EYFS at Locking

EYFS at Locking

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Locking Primary School

We are so excited to welcome you to Reception Class at Locking Primary School! We know that your child will be curious and excited to engage with the world around them. Their natural curiosity and desire to learn from an early age make it vital that their experiences in their first years at school are of the highest quality. The Early Years Foundation Stage at Locking Primary School will foster children’s curiosity, ignite their imaginations and provide them with outstanding opportunities to engage with their learning through first hand experiences and meaningful contexts. We can’t wait to get started!

Children will be at the centre of everything we do. Every child at Locking Primary School will be supported to reach their highest potential and Reception class is where it all begins! By creating an environment where understanding children’s needs is given high priority, our staff can plan, develop and implement opportunities for children to flourish. Staff will foster children’s individual abilities and recognise that every child is unique.

Our Curriculum

In our Foundation Stage classes we provide a play based curriculum where the highest quality staff support children to extend their learning through ‘in the moment’ planning. Staff move children’s thinking forward at the point of learning, through meaningful interactions. Children show the highest levels of engagement when they are engaged in purposeful play. Our Foundation Stage classes promote this through following children’s interests and lines of enquiry.

The Revised EYFS 2021 curriculum covers 7 areas of learning which supports the development of the whole child. Please see the links to our curriculum overview plans for more information about how we deliver our curriculum.

All 7 areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage will be promoted, with a particular emphasis on Communication and Language. Language underpins everything we do throughout our lives. It gives children a voice, and research shows that outcomes for children are greatly increased when children have a broad and rich vocabulary.

Our staff

Our youngest children deserve the highest quality staff to support them. Warm, caring, nurturing relationships are key, and the staff in our Foundation Stage classes at Locking Primary School ensure children feel safe and secure. In this way, children are ready to embrace every opportunity and are ready to learn. Passionate staff who inspire children, and create awe and wonder, are part of our core offer in our Reception class.

Our Community

We believe that parental partnerships are vitally important to the success of children’s education. Parents are a child’s first educator and as such working together will be of paramount importance at Locking Primary. By working in this way we can understand our families’ needs and have a positive impact on children’s lives. The recent COVID pandemic has shown us that having connections is vitally important, and being part of a strong community promotes well-being. As part of the ELAN Trust we already have a strong family around us. As a school, we will embrace our autonomy and individual identity, whilst benefitting from the support and experience of our well established school partners.

Our Provision

Staff will plan high quality activities which meet the needs of all children based on accurate and robust assessments. Our Foundation Stage classes will be beautiful, calm environments, full of real objects which excite and engage children. Natural resources and neutral pallets will enable the children to bring the colour. We encourage children to be outside as much as inside and fully embrace a free flow approach, where children have access to the outside learning environment for most of the day.