Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) policy serves to outline the ethos and practise that our school adopts to ensure we meet the school’s vision, with specific references to the EYFS.
The EYFS is based upon four principles:
Our curriculum is carefully structured to provide opportunities for children to learn through a range of rich, meaningful first-hand experiences. These are purposefully planned in all areas of learning and development in the indoor and outdoor environment using play as the learning vehicle. Some learning is led by adults and some by the children themselves. Appropriate intervention by practitioners supports children to engage in the learning process and extend their learning.
Our curriculum enables children to learn and develop skills, attitudes and understanding in these areas of learning.
The Prime Areas
The Specific Areas
Achievement of these prime and specific areas of learning is by supporting children to develop the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ to include:
Every child has a right to receive high-quality input from the qualified teaching team, which includes opportunities to receive direct teaching of key knowledge and skills.
Child initiated play is an important element of the learning experience, as are high-quality interactions, guided opportunities and continuous provision, which are all featured throughout the structure of the day.
How we enact the intent and implementation of the provision is described in further detail in the EYFS 3i’s document used by staff.
We recognise that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending the children’s development and that the use of resources and the environment needs to be carefully planned. We aim to create an attractive, welcoming and stimulating learning environment which will encourage children to explore, investigate and learn through first-hand experience alongside their peers. We also aim to make it a place where children feel secure and confident and are challenged to develop their independence. Children are able to move between the indoor and outdoor learning environment throughout the school day. The environment will be layered to reflect the opportunities to develop the prime areas as foundational learning for all children.
Effective and intentional planning is the key to giving children the best chance to progress in their learning. Effective planning builds on and extends what children know and can already do. Our planning shows how the principles of the EYFS are put into practice and this is informed by observations we have made of the children, in order to understand and consider their current interests, development and learning needs. All staff who work in the Foundation Stage are involved in this process.
We make regular assessments of children’s learning and we use this information to ensure that future planning reflects identified needs. Assessment in the EYFS can take the form of long and short recorded observations and this involves the teacher, learning partner and other adults as appropriate.
Each child has a ‘Learning Journey’ which is a record of their learning through their Reception year and is linked to the Early Years Outcomes and end of year Early Learning goals. This record can be in pupil’s folders, books and online platform (e.g. Tapestry).
Parents and carers are partners in the assessment process through regular meetings with the Class Teacher, sharing their child’s learning at home and attending curriculum based workshops.
The teaching team discuss and assess learning in detail through weekly core team meetings. These are used to identify gaps and target interventions to ensure all children make progress.
Children’s safety and welfare is paramount to us and we ensure that all children in the school are ‘safe’. We help children to learn about how to keep safe, including within the local area.
We provide children with choices to help them develop important life skills. Children should be allowed to take risks, but need to be taught how to recognise and avoid hazards.
We aim to protect the physical and psychological wellbeing of all children. (See Whole School Safeguarding documentation for further information).
At Airfield Primary Academy we understand that we are legally required to comply with certain welfare requirements as stated in the Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage 2025. We understand that we are required to:
We endeavour to meet all these requirements and our robust approach to Safeguarding and Health and Safety across the school can be shown to contribute to these requirements.
Inductions are carefully planned for and time given to ensure a smooth and successful start to school. We acknowledge the child’s needs and establish effective partnerships with those involved with the child and other settings including nurseries.
For pupils joining Reception, during the Summer Term prior to starting school the following September, where possible, a member of the EYFS team will make contact with the pre-school settings to discuss each child and hold a professional conversation with their key worker. This may take the form of a telephone conversation or visit to the child’s Pre-school. Members of the EYFS team may also conduct home visits. The purpose of this is to build relationships and make connections with the child and family.
Children in Reception will join the school during a two-week transition timetable which will be communicated to the parents during the preceding summer term. The features of the transition timetable may include, ‘stay and play 1-hour parent and child sessions’, morning or afternoon classes whole class morning sessions and family picnics.
Where assessments indicate a need for additional support beyond the normal curriculum, children in the EYFS will have the opportunity to attend targeted intervention groups. These interventions include support with speech and language, communication and language (Talk Boost), personal and social skills, nurture groups, reading, writing and maths. Tools such as the WellComm Language Assessment are used to support assessment.
Any need for additional support will be fully discussed with the child’s parents and closely monitored by the school’s inclusion lead.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework places an increased emphasis on welfare and safeguarding standards, stipulating that regular staff supervision is now a statutory requirement.
As we strive to improve outcomes for all children and families, and narrow the gap in attainment of vulnerable children, safe systems and the effective management of staff performance and well-being are of prime importance.
Professionally, staff supervision has been a normal part of counselling, psychotherapy and social work practice and is increasingly to be found in related caring professions. At a time of heightened awareness of safeguarding issues, there is increasing recognition that working in the early years includes a high degree of outreach work and contact with families. Many practitioners find themselves working in unusual contexts and dealing with unpredictable and sometimes extreme issues. The need for keeping practice and practitioners ‘safe’ is a priority. If early years practitioners are to provide the kind of encouragement and support necessary for the support, development and challenge of children and families, they need to be encouraged, supported and challenged as well.
The purpose of ‘Supervision’ is:
Each member of staff will have a Key Stage Leader/ Line Manager.
Supervision will be on a termly basis – but the frequency may change depending on circumstances, such as complex child protection issues.
An agreed Staff Supervision Record form will be used to capture discussion points and decisions made.
Supervision meetings can take the form of individual or group meetings.
Supervisors may need to access external support to provide supervision of a more clinical nature (e.g. social care, counselling, speech and language therapy, infant mental health).
This policy must be reviewed by January 2027.
