At Launde Primary School our intent is that through outstanding teaching and leadership we will provide the highest quality education to enable every single child to realise their full potential. Launde Primary School is a happy, lively and caring place where each child is encouraged to be Nurturing, happy, resilient and unique individuals. Each child’s uniqueness is celebrated and they are encouraged to learn in a safe and positive environment.

At Launde Primary School we have created a curriculum ensuring that powerful knowledge and skills are at the forefront of the children and the curriculum progression, to ensure all pupils, including disadvantaged and SEND pupils, receive the highest quality education possible. The Early Years curriculum is designed in conjunction with our school’s wider thematic approach using overarching themes t link in subject content where possible. We have also designed this curriculum to allow children’s interests and needs to be developed. We view the design of the curriculum as an ever evolving and developing process, which considers the needs, characters, prior learning, their experiences and the community in which the school exists. We also consider the National Curriculum and educational research that is evaluated and relevant to out school. Our curriculum is the means by which we achieve our objectives of educating children in the knowledge, skills, character muscles and understanding that they need in order for the children to lead fulfilling lives and become ready for the world in which they live in.

The Curriculum we follow in the EYFS at Launde Primary School:

Statutory requirements are outlines in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation stage (from September 2021)

There are seven areas of learning and development within the statutory framework, that are all important in their own way and are all connected. Three areas of the framework are known as the prime areas and are particularly important for children in the early years and without focus on these areas’ children would find it difficult to make further progress in any of the other areas.

These Prime Areas are:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development

The other four areas in the statutory framework are known as the specific areas. All four areas represent important features of children’s early development and are just as important as the prime areas and connect with the prime areas. If children do not have a good level of development in the prime areas they will fine specific areas of the curriculum difficult to learn and develop within.

These are the specific areas:

• Literacy (which includes reading and writing)
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive Arts and Design

Intent:

In reception here at Launde Primary School we recognise that children learn best when learning through play. We have based our reception classes on research promoted by Alistair Bryce Clegg and Greg Botterill. Through play children can explore, investigate, recreate and begin to make connections which will help them to understand their world. Through play, we believe that children can practice or use what they know and make sense of what is new. Our aim is to create a learning environment and build relationships which will support and enhance children’s curiosity, confidence and individual competency to flourish regardless of backgrounds, culture or needs. We aim to work collaboratively with parents and carers to encourage and promote a positive learning environment and culture. It is our intent that children who come into our classes in reception begin their lifelong learning journey by developing physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally whilst also embedding a positive attitude to school and a love of learning. At the start of the year we will consider all children’s starting points and needs as they begin their journey with us here at Launde Primary School. Every child has access to a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum which will prepare them for their time at school and for their future. We aim to provide children with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them for challenges they may face in Key Stage One, working very closely with Year One staff as well to make sure that the children’s learning is linked closely to the National Curriculum.

Implementation:

At Launde Primary School we will deliver a curriculum that is play based and experimental learning environment, combined with focused teaching and basic skills, to ensure that children make rapid progress before moving onto Year one. The content of our curriculum is also based on our children’s interests, strengths and next steps, designed to promote high levels of engagement and progress throughout the year. We will run our curriculum through overarching themes each term as this allows the children to make sense of their learning and to provide a context to develop their skills. It is from the children’s interests that we then broaden the content into pastures new, further widening their experiences and securing a balanced curriculum.

The children in reception are provided with lots of opportunities to access both indoor and outdoor learning and they engage in planned and focused activities as well as plenty of opportunity for child-initiated activities. We will plan and resource activities for children to learn, engage and explore. We prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment through our provision, songs, nursery rhymes, stories and providing time for quality interactions between adults and between peers. We ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and gather words at pace in order to become confident communicators.

Here at Launde Primary School we encourage children to become early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of phonics. We plan and resource our book corners to make sure that children love going into their reading areas and we endeavor to make sure that there are plentiful opportunities for children to share a book with an adult or with each other. We plan effective and fun phonics teaching for children to learn and progress within their reading, we make sure through assessment that children are progressing and immediate interventions take place for children who need it. We encourage children to make the links between phonemes and graphemes in order for them to read and write confidently by the end of reception. Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials to ignite their interest and imagination.

The children develop their mathematic thinking through direct teaching and exploration. We use PowerMaths to plan effective lessons and activities for children to develop and build on their learning. Children are encouraged through mathematics to use their communication and speaking skills. We provide children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems and describing shapes, space and measures. Within each of our classrooms there is a mathematics area where children are able to explore, investigate and initiate their own activities to promote what they are learning. We provide children with the opportunities to explore their own interests through child-initiated play and we also make sure that adults are also present doing some adult-initiated activities. We want our children at Launde Primary School to become confident mathematicians who can apply what they have learnt to real life experiences.

We have built our environment to enable our children to strengthen their core muscles through physical play, children spend time outdoors in their natural environment in all weathers. They develop their curiosity through experiences that we provide outside and these are planned carefully and children are taught how to use equipment from when they start at school. Our learning environment is adaptable and we as a team believe that this is very important in order to reflect our children’s interests and progression within their development. The children are supported to learn to work together, manage their feelings and ask questions and become curious learners in all aspects of their learning!

We understand the importance of parental involvement and from the very beginning of children being accepted into our school family parents are invited in to school and we start our journey with them. We believe that our parents have a crucial role to play in their children’s learning and education. We work hard to create strong partnerships between home and school learning. As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed at various points throughout the year, firstly with the statutory baseline and then through our own judgements, observations and the knowledge we have of our children we make our assessments of them. These ongoing assessments are used throughout the year to inform our planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all of the children throughout the year. We also share children’s learning and next steps with the parents throughout the year.

Impact:

Our curriculum and its delivery aim for children, from their starting points is to make good progress. Children in our Reception classes are making good progress throughout the year and children make progress towards the national expectations for a good level of development at the of the academic year. Here at Launde Primary School 75.3% of children have achieved a good level of development at the end of the year in 2023. Children moving onto the next stage of their learning have developed a large amount of skills and knowledge to aid them in achieving in Year One a good level of development. We have made sure an effective and strong transition into Year One has been established and we are proud that our children in reception are going into Year One with the skills and knowledge that will only make them flourish more. 

How are curriculum supports different groups of children

Pupil Premium, SEND, EAL:

Our pupil premium children will have the same access to the exciting environment as non-pupil premium children, however careful analysis of assessment will be carried out each half term. If there are any gaps in their learning these will be addressed immediately using one of smaller intervention groups. These interventions include, phonics, maths skills, fun time, social groups, speech and language, listening groups, dough disco or physical interventions like the big moves program which some of reception staff have training in.

Our key objective at Launde primary School is to use pupil premium grant to narrow the gap between pupil groups. As a school, we have a good track record of ensuring pupils make good progress. Historically levels of attainment are lower for FSM children nationally, however within our school this is not always the case.

Here are some of the ways in which the funding is used within our school:

• Quality first teaching for all areas of learning
• Additional hours to support children in class
• School visits
• School milk scheme
• A counselling services
• Mentoring
• Homework resources

Our key beliefs as a whole school is to provide a culture where staff believe in all children, there are no excuses made for under-performance and staff adopt a ‘can do’ culture to overcome any barriers.

When analyzing data, we will ensure that all staff are involved so that they are fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses across the school. This then leads to action planning for intervention groups.

We will ensure that all teaching staff are aware of who the pupil premium and vulnerable children are, and that all Pupil Premium children benefit from the funding, not just those who are under-performing. Underachievement at all levels is targeted through teachers differentiating appropriately in class as well as the intervention groups and children’s individual needs are considered carefully.

We believe that parents are integral to the academic achievements of their children. We hold parent workshops and small groups sessions in literacy and mathematics. We also make sure that we hold regular parent meetings are help face-to-face for 30 minutes is held each term to talk about their child’s development and progress. When children transition into the next year group each teacher will pass on all relevant information about any SEND and any provision/interventions required.

See below for our Foundation stage curriculum content.