Our Vision for Early Years

Children

In Reception at Heathcote Primary School our children are happy.  They are excited and motivated to learn through rich and challenging learning experiences; opportunities to explore and take risks, and first-hand experiences. We have high ambitions for all our children and recognise that children have different starting points to their learning. We plan according to children’s stage of development so all can thrive and develop. We aim for children to be well-rounded individuals who are independent, resilient, and confident in themselves and with others.

 

Parents 

Our partnership with parents means that parents have the opportunity to work closely with our Early Years team to support children’s transition into the setting. We would like parents to feel secure in the knowledge that their child is well cared for and happy at school. Our parents are welcome to be actively involved in their children’s learning in school and are able to share learning experiences through 'Tapestry', which is our online learning journey platform. We recognise that parents are the first educators in children’s lives and value contributions to judgments about children’s development. We use this information to support our assessments and share information about what children need to do next to develop and thrive.

Early Years Foundation Stage

The EYFS is a very important stage in a child’s life as it helps prepare for school ‘readiness’ as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. Children’s early years experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care and learning needs.  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 before the age of five will have a major impact on their future life chances.

The EYFS framework explains how and what children will be learning to support their healthy development and provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

The EYFS specifies requirements for learning and development and for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. 

Children will learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Communication and Language
  • Speaking
  • Listening
  • Understanding
  • Asking questions
  • Taking turns
  • Role play
  • Circle time
  • Listening games
  • Show and tell
Personal Social Emotional Development 
  • Making friends
  • Learning rules
  • Learning daily routines
  • Learning about other cultures and respect
  • Understanding boundaries
 
 
Physical Development
  • Gross and fine motor skills
  • Malleable area
  • Mark making area
  • Shoes and coats
  • PE – getting changed too
  • Dance
  • Outdoor area
  • Pencil control
 
Literacy
  • Phonics
  • Reading
  • Mark making
  • Recognising and writing name
  • Writing sentences
  • Guided reading
  • Story time
  • Role play
  • Rhyme activities
Mathematics
  • Counting
  • Recognising numbers and what they mean
  • Calculation
  • Shape
  • Pattern
  • Problem solving
  • Measuring
 
 
Understanding the World
  • Exploring
  • Investigating
  • Learning about other cultures, places, things that happened in the past and living things
  • Computing
  • Educational visits
  • Forest School
 
 
Expressive Arts and Design
  • Role play
  • Art
  • Painting
  • Drawing
  • Dance
  • Music
  • Singing
  • Story
  • Imagination
  • Construction