Early Years Foundation Stage

The Curriculum

Here at Christ Church Erith, we follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage issued by the Department for Education (DfE).

Our curriculum consists of seven areas of learning:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Physical Development

• Communication and Language

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

Within these areas there are 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs). If a child achieves these goals by the end of the Reception year then they are said to have a good level of development and are working at the expected level.

To support children with working towards these ELGs we use Development Matters. This document breaks down each goal into different age bands and is used by staff throughout the year to provide ongoing assessments of our children.

In the classroom

Our learning and development is provided through purposeful play and through adult led structures and routines that build confidence and provide intellectual stimulus and challenge.

Throughout the day, our children have direct teaching sessions for maths, literacy and phonics. During the other times of the day our children have free flowing access to learn within the continuous provision inside and outside the classroom. Some of the activities are prepared by the teachers and will focus on specific skills. The children are also empowered to initiate and lead activities themselves by choosing activities from any of the other resources available within the environment.

Teaching staff engage with the children during these activities and help to support their learning and development. Children’s learning is assessed by observing what they say and do during these times. This is recorded and shared with parents systematically.

During the course of the year, our learning in Reception will be linked to the following themes.

Literacy

At Christ Church Erith, we believe that learning to read, write and communicate effectively underpins all learning.  Reading is taught through our phonics programme and children are encouraged to read for pleasure and take books home. 

Phonics

Phonics teaches children the 44 sounds used in the English language and then the letter or letters which make those sounds. Children are taught to apply this knowledge for both reading and spelling words. In Reception, children have daily teaching sessions for phonics and this continues into Key Stage 1. At Christ Church Erith, we teach phonics using the Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics programme. More information about how we teach phonics and the RWI programme, can be found here https://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/find-out-more/parents/

Reading

As well as taking part in daily phonics sessions, children are given opportunities to read each week with an adult. Children also have stories read to them frequently in class and books are often the basis for an entire unit of work.

Reading books are sent home with the children at a level which matches their phonic understanding so they can continue practising at home. They are also allowed to take home books for pleasure to read with an adult as this helps develop a love of reading as well as improving their understanding and comprehension so, we encourage families to read with their children on a daily basis.

We are very fortunate at Christ Church Erith to have a school library on site. Our pupils visit the library regularly throughout the term to further enhance their love of reading and provide them with the opportunity to explore a wide range of texts. Our parents join us in this space during our Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) sessions and partake in reading activities with our pupils.

Writing

At Christ Church Erith we are a reading school and all of our writing is derived from high quality text to engage our pupils. These texts support our pupils to understand story structure, story language and talk through stories thus supporting the writing process.

Our writing focus are sequenced around the skills in which we want our pupils to learn with a theme and writing purpose selected and implemented as a vessel to hook and enthuse our pupils to write.

Children complete an adult-directed piece of writing at least once per week in their writing book with this increased throughout the year to support the transition into Year 1. Our staff model the writing process using a range vocabulary whilst incorporating Fred talk and handwriting. Children are encouraged to write when learning throughout the continuous provision with a range of writing tools and stimulus provided to support these opportunities.

Children are taught grammar, punctuation, spelling, handwriting and writing for purpose. Some of this is delivered as part of the daily phonics sessions and as part of the focused and independent learning activities. Writing is encouraged in a range of contexts across the curriculum in order to engage all children.

Mathematical Development

The focus of the maths curriculum in Reception is on ensuring children have an excellent understanding of number along with a real-world understanding of maths through shape, space and measurement. Children are taught how to write numbers but the focus is on the understanding of mathematical concepts.

We use a focused programme of work which teaches children mathematical concepts using concrete materials first, before moving on to pictorial representations and finally the abstract recording. This work feeds directly into the mathematical learning the children will continue in KS1 and KS2.

Religious Education

As a Church of England School, Religious Education is an important and integral part of our curriculum. Religious Education has a significant role for the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In EYFS, RE promotes respect and open-mindedness towards others with different faiths and beliefs, and encourages pupils to develop their sense of identity and belonging. Pupils will explore Christianity, developing their thinking and understanding of the world and their experiences within it.

Our teaching follows guidance from the Diocese of Rochester and we have adopted the 'Understanding Christianity' curriculum.  'Understanding Christianity' supports pupils in exploring different concepts within Christianity, developing their understanding of wider religious literacy. This is an enquiry-based curriculum where pupils begin with a ‘Big Question’ to explore and answer, discuss core biblical texts and their impact on Christians, and making connections with their own lives.