Early Years Provision

Early Years Provision

At Lower Farm Primary School we believe every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five has a major impact on their future life chances. High quality early learning provides the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. We recognise that the Early Years are critical in a child’s development, we believe all children should be given the opportunity to experience the best possible start to their education. Children learn best when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met and when they have positive relationships with the adults caring for them. 

We are a large Early Years of 60 reception children split into 2 classes, a 52 place nursery with funded 15 and 30 hour places and a 2 year old provision (First Farmers) with up to 16 funded spaces.

At Lower Farm we want children to develop a good level of development demonstrating a secure grasp of the basic skills of reading, writing and maths and develop the prime skills needed to be successful life-long learners. We believe that developing children’s communication and language skills are crucial to ensure success in all other areas. We value the diversity of individuals within the school and do not discriminate against children because of ‘differences’. All children at Lower Farm Primary School are treated fairly regardless of race, religion or abilities. All children and their families are valued within our school. 

Curriculum

We follow the statutory framework for Early Years Foundation stage and Non-statutory guidance Development Matters. Staff in Early Years work closely with subject leads throughout the school to ensure the EYFS curriculum prepares children for the next stage of their education.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/development-matters--2

Staff have attended training by National Literacy Trust, Learning Language and Loving It and Walsall Thrive Together Stronger Practise Hub, NCETM, Essential Letters and Sounds and Billesley Research School  to ensure the best evidence based practise is used. 

The curriculum is split into 7 areas of Learning. The Long Term Plan sets out learning intentions over the year through broad topics and we work hard to harness children’s natural enthusiasm by planning activities which link to the interests of the children. Each topic has related texts, possible interests and celebrations. In addition to this children follow Number Sense and then NCETM Maths program and Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics scheme.

We work hard to ensure the environments within the EYFS have defined, accessible areas/zones that offer a range of play opportunities, experiences and continuous provision. These enabling environments promote curiosity and create positive attitudes to learning.

Outdoor Learning

Learning outside provides children with unique opportunities and experiences and at Lower Farm we believe outdoor learning has equal value to indoor learning.  Supported by adults our children enjoy many exciting learning experiences outdoors.  All of the EYFS classrooms have access to outdoor learning environments and we also make good use of our forest, and enjoy Forest Schools sessions.

Parents as Partners

At Lower Farm we value highly the input and contribution of our parents and enjoy developing warm and positive working relationships with our families.

Each week a learning overview is shared with parents with a ‘Home Learning’ section. Staff regularly post information, helpful tips and modelled exampled of activities on Class Dojo, our information sharing platform. 

Workshop sessions give you a clear understanding of how the children are taught and how you can best continue to support them when at home. 

Breadth of Experiences

We love to give our children the widest range of learning experiences possible – be it a windy walk to collect fallen leaves, a road safety walk or a visit from the “Animal Man”.  We strive to make an exciting learning experience out of a seemingly mundane experience to us adults and to broaden the horizons of our children accordingly.

Sustained Shared Thinking

Sustained Shared Thinking is crucial to ensure that our children are experiencing high-quality teaching and therefore learn well.  In EYFS we are keen to develop these skills and encourage our children to take part in sustained shared thinking conversations at the earliest possible opportunity to allow them to have the best start to their school career and make the most of the learning opportunities made available to them for the rest of their lives.  Sustained shared thinking is about engaging in extra talk – rather than just responding to directions.

It is defined by Professor Iram Siraj Blatchford as an episode in which two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities or extend a narrative.  Some of the strategies our staff use to develop these crucial thinking skills include – 

• Tuning in – listening carefully to what is being said, observing body language and what the child is doing

• Showing genuine interest – giving their whole attention to the child, maintaining eye contact, affirming, nodding and smiling

• Using encouragement to further thinking – eg “you have really thought hard about where to put the windows in your palace – where will you put the windows?”

If you would like further information please speak to Mrs Swain (Early Years Leader) or any of the EYFS staff who would be happy to discuss this further.