Mrs Julia Struthers
class teacher
Mrs Gill Pickford
class teacher
Leadership and intent of the EYFS at West Rainton
At West Rainton Primary School, we absolutely adore the early years! So much so, that we jumped at the challenge of opening our own governor-led nursery in 2016, which we’ve since grown into two-year-old, pre-school and 30 hours provision. We are confident that we provide a well-balanced, wholesome education for our very youngest pupils.
The EYFS is a wonderful part of school, which prepares our pupils well for their future. Every child deserves the very best start in life and we are committed to ensuring that this is at the very heart of our learning experiences and provision at WRPS. There are three magic words that we believe are fundamental in every aspect of our learning…safe, secure and happy.
Our youngest pupils are extremely lucky to have two passionate, reflective leaders in the early years at West Rainton Primary School.
Please see full pen profile for subject leaders here:
The content of our brand new EYFS curriculum has been mapped out carefully, with an ethos of ever-evolving change at the heart of the curriculum. The changes for September 2021 have already been embedded into our practice. Our curriculum is our pride and joy! It seeks to provide:
- quality and consistency in our setting, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind.
- a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly.
- partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers
- equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported
How the EYFS is embraced at West Rainton
At West Rainton Primary School, we believe that every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured when supported appropriately. We aim for our children to learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. Also, we know that children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers. In addition to this, we have a good understanding of the fact that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. Through everything that we do, we fully embrace the inclusive practice that is already highly commended at WRPS, through accolades such as being an inclusive ‘Centre of Excellence’ school. Our children with additional needs are planned for very carefully, and we ensure that these children are able to access an appropriate curriculum in the early years for them. This is in partnership with our school SENDCo, Mrs Firth, who has lots of experience of supporting children in the early years.
The children in our early years classrooms experience a balance of child initiated and adult led tasks, adapted to meet the needs and wants of our very youngest pupils.
We are absolutely thrilled to have 2 year old provision, which is a fantastic experience for our pupils, as well as 3-4 year old provision, including 30 hours for pupils who qualify.
Aiming high
In Early Years we have a high expectation of all children and have created a challenging, enriching and varied curriculum. We have written our own curriculum based on our children’s needs and interests. We have a secure and welcoming environment where children are active and inquisitive learners, are confident to ask questions and take risks.
Skills for learning and life
In Early Years we promote independence and develop strong pathways for communication and language development through our Communication Friendly settings status. We work cooperatively to build strong relationships with children and their families.
Growing healthily
In Early Years our children’s health and well-being is paramount. Our children are encouraged to talk about and express their feeling in a safe environment. They are given a wide range of experiences to develop a healthy body and mind. We model positive attitudes and relationships.
Knowledge of the world
Our Early Years curriculum promotes an understanding of cultural differences, celebrations and traditions. We celebrate differences and promote each individual child. We carefully plan throughout the year a range of trips, visitors and parent sessions to enrich the children’s wider experiences.