Early Development and Learning 

During the final weeks of pregnancy, as children's hearing activates, learning in utero begins and never stops, first absorbing and organising their cognition around the rhythms and the patterns of their mother's native language. Newborn babies already express a preference, not only for their mother's voice, but for her native language and can distinguish between native language and foreign languages, the brains light up in different ways. The period from prenatal to age three is the single most consequential window in all development: a unique and amazing time in a child's life where incredible milestones and miraculous things happen.

Through science, we know a newborn’s brain is a quarter of the size of an adult brain, by the age of three it is 80% grown and by the age of five is almost adult size. Amazingly, at age three, the brain has got twice as many synapses to connect and communicate as an adult brain. This basically means the three year old brain is like a sponge seeking experience and constantly making connections as children go around their everyday life. 

Brailes Early Years Curriculum 

Intent

Here at Brailes, we believe that children need to be completely immersed in an Early Years setting which aims to expose them to many learning experiences. We acknowledge that we have high expectations from the moment the children come into school and we believe this gives them a strong, positive start to their school life.

Our broad and balanced curriculum aims to instil independence and aspiration in all children, therefore we plan our content and lesson structure to promote these skills and to enable their brains to make as many connections as possible. 

Knowledge
The children need to master everything prescribed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework in ways described in Development Matters. The Early Learning Goals, along with milestones and other progression documents including the Cornerstones Curriculum Maestro platform, are used throughout the planning process to ensure that we are capturing every opportunity to recognise success.

Skills
The skills the children will develop are taken from the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and Development Matters document.  Our primary aim is to promote and ensure the Characteristics of Effective Learning, through enabling environments and positive relationships.  

Context
We are a small church school in a rural area with close links to the farming and wider community. However, our intake extends from a wide variety of areas.  Therefore, our children can come from a variety of Nursery settings and our social demographic is widening. 

Sequence & Structure
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework and the supporting document, Development Matters,  which is shaped into our curriculum using the Cornerstones curriculum scheme of work and exploits the school’s rural locality. We have a progression of skills in place for English and Maths to enable all children to achieve a good level of development by the time they leave Reception. 
At the start of the year when we make our Reception baseline assessments, we look at the interventions we need to put in place and then assess every half term; the aim of this is to ensure pupils ‘keep up, not catch up,’ and reach a point where they are able to access the curriculum independently through continuous and enhanced provision. 

Implementation

Curriculum match to our intention
Our curriculum in Early Years has evolved over the last three years and we are confident that it supports the new Early Years framework released in September 2021. 

Our curriculum has been closely planned with the rest of the school, paying particular attention to how our teaching can be built on in Key Stage 1. 

We have taken into consideration our local area and events that are significant to them.

Content
The topics that we teach are based around building skills stated in the Early Years Curriculum and aiming to make the children active learners and critical thinkers. 

Phonics is an integral part of EYFS so we teach this first thing in the morning using the Read Write Inc accredited scheme, and then it is built upon throughout the school day. 

Lesson Structure
We aim to have formal sessions for 15 minutes in Autumn 1. We believe a formal and structured approach creates a routine and practise for all children. Phonics is taught in small groups in Autumn 1, progressing into larger groups in order to support the transition into Year 1 and in accordance with our Read Write Inc outcomes. Read Write Inc small group phonic sessions take place for Nursery children in the Summer term before they start Reception.

In English and Maths, all children will have a group input together in the carpet before heading to their formal learning activity, as well as their continuous provision. Activities are differentiated and scaffolded depending upon individual needs.  The classroom is designed to promote maximum learning opportunities for all children at all times. This includes English and Maths concrete resources in all areas to promote the skills being taught. 

Recording
We use Seesaw and a class learning journey, as well as each child’s own writing and phonics books. The learning journey aims to capture a variety of experiences, with photo evidence. We feel it is essential that the adult is present whilst interacting with the child, facilitating and extending learning, rather than using an iPad to get evidence to record. 

Assessment
When the children come into Reception, we used the standardised baseline assessment that is compulsory from 2021. We also conduct further baseline assessments to gain a full picture of the child. 

We conduct half termly reading assessments in line with the Read Write Inc phonics scheme. Maths assessments are conducted when appropriate and they are designed in line with the learning from the NCETM Mastering Number and White Rose Maths. 

We use Wellcomm Communication and Language to screen all children on entry, whether starting in Nursery or Reception, and use these assessments to provide targeted individual and group Communication and Language interventions which are regularly reviewed and impact measured.

Thrive class profiling takes place three times a year (October, February and June)  with the class teacher, key people and Thrive practitioner, which informs class ‘in time’ learning and targeted individual and group interventions for children in the class.

All other areas of learning are assessed on a half termly basis with both the class teacher and the key person. Any gaps that appear in the data, whether it be on an individual or class basis, are all incorporated within the planning for the next week or unit. 

Impact

As children leave Reception, our aims are that:

• All children are known, understood and valued, and able to let their light shine and be their best.
• All children have a love for learning, a desire and curiosity to advance and the confidence to succeed.
• All children will have built positive and trusted relationships with staff and we will have established excellent relationships with parents and carers.
• All children will demonstrate respect and manners to others, becoming confident, courageous and compassionate citizens of their community.
• All children have a secure basis for Year 1, to transition smoothly in their new class, and to flourish throughout their time at Brailes and beyond.