EYFS (early years foundation stage)
At Banwell Primary School we know that understanding child development is fundamental to the success of delivering our curriculum. We deliver a broad and balanced Early Years Curriculum that inspires curiosity and ensures children are ready for the next stage of their education. The curriculum is sequenced to ensure progression but importantly it is tailored to meet the needs of the cohort. By getting to know each unique child and identifying their starting points early on we are able to build positive relationships, provide the right enabling environment and skilled adult support, to ensure that every child makes good progress regardless of their starting point or level of development.
Play is an essential part or our Early Years curriculum and opportunities are provided for: play which is child-led; play which is skillfully supported and extended by adults and play which is guided towards specific learning outcomes. High quality play is enabled and supported by well organised environments, both inside and out, which respond to children’s interests, and which widen those interests by introducing children to new materials, experiences and activities.
The Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning are key to helping children develop into confident individuals who view themselves as successful learners. The characteristics: playing and exploring; active learning and creating and thinking critically; are an important part of the planning and assessment cycle. We ensure all children are given opportunities to investigate and they are encouraged to make independent choices. We ensure the environment supports children to set their own goals and use different strategies when they encounter difficulties. The skills learned provide every child with a strong foundation from which they can embrace the learning opportunities offered throughout their journey at Banwell and fosters a lifelong long love of learning.
Phonics at Banwell
At Banwell Primary School we follow Extend Letters and Sounds - a complete curriculum for phonics, early reading and writing. This is a validated systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme. Children begin this programme in EYFS and continue it into the first part of Year 2 where it is superseded by the Spelling Programme. The Phonics Programme is a 9 step approach to the systematic teaching of phonics. The central principles involve:
- Children having knowledge of the alphabetic code;
- Children having the skill to blend to read;
- Children having the skill to segment to spell;
- Children understanding these as a reversible process
