Our Curriculum
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Reception class ensures that our children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. We offer our children a broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.
Areas of Learning
There are seven areas of learning and development. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. The seven areas are broken down into the prime and the specific areas.
Prime Areas
The prime areas are important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.
These are the prime areas:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development
Specific Areas
The specific area are where the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.
These are the specific areas:
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
Communication and Language
The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning. At Newick School we read frequently to children, and engage in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and provide our children with extensive opportunities to use and embed new vocabulary. Through conversation, story-telling and role play, children are given the opportunity to share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.
Physical Development
Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. At Newick we provide and create opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, coordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye coordination, which is later linked to early literacy.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. At Newick we support our children to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. At Newick our children learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.
Literacy
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).
Mathematics
Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. At Newick we provide frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames and Rekenreks (a counting abacus frame) for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. At Newick, It is important that our children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
Understanding the World
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words and vocabulary that support understanding across all areas of learning. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.
Expressive Arts and Design
The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. At Newick, our children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.
