listening, how to engage in collaborative group discussions and develop a range of vocabulary and language structures for the different language functions that they will require and apply in school and life. 

Reading is entwined securely through our entire curriculum. Opportunities to foster a love of reading and the teaching of early reading skills is incorporated into our daily provision. We embed a culture where books (text), vocabulary and language are all a priority, to enhance all other learning. Children begin our phonics programme (Read Write Inc) from the day they start school and our motto is that we unturn every stone so that  all children leave Reception learning to read.

We have a dedicated time focusing on health and self-care. We share a range of healthy snacks every day and we learn about the importance of a healthy balanced diet. We discuss the impact this can have on our bodies. One in three children have tooth decay in Torbay and the implications of this can greatly impact on their early years development. At Oldway, children take part in our daily supervised toothbrushing programme to build an understanding of oral health.  

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is measured by assessment procedures which allow us to measure outcomes against all schools nationally. We measure the percentage of pupils achieving an ‘expected level of development’ by the end of the Reception year. The impact of our curriculum will also, in fact, be measured by how effectively it helps our pupils develop into well-rounded individuals who embody our values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens. 

We aim to instil a sense of ‘awe and wonder’ into every child. Making them curious and inquisitive about the world in which they are living. We want our children to ask questions, to dream big and most of all, to recognise the potential within themselves. When children leave our Early Years Unit, we not only endeavour for them to be Year One ready, but well-rounded individuals with positive attitudes towards learning for life. 

Our overall aims by the end of Early Years are for pupils to: 

• Have a positive and ‘I will have a can do’’ attitude towards everything they do;
• Be effective communicators, through talking, listening and writing; 
• Make healthy and safe choices;.
• Develop kindness and patience of others;
• Possess the foundation building blocks required to thrive at school and in life; 
• Develop a love of reading and acquire the early reading skills they need;
• Explore and evolve their imaginations to enhance their creative minds; 
• Broaden their understanding and knowledge of the diverse world around them and stimulate their curiosities and fascinations about this  world.