EYFS Policy 2023

Introduction

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 between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

Department for Education 2021

Aims 

The aim of our EYFS policy is aligned to our whole school intent. We;

o Ensure all children feel safe, happy and included.

o Offer provision that is rich in possibilities.

o Provide children with exciting environments, enabling them to explore their interests, in order to make sense of the world in which they live.

o Value and listen to all children resulting in high levels of self-esteem and engagement.

o Teach children how to contribute positively to their own physical and mental well-being and support them in learning how to overcome challenges. o Equip children with the basic skills needed in order to read, write and understand basic number.

o Celebrate the diverse nature of our setting, developing children’s awareness of and respect for others.

o Work in partnership with parents and carers to understand and meet the needs of every child.

Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff serves a unique community which brings together children from many different backgrounds and increasingly from different countries around the world. Our children bring with them wide-ranging cultural experiences, enriching our school community. Our pupils speak many different languages. For many of our pupils, developing English language and vocabulary is a high priority, including pupils whose first language is English. It is our intention to meet these needs through an intensive absorption in rich language in all aspects of learning from the minute they join us in Nursery. Language enrichment is, therefore, central to learning across our Foundation Stage. We provide a learning experience that is bespoke to Co op Academy Clarice Cliff and to every unique cohort, based on their needs identified at baseline, emerging trends and our continual gap analysis that supports our planning and provision. Each child has their individual starting points which we value and recognise.

Our Values and The Four Ways of Being 

We are proud to be a part of The Co-op Academies Trust. The Co-op was founded on a set of values that we embrace. These are Equality, Equity, Solidarity, Honesty, Openness, Caring for others, Self-help, Self-responsibility, Social responsibility and Democracy.

We also teach the children about the Four Ways of Being, referring to them whenever possible, to ensure that children develop a good understanding of the meaning and implications of each one.

These are:

● Be yourself, always

● Do what matters most

● Show you care

● Succeed together^[a] 

Legislation 

This policy is based on requirements set out in the 2021 statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This document also complies with our funding agreement and articles of association.

The structure of EYFS

We have a sixty place Nursery and offer full-time places for all children where appropriate. We provide 30 hours per week of free nursery education between 9am and 3:00pm. We have three intakes over the year so children can join in September, January or April after they turn 3 years old. In Nursery, the children are split into key worker groups led by our experienced Early Years Practitioners and a highly experienced qualified teacher. Our Nursery has their own large classroom which is skillfully set up to optimise children’s learning experience. We have a purpose built outdoor area, which is carefully planned to enhance children’s learning and development. All Nursery children access this regularly throughout the day.

We have a sixty place Reception and offer full-time places for all children between 8:50am and 3:20pm. There are two qualified teachers and two experienced Early Years Practitioners across Reception. Our experienced EYFS team is led by our Early Years^[b] leader who also teaches in Reception. Reception children are taught across two classrooms and have use of a shared learning bay. Reception have access to a designated zone of the outdoor area during learning time and have access to the wider outdoor area during lunch time^[c].  

also share our purpose built EYFS outdoor area with Nursery and also children access this daily.

Please see the Co-op Academies Trust safer recruitment policy for how a quality workforce is ensured.

The Curriculum 

Our EYFS (Nursery and Reception) follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework which stipulates what we teach. The curriculum requires the children to access learning both indoors and outdoors. The framework includes seven areas of learning and development. The first three areas are important to allow the children to show curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, develop further self-esteem and form relationships that will allow them to thrive. These areas are called ‘Prime areas’. Prime areas are:

● Communication and Language– Listening, Attention and Understanding and Speaking;

● Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Self-Regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships;

● Physical Development–Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills;

The other four areas of learning are referred to as ‘Specific areas’. These areas help to develop essential skills and knowledge for children to participate successfully in society. Specific areas are:

● Literacy–Comprehension, Word Reading and Writing;

● Mathematics –Number and Numerical Patterns;

● Understanding the World–Past and Present, People, Culture and Communities and The Natural World;

● Expressive Arts and Design–Creating with Materials and Being Imaginative and Expressive.

Each area of learning is implemented through a mixture of carefully planned direct teaching and purposeful play in which practitioners consider-the individual needs, interests and development of each child.

In planning and guiding the children’s activities all practitioners observe and reflect on the different ways that the children learn. These are formally known as the characteristics of effective learning and are described using the following three key characteristics:

● Playing and exploring–how the child investigates and experiences things, or their ‘have a go’ attitude;

● Active learning–how the child concentrates and can keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy their own achievements;

● Creating and thinking critically–how the child has and develops their own ideas, makes links between their ideas, and develops strategies for doing things.

We have well established safety procedures in place to ensure that all of our children are safe and happy at school. On entry to Nursery, all children are assigned to key worker groups so that the children can develop good relationships with an adult, ensuring that their pastoral and developmental needs are met to a very high standard. For children in Reception, their key worker is their class teacher. It is important to note that all adults build strong relationships with all children across the Foundation Stage.

We effectively plan and design an early year’s curriculum that not only meets the emerging needs of the children but also supports, extends and develops curiosity and engagement with learning. Long term planning is frequently improved to ensure that it is well sequenced and progressive. Our planning is responsive and flexible, ensuring that we cater to emerging needs, interests and fascinations. The curriculum is planned to ensure that the unique child is considered. The sequence of the curriculum builds on prior knowledge of the child from their nursery and home experience.

In both Nursery and Reception, we have an overarching topic that the children are immersed in to offer a deeper learning focus. Through careful planning, we build on the ideas and interests of the children within each topic, responding to them in different ways to enable us to support each child’s learning and development. Opportunities for the children to access learning both indoors and outdoors are provided daily. Language enrichment is

central to learning across our curriculum and we have a strong focus on teaching children the basic skills. We prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of open ended provision indoor and outdoors, through songs, nursery rhymes, stories and providing time for quality interactions between adults and between peers. Trained staff ensure that interactions are positive and progressive, allowing children to flourish and gather words at pace in order to become confident communicators. Staff run effective communication programmes such as Early Talk Boost and Talk Boost which enhance communication, vocabulary and expressive skills.

The children learn and develop their social skills, communication and language skills and their gross and fine motor skills across the Foundation stage but there is a particular focus on this within the Nursery of our school. This continues into Reception but there is a greater balance with the other areas of learning. The children also have daily Literacy, Maths and Phonics sessions, as well as opportunities to follow their interests within each topic. Each Literacy unit is planned around a high quality text. Children are encouraged to become early readers through enjoyment of books and the systematic teaching of our phonics programme, Little Wandle Letters and Sounds. We also place a very high importance on story time within our curriculum and both Nursery and Reception will engage with high quality story time, a minimum of once daily. Each class has a set of high quality core story books to enjoy within story times which are different to their key Literacy texts. They will read these books regularly throughout the year, so that they have a bank of familiar stories and begin to develop a love of reading.

Topic Overview (Deeper learning focus^[d])

Assessment and moderation in EYFS 

On-going formative assessment is at the heart of effective early years practice. Every child, on entry to our setting will be assessed across all areas of the EYFS framework, to form a baseline assessment of children. We use the DFE Development Matters (2021) to support our assessment. Staff observe pupils to identify what they can and can't do, their interests and their learning styles. These observations are used to identify the children’s next steps right from the start of their induction to the school. On entry to school, a trained practitioner will also screen your child which enables us to identify any children who may need early speech and language support through a bespoke program that is delivered in liaison with a trained Speech and Language therapist.

Across EYFS, staff observe a range of everyday activities, planned activities and use information from parents about what their child does at home. This ongoing assessment allows practitioners to plan according to the children’s next steps to move your child’s learning forward. Throughout their time in EYFS Children are encouraged to reflect on their learning, supporting children’s long term memory and acquisition of knowledge. Any ‘notable achievements’ are recorded on each child’s Class Dojo portfolio. We do not expect that staff will record everything that your child does in school, as we believe that staff time is better spent giving their full attention to engaging in high quality interactions with your child. Staff are always happy to talk to parents about their child’s achievements and share their progress or to answer any questions that you may have. Staff knowledge gained through observations, photographs, videos, work produced by the children and discussions with parents all fit together to give a holistic judgement of each child’s progress. A summative record of children’s progress across the EYFS is completed termly by the teachers and Early Years Practitioners. This provides an ongoing record of children’s progress from entry into Nursery, until the end of Reception. It is the role of all EYFS Staff to contribute to children’s portfolios and observations, summative assessments, target setting and tracking.

Regular pupil progress meetings and moderation^[e] of judgements led by our EYFS leader, ensure that all staff feel confident in discussing each child’s progress and identifying their next steps. This enables all practitioners to contribute effectively to children’s next steps and shape the curriculum planning accordingly, to best meet the needs of your child. We also engage with moderation across the academy trust, this quality assures our judgements and enables us to draw on advice of the team of experts we have across the trust.

Admissions 

As stated above, we have a sixty place Nursery and offer full-time places for all children where appropriate. We provide 30 hours per week of free nursery education between 9am and 3:00pm. We have three intakes over the year so children can join in September, January or April after they turn 3 years old.

We have a sixty place Reception and offer full-time places for all children. You can apply on your local authority website for a place in our Reception. Places are limited by the number of children we can (legally) accept in each year group.

Oversubscription Criteria:

All applications are managed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Places will be offered up to but not exceeding the PAN. Regulations also require that reception and infant classes must have no more than 30 pupils to each qualified teacher.

Children with an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) will be admitted to the school named on their plan. These children are assigned places before the oversubscription criteria is applied.

When there’s more applicants than places:

It is the academy’s policy to try and meet parents’ wishes where possible, however, in some cases, there may be more applications than there are available.

If the total number of preferences for admission to our academy exceeds the Published Admission Number of 60 (PAN), the following order of priority is used to allocate the available places:

1. Children in care and children who ceased to be in care because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order), including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.

2. Children living in the catchment area of the academy who have an older brother or sister attending at the time of admission.

3. Other children living within the catchment area of the academy.

4. Children living outside the catchment area of the academy who have an elder brother or sister at the academy at the time of admission.

5. Children who live nearest to the academy as determined by a straight line measurement from the child’s home address point to the main entrance of the academy.

Transition and Induction 

Our main induction for Nursery children is in September. Our induction process is as follows:

● Our practitioners visit children and families in their home setting;

● Foundation practitioners meet with and/or contact pre-school practitioners (if applicable);

● Parents are invited to an open evening/meet the teacher to find out information about our setting;

● Parents and children are invited to Stay and Play sessions so that parents and children can visit and play in their new classroom.

When children join the school, a personalised induction will be used to allow children to adjust to their new surroundings and feel confident to leave their parents. This will take place over the first two weeks of the school year. Every child’s induction will be individualised to meet their needs and the arrangements for each child’s induction will be shared with parents at the home visits and during other transition events.

The children moving from Nursery to Reception will spend a number of transition sessions familiarising themselves with practitioners and their new environment before the end of the summer term.

Children who move from Reception to Year 1, also spend a number of transition sessions familiarising themselves with practitioners and their new environment before the end of the summer term. This is managed carefully and tailored to the children’s needs.

Inclusion and equal opportunities 

At Clarice Cliff, we value all of our children, irrespective of their ethnicity, culture, religion, home language, background, ability or gender. We plan our curriculum to meet the needs of the individual child and support them at their own pace. We cater for a wide range of needs and take into account the diverse needs of both boys and girls, of children with disabilities, of children from all social and cultural backgrounds, of children from different ethnic groups, and of those from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

We set realistic and challenging expectations tailored to the needs of each child, enabling most children to achieve the Early Learning Goals by the end of Reception. Where children show potential signs of having special educational needs, we strongly believe that early identification is crucial in enabling us to give the child the support that they need to access the curriculum. The school SENDCo will provide additional information and advice to parents and arrange external intervention and support as necessary. (See SEND Policy)

Across the EYFS, we have a clear focus on the development of early language. Where children are not developing language in line with their age group expectations, we provide early speech and language support through a bespoke program in liaison with a trained Speech and Language practitioner.

Safeguarding and welfare 

It is important to us that all children in our EYFS feel safe and are safe. Procedures and routines are in place to ensure that all children are safe in our setting. We aim to educate children about boundaries, rules and limits to help them develop their personal and social skills. We have high expectations of behaviour so that children can play and work in harmony with their peers and adults. Children are encouraged to assess their own risks whenever possible and they are taught how to recognise and avoid hazards. In line with the Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage (September 2021), we ensure that the Early Years Welfare Requirements are met through our systems, routines, policies and procedures. We;

● Comply with statutory requirements for staff:child ratios. (These ratios increase when on school outings).

● Promote the welfare and safeguarding of children

● Promote a healthy lifestyle, preventing the spread of infection and taking appropriate action when children are ill. Fresh drinking water is available at all times. ● Communicate effectively to all staff about children with medical needs, allergies and special dietary requirements

● Administer medication in line with whole school policies and procedures ● Manage behaviour effectively in a manner appropriate for the children’s stage of development and individual needs

● Ensure all adults who look after the children or who have unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so

● Ensure that the premises, furniture and equipment is safe and suitable for purpose ● Ensure that every child receives enjoyable and challenging learning and development experiences tailored to meet their needs

● Maintain records, policies and procedures required for safe efficient management of the setting and to meet the needs of the children

● Ensure that an appropriate number of staff have had paediatric first aid training. A first aid box is accessible at all times, along with a qualified first aider. This applies to

school visits including the adult accompanying the children on the minibus. A written record is made of accidents and treatment given.

● Assign each child a key person to ensure that individual needs are met and strong relationships are developed with the child and the family

● Carry out and review risk assessments which are communicated to all staff ● Provide information for parents about the early years through sharing the policy. ● Educate children and parents about how to keep safe online

● Educate children and parents about the importance of oral hygiene ● Put in place fire evacuation procedures, which are displayed in each classroom. ● Put in place procedures for evacuation.

In the Foundation stage we adhere to the school policies regarding safeguarding and welfare. Please refer to the following documents:

● The Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

● Co-op Academies Trust Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

● Co-op Academies Trust Staff Conduct Policy

● Co-op Academies Trust Staffing and Recruitment Policy

● Health and safety Policy

● First Aid Policy

● Behaviour policy

● Data Protection Policy

● Complaints policy

● The Prevent Duty

● Keeping children Safe in Education

● Intimate care policy

● Co-op Academies Trust Whistleblowing Policy

● Co-op Academies Trust Allegations of abuse against staff

● Attendance policy

Attendance 

At Coop Academy Clarice Cliff, we place a high importance on good attendance and have the same expectations for pupils in EYFS as in the rest of the academy. We recognise our responsibilities within “Working together to improve school attendance” and the importance of working with parents to remove any barriers to attendance by building strong and trusting relationships and working together to put the right support in place. Although we recognise that a high number of pupils are not of compulsory school age, we monitor the attendance of pupils weekly in EYFS and identify any pupils who may be at risk of becoming persistently absent in the future. We also follow the procedures within our whole school attendance policy which is available on the school website.

Evidence shows that attending high quality early education has a lasting impact on social and behavioural outcomes and regular attendance within EYFS can set good practice for statutory school.

Pupils must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first. If the pupil’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates then they reach compulsory school age on that date.

Our academy recognises that attendance is a cause for concern with regards to child protection. Regular poor attendance and punctuality is an indicator of specific safeguarding

issues including neglect. Where the school has significant concerns with regard to attendance, safeguarding procedures will be followed (please see the school child protection and safeguarding policy). This could potentially result in a referral to social care (ChAD).

Parent partnership 

At Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff, we understand the importance of the parent partnership as part of the school community and the crucial role as part of their child’s learning journey. We create strong relationships through our welcome to school meetings, home visits and stay and play sessions at the start of the school year. During the school year, parents receive updates through our online learning journey, Class Dojo, and also receive Knowledge Organisers to inform them of what their child is learning, key vocabulary explained and how they can support learning at home. Parents are supported to contribute to their child’s profile through Class Dojo, at least once each half term. We also invite parents into the setting to take part in our ‘Watch me learn’ sessions and various family learning workshops throughout the year. Staff are available at the end of each day for parents to talk to if they have any queries or concerns and parents are invited to a formal meeting (parents evening) three times a year at which the teacher/Early Years Practitioner and parent discuss the child’s progress.