At Foundry Lane, our early years team works closely with our nurture staff to share expertise and skills, working towards a shared goal: ensuring every child achieves to their highest ability through learning, play, and enjoyment. The phase is overseen by our Early Years Leader.

Curriculum

Our early years setting follows the curriculum outlined in the EYFS statutory framework.

The EYFS framework includes seven areas of learning and development, all equally important and interconnected. Three of these, known as the prime areas, are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children's capacity to learn, form relationships, and thrive.

The prime areas are:

• - Communication and language
• - Physical development
• - Personal, social, and emotional development

These are strengthened and applied through four specific areas:

• - Literacy
• - Mathematics
• - Understanding the world
• - Expressive arts and design

Our Learning Environment

At Foundry Lane, we believe in giving children in the Reception year a fun and exciting experience where they are encouraged to talk, discover, create, practise, rehearse, explore, investigate, and learn through play. Children have opportunities to work and play with adults and friends, learn independence, learn indoors and outdoors, and make a mess, and tidy it up too.

Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning by making choices about the areas they play in, known as child-initiated learning.

We plan a learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, that encourages a positive attitude to learning. We use materials and equipment that reflect the community our children come from, nature, and the wider world, with resources kept accessible and clearly labelled with pictures or symbols. Children are encouraged to make their own choices about the activities on offer, supporting independent learning, and resources are chosen to be stimulating and interesting, extending and developing play. Adults ensure a range of natural, open-ended, real-life resources is always available to support and extend children's learning and development.

Indoor areas may include:

• - Construction
• - Small world
• - Investigation station
• - Creative area
• - Sand
• - Water
• - Technology
• - Mark-making centres
• - Home corner
• - Sensory and messy play
• - Role play

Outdoor areas may include:

• - Water
• - Mud kitchen
• - Deconstructed role play and large construction
• - Imagination and creative areas
• - Sand
• - Herb and imagination gardens

Every area is designed to support literacy and mathematical development, with labels, words, and numbers visible and used meaningfully, and mark-making available throughout. Opportunities to develop children's fine and gross motor skills are considered when planning each area, including through funky finger stations, climbing equipment, and PE equipment.

We serve a culturally diverse community, and our resources reflect this, including puzzles, musical instruments, and books that reflect children's home languages.

Teaching and Learning

Good planning is key to making children's learning effective, exciting, varied, and progressive. Effective learning builds on and extends what children already know and can do. In the Early Years, this means planning is flexible, allowing adults to respond to children's interests as they emerge. Our planning incorporates all seven areas of learning and development, offering opportunities for both adult-led and child-led activities. We recognise that play underpins all development and learning for young children, and we provide well-planned experiences based on children's spontaneous play, both indoors and outdoors.

Staff respond to each child's emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through warm, positive interaction. As children grow older, and as their development allows, the balance gradually shifts towards more adult-led activities, helping to prepare them for more formal learning as they move into Year 1.

Staff plan activities and experiences that enable children to develop and learn effectively, taking into account each child's individual needs, interests, and stage of development to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience. Where a child may have a special educational need or disability, staff consider whether specialist support is required, linking with relevant services and agencies where appropriate.

We use the three Characteristics of Effective Learning to support our planning and teaching:

• - Playing and exploring: children investigate and experience things, and "have a go"
• - Active learning: children concentrate and keep trying if they encounter difficulties, and    enjoy their achievements
• - Creating and thinking critically: children have and develop their own ideas, make links    between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

Early Language

Books are included in learning areas throughout the classroom, not only in dedicated reading spaces. Adults make time to share favourite stories, rhymes, and songs with individuals, small groups, and large groups, supported by actions, objects, or puppets.

Adults model language to support children, gaining their attention before speaking, matching language to each child's level, and extending children's own words to develop their communication further. Adults are always modelling the writing process, emphasising its purpose, including through story scribing, and actively encourage children to be involved in writing, for example by helping to label displays.

Play

Children's play reflects their wide-ranging and varied interests. Through play, children can be inquisitive, creative, questioning, and experimental, learning at their highest level. Playing alongside peers is an important part of children's development, and adults act as play partners, modelling new skills and supporting children to use them, encouraging children to speculate, test ideas through trial and error, and think creatively and critically.

Through play, children explore and develop learning experiences that help them make sense of the world. Children are encouraged to try new activities and judge risks for themselves, and adults talk with them about how effort and practice help us improve, and that mistakes are part of learning. Children build up ideas over time, learning to control themselves, understand the need for rules, and think creatively, both independently and alongside others.

Class Dojo

At Foundry Lane, every child in the Reception year has an online personal journal on Class Dojo, recording photos, observations, comments, and assessments in line with the EYFS framework, building a record of each child's achievements during their time with us. This evidence sits alongside children's learning journeys, and families are warmly encouraged to contribute too.

Working with Parents

We recognise that children learn and develop best when there is a strong partnership between school and families. Throughout the year, we hold workshops covering topics such as new starters, phonics, and reading. Families are kept up to date with their child's progress through parents' evenings, end-of-year reports, and ongoing conversations, with additional meetings available with the Phase Leader or Inclusion Team where needed. The EYFS profile helps give parents and carers a well-rounded picture of their child's knowledge, understanding, and abilities. Families are invited to contribute to learning journeys through Seesaw, reading logs, workshops, and parents' evenings, and this feedback is always encouraged and valued.