Early Years Foundation Stage
At Divine Saviour we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. It is called the Foundation Stage as it gives a solid ‘foundation’ from which to build upon your child’s learning. We believe in providing a secure foundation for future learning and development for each and every child, taking their starting point into consideration. We continuously encourage and nurture children to be independent, curious, creative and resilient learners who show respect for each other, their communities and the environment which God created for us.
Our aim is to make every child’s learning experience exciting and enjoyable by delivering a creative and stimulating curriculum, based on the skills and outcomes highlighted in the Early Years Framework. Wherever possible, learning will be linked to the interests of the children as well as providing insights and experiences of the wider world around them. Further to this, our teaching and learning approach aims to develop children’s communication skills, ensuring that they know how to appropriately express themselves, share their opinion and feel heard.
We recognise the importance of not only building a strong foundation of learning, but also strong foundations of positive relationships between the child, their family and the school. Through this, we aim to ensure that pupils feel valued as an individual created by God, are empowered to meet their own needs and enjoy their learning experience whilst achieving the Early Years Learning Goals (ELGs)
- Phonics is taught daily using the Little Wandle scheme, this scheme continues into Key Stage One.
- We introduce maths concepts through play experiences and through some short, adult led sessions.
- We plan using all areas, including outdoors. Staff take into account the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience.
Areas of Learning
Reception Class follow the Early Years Curriculum which is split into seven areas of learning.
There are 3 prime areas of learning. Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. These prime areas are:
- Personal, social and emotional development (which is all about getting along with others, sharing and taking turns)
- Communication and Language (speaking and listening)
- Physical development (this includes pencil control)
Children are also supported in four Specific Areas, through which the three Prime Areas are strengthened and applied. The Specific Areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
We teach these areas through adult-led activities and child- initiated learning (Busy Time). This ensures appropriate differentiation and challenge for all children. During Busy Time, children have access to a variety of areas both within the classroom and in the outdoor area to support their learning and develop their curiosity. These areas are enhanced with resources to challenge and stretch children’s learning. The children are also able to select from a range of free-access resources to enable them to relate their learning to their own interests.
More about Early Years at DSS
Click here to view the Reception Class page.
Click here to view Reception Class admissions.
Click here to view our curriculum overview document
Click here to view our EYFS policy
Click here to view the 'What to expect guide' for parents
Practical Letter Formation Activities
Multisensory activities hold so much potential for early writing and have a lasting impact on children. Using their senses stimulates different parts of children’s brains, making learning letter formation much more memorable and much more engaging. Every time they trace a letter with their finger, they are creating new synapse connections in their brains. Try some of these activities out with your child:
Trace letters on their backs: Trace a letter on your child’s back and have them guess and write the letter on a piece of paper. Take turns and have them trace a letter on your back.
Make Cookie Letters: Make dough letters. Have your child form the letters by rolling the dough and putting the pieces together.
Draw letters with your finger on the carpet: Remember to use visual cues and prompts as needed.
Have your children write your shopping lists: If your child is still learning to write, they may need to copy words from a paper onto the shopping list.
Roll letters on a dice: Put letters on dice and have your child roll the dice and they have to copy the letter or if they are able, try to write a word that starts with the letter.
Have them write with icing tubes: You can freeze ice cubes with some food colouring in the water to make different colours. Put a toothpick or small stick in each cube so they have something to hold on to when writing.
Write letters in sand/ rice: Writing letters in sand/ rice/ salt is a very fun way to practice letter formations. There are lots of ideas for themed sand trays on the internet!
Write letters in shaving cream: It's messy and fun, which many children will enjoy, and you can even add food colouring or glitter if you want. The shaving cream provides added tactile sensory input that can help encourage reluctant writers to give letter formations a try!
Write letters with glitter glue: Squeezing the glitter glue bottle to “trace” the alphabet with the glue adds great hand strengthening. After the glue drys, it also is a great way to practice forming the letters by using a finger to trace out the letters along the glue lines.
Using squishy sandwich bags: You will need hair gel for this one, although you could use any bathroom product with a similar consistency. Mix gently with glitter or food colouring before spooning it into a double zipper sandwich bag and sealing it tightly. Use tape to secure it to your surface and a rolling pin to spread it evenly. Oily or soapy fingers work best for this one.
Writing with water: Use paintbrushes and water to practise letter formation outside - pavements and fences work brilliantly for this!
Drawing Club
Drawing Club is an approach designed by Greg Bottrill that immerses children into a world full of imagination and joy.
It is through Drawing Club that we open up the magical world of story to children whilst at the same time enriching their language skills, developing their fine motor and sharing a really special time with them. Drawing Club is a fantastic place to start a child’s experience of school ‘Literacy’
Drawing Club is based upon the 3M principle:
Making conversation
Mark making
Mathematics.
We use a book, traditional tale or an animation as a hook for the week. Children learn new, exciting vocabulary that we revisit each day. We draw characters or settings in the first session of the week. In the second session we ‘wonder’ and innovate and let our imaginations take the lead - there is no right or wrong answer!
We add maths to our drawings by talking about shapes, doubling, halving, addition, subtraction etc… We might be drawing a troll with a traingle shaped head, 2 strong, wiry hairs on his chin and double this amount coming out of each ear. He has one more than 4 buttons on his filthy, ripped shirt. Children observe as the teacher models drawing club each morning and then get the opportunity to complete their own drawings. They are invited to wear a lanyard showing they are part of drawing club and can borrow ideas from the teacher or create their own amazing ideas to share.
One of the most exciting parts of Drawing Club is adding secret symbols and passwords to our drawings. We draw a secret symbol that can make anything happen! Sometimes we press them and aliens or unicorns become 3 times bigger, pencils turn into chocolate or hair turns multi-coloured! We then sometimes add a password to make the secret symbol work. This can be a mark, letter, digraph (2 letters that make one sound), a word or a sentence. As children make progress and become more confident with their phonics, their passwords develop and move towards phrases and sentences.