Grove Primary School

A child’s first experience of school life should be positive, where they are happy and have an enthusiasm for learning through play.  Our safe and stimulating environment creates the best opportunities for children to be successful in achieving their Early Learning Goals.

Parent partnership is key to children being successful and thriving as individuals.  Developing positive parent relationships is crucial and it is important to us that parents feel comfortable communicating with school.  Children’s educational journey begins in the Early Years, and we strive to create opportunities for our children to start building futures together.

Children’s communication and language skills are key and therefore we have a particular focus on this throughout the curriculum to ensure that children can succeed.

At Grove we want children to become school ready, and this begins with developing independence.  To become successful learners, children will be provided with the skills, knowledge, understanding, values and behaviours to allow them to succeed in school.

Our Curriculum

Within Early Years Foundation Stage, we follow the Statutory Framework for Early Years (DfE, 2021).  This framework specifies the requirements for the seven areas of learning and development which shape our educational programmes:

Communication & Language and Literacy

Children will learn to listen to each other and their teachers; they will be encouraged to talk about what they do. They will have lots of opportunities to enjoy stories and they will begin to know letters by shape and sound. They will learn phonics daily.

 Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Teaching enthusiasm for learning, this area aims to promote self esteem, encourage co-operation and concern for each other.

Physical Development

Children will have opportunities to practise skills such as cutting, drawing, running, climbing and riding bikes. They will learn how to stay healthy.

Literacy

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).

Mathematics

Developing a strong understanding of number is essential along with having a positive attitude and not being afraid to make mistakes. Numbers are used in context to help deepen their understanding. Maths is used for counting and quantities but also for measure, puting things in order and understanding values.

Expressive Art and Design

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. Children will have opportunities to explore thoughts, ideas and feelings through art, design, music, dance and imaginative play. The quality of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through arts.

Understanding the World

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. When children begin to understand their personal experiences, through interaction with adults and other children, they begin to make sense of the world.

In the Early Years, continuous provision is the main way in which children learn. At Grove, we provide continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, every day. Through play, children learn new skills and embed existing ones, they communicate with their peers and adults within the class and are allowed the space to explore and develop as a person. Teachers use the Characteristics of Effective Learning, guided by the needs of the cohort, to design and provide engaging yet accessible provision for the children. As children access our continuous provision, adults deliver focused activities and observe children learning through play to further support their development and understanding. 

Assessment in EYFS

Learning Journeys are used to create a picture of each child within EYFS.  Regular observations are carried out to inform steps achieved against the Early Learning Goals.  Daily formative assessments are made by teaching staff to reflect on children’s learning and identify the next steps for short term planning.  Summative assessment is completed termly where teacher’s use their professional judgements against Development Matters (DfE, 2021) and the Statutory Framework for EYFS.