Foundation Stage

EYFS at Longlands

At Longlands School we believe that the foundation stage is the starting point for developing positive and enthusiastic learners, which is why it is such an important phase in a child’s education.

Our Curriculum has been carefully planned with high expectations for the achievements of our children. We create ambitious targets to allow pupils to thrive in their learning alongside developing firm foundations within the 7 areas of learning, Communication and Language, Physical, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Literacy, Maths, Understanding the world and Expressive Art and Design.

The Foundation stage is the starting point for all future learning. The skills and learning from Nursery and Reception allows the children to make strong progress in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, with that in mind our curriculum has been further developed to support links to topics and learning higher up in the school.

The daily timetable in Reception and Nursery consists of a mixture of child initiated learning and adult led learning. We follow the Little Wandle phonics scheme to teach early reading, HFL essential maths, Jigsaw and Discovery RE schemes to support the adult led learning, in addition to teacher planned topic and literacy sessions around focus books. During Child initiated learning the children are given the opportunity to further extend their learning through play in a fun and engaging classroom environment, this is fundamental to them achieving a good level of development in all areas of learning in the foundation stage. Enhanced provision is changed weekly and links to the children’s interests, key dates or topic based learning.

Children at Longlands School have access to both the indoor and outdoor classroom daily, this is clearly zoned and labelled to allow children to gain independence within their learning. Inside we have a construction area, small world area, role play area, maths area, mark making area, creative area, book corner, investigation area, sensory tent and sand and water areas, all of these contribute to developing well rounded, resilient learners with a joy of playing and exploring.

In the Foundation unit we strongly believe in the unique child and different strengths each child brings to the classroom, our curriculum can offer flexibility to meet the needs of the learners and in the moment assessment allows us to plan accordingly based on the interests of the class. We regularly revisit our curriculum and the areas of learning to ensure that all children are able to access and achieve the different stages of development.

Finally, we know the importance of the parental role in early education which is why we work hard to build positive relationships with families and support them in any way we can. Families of our foundation stage children will be given the opportunity to join us in the classroom weekly to read to their child and attend craft mornings throughout the year. This is alongside daily communication, information shared in reading diaries and through the Tapestry online journal as well as curriculum meetings to ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the needs of their child’s learning at home.

EYFS Curriculum plan September 2023  

Core text list