THE SEVEN AREAS OF LEARNING

There are seven areas of learning and development that shape our educational programme in the EYFS. All areas of learning and development are important and interconnected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. These three areas, the Prime Areas, are:

• Personal, Social & Emotional Development

• Communication & Language

• Physical Development

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Who we are, our relationships with others and how we feel are the foundations for our lives. Developing a positive sense of self is key to children’s wellbeing and resilience, which we know have a significant impact on their learning and achievement. Children’s self-confidence and their potential to think and learn are influenced by their sense of self, their emotional understanding and the quality of their relationships. Personal, social and emotional development are therefore crucial to children in EYFS as they are fundamental to all other aspects of lifelong learning.

Communication & Language

Young children depend on interactions with responsive others to become confident communicators and language users. Communication and language are the foundations for learning and development, supporting independent thinking and emerging literacy skills. A language-rich environment is crucial for supporting children as they explore sounds, symbols and words in their everyday world. Through ongoing, varied and positive experiences, we give our children opportunities to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. We recognise that for many of our children, English is a second or third language and that their first language provides the roots to learning additional languages. With this in mind, we encourage parents to continue to use their home language as it strengthens their child’s language proficiency when they engage with new environments.

Physical Development

Children’s learning and development is underpinned by physical development. Engagement with extensive physical experiences supports the development of neurological, sensory and fine motor skills that are essential for positive body image. Physical development includes health, wellbeing and self-care. We help our children to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food. Twice a week, under the guidance of a specialist teacher, our children participate in physical activities whilst practising the rules of safety, cooperation and gross motor skills development. Throughout the day, our children are engaged in activities that promote the development of fine and gross motor skills, which must develop together so that children can achieve what they set out to do. These activities are also crucial to building firm foundations for mark-making and writing.

We also support our children in four Specific Areas, which are strengthened and influenced by the Prime Areas. The Specific Areas are:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts & Design

Literacy

In FS-1 and FS-2, literacy focuses on understanding and being understood. This is achieved by developing in the children the skills to interpret, create and communicate meaning through writing and reading in different media. Our children have access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems and other written materials) to ignite their interest and to encourage a love of reading. In FS-1 and FS-2, the children link letters and sounds and begin to read and write. Our reading, writing and spelling programme, Read Write Inc. (RWI), is a multifaceted approach to developing early literacy skills and complements the childinitiated learning within the environment.

Mathematics

Early mathematical understanding is acquired through repeated experiences using hands-on materials in enjoyable, meaningful contexts. In FS-1 and FS-2, we support the children in developing their own understanding of number, quantity, shape and space. We nurture the children’s natural interests through playful exploration and high-quality interactions, and we provide them with plenty of opportunities to revisit, develop and make sense of mathematical concepts for themselves in order to build a strong mathematical foundation. We place much importance on supporting the children to develop an understanding of the value of numbers and ‘number sense’ through subitising and the use of five and ten frames. Our aim is to ensure the children in EYFS work towards ‘number sense mastery’ as this will enable them to approach the concepts and ideas that emerge in Key Stages 1 and 2 with greater confidence and success.

Understanding the World

Through our Discovery units and concept-based planning, we guide our children to explore and make sense of their expanding world and their community. Children in EYFS learn through regular and direct contact with the natural, man-made and virtual environments by collaborating with others, inquiring, problem-solving and shared, sustained thinking. Our active involvement with the local community supports the children in developing responsibility and respect for diversity. Our experiential learning opportunities, including Forest and Beach School and woodwork (Carpenters’ Cabin), provide the children with first-hand involvement with the natural world, developing a sense of ecological balance, environmental care and sustainability. ‘Understanding the World’ supports learning about our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse environment and how to stay safe within it.

Expressive Arts & Design

We enable our children to explore and experiment with a wide range of media and materials; we also provide opportunities and encouragement for the children to share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of experiences in art, music, drama and imaginative play. Our ateliers play an important role in facilitating opportunities for exploration and creativity. The children visit the ateliers to learn new skills as well as to experiment with different forms of media and materials. ‘Expressive Arts & Design’ fosters imagination, curiosity, creativity, cognition and critical thinking. Through engagement with the arts, our children are able to improvise, collaborate, interact and engage in shared, sustained thinking.

PHONICS IN FS-1 & FS-2

Our phonics programme is inspired by Read Write Inc. (RWI), which is a synthetic phonics programme that ensures reading, writing and spelling success. At the core of RWI is the rigorous teaching of synthetic phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to sound-blend words over a short period of time, alongside letter formation and spelling. Importantly, they then read books with words they can sound-blend so that they achieve early success in reading. The more sounds they learn, the greater the range of texts they can read. RWI starts at different points in the year, depending on the cohort and child’s stage of development. It is important to ensure that children are ready to begin the phonics programme before they commence it so that they approach it with a positive outlook on reading and writing. In FS-1, we ensure plenty of opportunities for the development of pre-phonics skills, such as listening to environmental sounds, remembering and repeating rhythms and rhymes and discriminating between sounds. These opportunities continue to be available for the children to engage with as they begin the formal phonics programme, supporting the continued development of skills relating to phonics, reading and writing.

By the end of FS-2, children at the expected level should be able to recognise and write Set 1 & Set 2 sounds:

Set One Sounds

Set Two Sounds

By the end of FS-2, we aspire for the children to be able to read and know how to spell the following words:

Handwriting

One of the basic skills for writing is learning letter formation. It is very important that a child holds a pencil in the correct way. We encourage our children to hold a pencil in the ‘tripod’ grip, between the thumb and first two fingers, when they are ready and able to. Before children can begin to form letters, they need to build the correct muscles; therefore, plenty of opportunities for pre-writing skills are offered within our EYFS environments. Letter and number formation develop when your child is ready, and at DBIS we teach the children to form letters using precursive handwriting initially, which leads naturally to cursive writing as the children move into Key Stage 1. By the end of Key Stage 1, we aim for our children to be confidently writing in cursive handwriting, which supports stamina when writing throughout Key Stage 2.

Mandarin

Our EYFS children attend two lessons of Mandarin each week, one of which includes Mandarin immersion in their usual classroom environment. Native speakers have an additional native speaking class each week. The end-of-year expectations for each year group can be found below:

FS-1

Native Speakers

The children can understand and follow classroom instructions and sing songs in Mandarin. They can understand and retell the rhymes and short stories they are exposed to in school. The children can recognise the characters of the numbers 1–5. By the end of FS-1, we expect the children to have a basic understanding of Chinese culture and traditional festivals and to make connections with other cultures.

Non-native Speakers

The children can understand and follow basic instructions and are familiar with pronunciation in Mandarin. They can sing and dance to Mandarin songs and are able to count to 10. The children can understand and say words from each unit of learning, including greetings, numbers, the Chinese New Year festival, fruits and colours. They are able to express the fruits and colours they like, following verbal and non-verbal cues. By the end of FS-1, the children are expected to have an initial understanding of Chinese culture.

FS-2

Native Speakers

The children continue to develop their communication skills and enhance their pronunciation in Mandarin. They are able to memorise and sing the songs they have learnt in their lessons. The children can understand and retell the stories and poems which have been taught through their units of learning and can recognise the Chinese characters of the numbers 1–10 and some basic common characters. By the end of FS-2, the children are expected to have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and make connections with other cultures.

Non-native Speakers

The children can understand and follow basic instructions. They are able to sing Mandarin songs and understand topic-related sentences. They can count to 20 and are able to recognise and say different words associated with each unit of learning, which include family members, animals, the Chinese New Year festival, and food and drinks. The children are also able to introduce themselves. The children can engage in simple conversations related to their name, age and class. By the end of FS-2, we expect the children to have a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.

Music

In EYFS, the children explore their voices and a large variety of percussion instruments through the medium of music games and simple songs. Through building confidence in using their voices, they sing a large range of songs in unison that extend their understanding of pitch, dynamics, tempo and rhythm. The children are also encouraged to use their imagination, adopting a range of different voices and movements for characters in songs. By the end of FS-2, the children are able to sing songs in unison with their class. They also have a foundational understanding of beats and rhythm as well as experience of playing untuned percussion instruments, which prepares them for future learning in Key Stage 1.

Physical Education

To foster the physical development of our students, we provide opportunities for them to engage in physical activity and interactive play that improve their coordination, strength and movement. By focusing on locomotor skills such as running, jumping and skipping, we help our children develop balance and control of their bodies, which are important for their overall development, whilst reinforcing the importance of physical activity as an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.

By the end of FS-1, we aim for the children to develop confidence in the following areas:

• Running with spatial awareness and negotiating space successfully, adjusting speed or direction to avoid obstacles

• Balancing on one foot or in a squat momentarily, shifting body weight to improve stability

• Grasping and releasing with two hands to throw and catch a large ball, beanbag or object

• Climbing stairs and steps and moving across climbing equipment using alternate feet; maintaining balance using hands and body to stabilise

By the end of FS-2, we aim for the children to develop confidence in the following areas:

• Negotiating space and obstacles safely, with consideration for self and others

• Demonstrating strength, balance and coordination when playing

• Moving energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing