Here at Capel le Ferne Primary School we nurture ‘The Curiosity Approach’ in our Early Years setting.  This is a pedagogical approach that promotes and nurtures children's natural curiosity through a safe, comfortable, and open-ended learning environment.

Our provision offers enriching opportunities that encourage curiosity and a deeper understanding of the world by creating child-led, play-based, and vocabulary-rich learning spaces both inside and outside of the classroom.  In doing so, we ensure our children have the essential knowledge, skills, and confidence needed for future success and provide the best start to their education journey.

Early Years Reading and Phonics

Phonics is explicitly taught daily using the ‘Supersonic Phonic Friends’ phonic programme.  It is a fully systematic synthetic phonic approach scheme which ensures children develop a passion for reading and the confidence to independently apply each skill when reading and writing. They will be highly motivated to ‘read with speed’ and ‘write with all their might!’

Child-friendly characters and illustrations underpin the scheme. They are easy to remember with accompanying rhyming phrases that are consistently repeated in every lesson.  Every lesson is fun and engaging, enriched with movement, a fundamental pre-writing skill and maximising learning connections.

‘Supersonic Phonic Friends’ (SSPF) lessons are taught with rhythm and pace, promoting active engagement, making every minute count.  The mnemonics and actions promote physical participation and fun injecting life into phonics with stimulating, enchanting and brain-friendly phonics made simple, yet highly effective.  Each character is equipped with special skills to support children with their phonic progress and application into reading and writing.

Early Years Writing

Whilst writing will be explicitly taught in our daily phonics sessions, explorative writing opportunities are available during continuous provision both inside and outside of the classroom at all times e.g. chalk, whiteboards, shaving foam/glitter mark making, playdough, threading, pencils, paper, pens, painting, water pens, tweezers, puzzles, pegs, posting, tongs, hammering, Lego/bricks, small toys, puppets, role play, finger rhymes etc.

Correctly modelled letters and SSPF resources are also available to explore and on display at all times.

Clever Hands (fine motor) sessions are taught daily and resources are available for children to explore further during continuous provision sessions.

Early Years Mathematics

Whilst ‘Number’ and ‘Shape, Space and Measure’ will be explicitly taught in our daily Maths sessions, explorative Maths opportunities are available during continuous provision both inside and outside of the classroom.

Using the NCETM Mastery Approach, we teach children to count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, we add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. We also begin to solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

We learn to use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. We recognise, create and describe patterns, and explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Early Learning Goals (ELGs)

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage will learn through a play-based curriculum focusing on the following areas of prime and specific learning areas; 

• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
• Personal Social and Emotional Development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

At the end of Early Years Foundation Stage all children are assessed against the key areas called Early Learning Goals (ELGs);

Communication and Language

ELG 01 - Listening and Attention

Children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events, and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

ELG 02 - Understanding

Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

ELG 03 - Speaking

Children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Physical Development

ELG 04 - Moving and Handling

Children show good control and coordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

ELG 05 - Health and Self-Care

Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. They manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

Personal Social and Emotional Development

ELG 06 - Self-Confidence and Self-Awareness

Children are confident to try new activities, and to say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.

ELG 07 - Managing Feelings and Behaviour

Children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride.

ELG 08 - Making Relationships

Children play cooperatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

Literacy

ELG 09 - Reading

Children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate an understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

ELG 10 - Writing

Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Mathematics

ELG 11 - Numbers

Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

ELG 12 - Shape, Space and Measures

Children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Understanding the World

ELG 13 - People and Communities

Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

ELG 14 - The World

Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one to another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

ELG 15 - Technology

Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.

Expressive Arts and Design

ELG 16 - Exploring and Using Media and Materials

Children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function

ELG 17 - Being Imaginative

Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories.