‘Reaching and Believing’

Intent

At Jubilee Park, our EYFS curriculum aims to provide our pupils with strong foundations for their future learning with a curriculum that provides inter-connectedness and where language, communication and reading is valued and promoted as the vehicle to access all other learning. We create a safe and happy environment, with motivating and enjoyable learning experiences, that enable children to become confident and independent. Children are encouraged to demonstrate our school STARS values and British values towards one another and are taught to value the differences among their peers. We nurture the individual child and work alongside parents and other professionals to meet their needs and help every child to reach their full potential. 

The EYFS is based on four overarching principles:

1. Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
2. Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
3. Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their experiences and needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers; and
4. Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates.

It is through our approach, curriculum, research and partnership with parents that we implement and embed these principles.

Meet the Team

                                                                                Miss R. Pritchard B.Ed (Hons) QTS, MA, NPQH 

Miss Pritchard has twenty years of experience in teaching across Sandwell and Birmingham from EYFS to Year 6. Qualifying with a first class B.Ed (Hons) degree with QTS, she has a particular interest in maths across the EYFS and primary phase going on to complete a Master’s degree with a maths cognitive research focus. Miss Pritchard is passionate that every single child has a love for learning and finds and develops their own interest and talent as well as developing their curiosity and independence in preparation for the next stage of their journey to KS1. She also holds an NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) and is just as passionate about staff development using research-informed strategies to impact positively on pupil outcomes.

                              Miss J. Bennett BA (Hons) PGCE, QTS

Miss Bennett holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and a PGCE in Primary Education. She has experience working in both nursery settings and across Reception and Key Stage 1. She is especially passionate about early literacy, learning through play, and supporting children’s wellbeing. Miss Bennett creates a warm, inclusive, and engaging classroom where every child feels valued, safe, and supported. She believes that positive relationships are at the heart of successful learning, and takes time to get to know each child as an individual. Through a nurturing and responsive approach, she helps children feel confident and secure, which enables them to flourish both socially and academically. She works closely with families to build strong home-school partnerships, recognising the vital role parents and carers play in a child’s learning journey. Miss Bennett also collaborates with colleagues to ensure a consistent and thoughtful approach to each child’s development. She is dedicated to encouraging independence, curiosity, and a love of learning. Through play-based experiences and carefully planned opportunities, she supports children in exploring the world around them, developing key skills, and becoming enthusiastic, resilient learners. Her aim is to help children thrive and grow in their first years at school, laying the foundation for future success.

Miss K. Keeling

Miss Keeling has 36 years of experience in education qualifying with a NNEB distinction in child education. She is a dedicated practitioner and has worked in various settings across Sandwell, specialising in EYFS. Miss Keeling is a passionate practitioner and leader and became an Extended Schools Manager where she ran out of hours after school clubs with staff and children developing enrichment activities. As well as being a passionate educator, Miss Keeling has taken part in a trial for the speech and language programme SALLEY enhancing the acquisition of literacy skills and later trained to use the WELLCOMM programme to support pupils in EYFS. Miss Keeling is dedicated to developing speech and language and has recently trained as a 'Talk Boost' practitioner to keep up to date with communication and language research and developments. Miss Keeling has positive working relationships with all members of staff and demonstrates exquisite team-building skills to effectively enhance first-quality teaching. Miss Keeling is passionate that every child develops their language skills to positively impact their confidence and independence ready for the next step of their journey. 

Miss H. Weaver

Miss Weaver is a teaching assistant and cover supervisor with thirteen years of experience, holding a diploma in Childcare and Education. She has worked across EYFS and the primary phase embedding teaching and learning and encouraging and developing pupil confidence across all areas of learning. Miss Weaver has a particular interest in phonics and reading and has attended various training courses focused on early reading and phonics within EYFS and KS1, using her knowledge and skills to contribute to the growth and development of all pupils. Miss Weaver is passionate about creating a positive and engaging learning environment whereby all pupils succeed. She also has positive working relationships with all members of staff and collaborates effectively to enhance quality first teaching. 

Mrs. K. Shuker-Gaskin

Mrs Shuker-Gaskin has 34 years of experience qualifying with a NNEB distinction in child education. She is an enthusiastic educator and has worked in various settings across EYFS and the primary phase, supporting teaching and learning. Mrs Shuker-Gaskin is very creative and has supported many children to develop their artistic talents and actively encourages creativity amongst all the pupils she teaches. As well as a devoted educator, Mrs Shuker-Gaskin is trained to deliver the WELLCOMM programme to help identify and support pupils in EYFS with their communication and language skills. Mrs Shuker-Gaskin is dedicated to developing speech and language and has recently trained as a ‘Talk Boost’ practitioner to support pupils in developing their language skills further. Mrs Shuker-Gaskin has positive working relationships with all members of staff and nurtures and encourages her fellow colleagues through collaborative processes enabling effective environments and staff development.

Miss N. Morgan

Miss Morgan is a teaching assistant with seven years experience, holding a diploma in supporting teaching and learning. She has worked with many pupils across the primary phase, especially on a one-to-one basis. Miss Morgan has a particular interest in nurture and has embedded her social skills training to support pupils' well-being and confidence. Miss Morgan is passionate about supporting pupils with additional needs and has enabled positive social skills progression for all pupils. Miss Morgan has recently trained as a 'Talk Boost' practitioner in order to continue to support pupils' communication and language skills and works closely with all members of staff to embrace the opportunity to develop learning outdoors. 

Curriculum

There are seven areas of learning and development that must provide a framework for planning, teaching and assessing in the early years. All areas of learning and development are inter-connected.

The three prime areas are:

1. Communication and Language: children will be given lots of opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; to speak and listen in a range of situations.
2. Physical Development: children will be provided with opportunities to be active and interactive; to develop their co-ordination, control and movement. Children will be taught the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
3. Personal, Social and Emotional Development: practitioners help children develop a positive sense of themselves and others; forming positive relationships and develop respect for others; develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; understand appropriate behaviour in groups, and have confidence in their own abilities.
   There are also four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.

There are also four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:

1. Literacy: children will be taught to link sounds and letters through our phonics programme and learn to begin to read and write. Children will be given access to a wide range of reading materials to ignite their interest as well as having daily storytelling sessions.
2. Mathematics: children will be provided with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, and to describe shapes, spaces and measures.
3. Understanding the World: children will make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
4. Expressive Arts and Design: children will explore and play with a range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

Implementation of the Curriculum

The curriculum is planned through a series of themes that reflect and respond to the children’s interests, offering experiences in all areas of the curriculum and which carry equal importance to provide a broad and balanced curriculum with opportunities for play and child- initiated activities. We base our teaching on our observation of children’s needs, interests, and stages of development across the seven areas of learning to enable the children to achieve and exceed the early learning goals as well as develop their executive function skills. All the seven areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.

Reggio Emilia

The curriculum is delivered using the ‘Reggio Emilia’ approach and utilises six key values which the curriculum is delivered through. These are:

• Relationships
• Creativity
• The Learning Environment
• Time to learn and explore
• Learning and Teaching
• Reflective practice

We provide a stimulating, natural multi-sensory learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, in which children are offered hands-on experiences and a range of resources. The environment caters for their needs and interests facilitated by practitioners who really know their children. The environment is carefully designed to stimulate the senses and captivate young minds. Natural materials, such as wood, shells and cones are present inviting children to touch, feel and connect with the world around them. These materials provide endless possibilities for open-ended play and creative expression.

Through well-planned activities we build on prior learning, recapping and revisiting concepts throughout the year as a whole-class, in small groups, pairs and on a one-to-one basis. Structured programmes for The Write Stuff (TRS), RWI phonics and White Rose Maths are tracked closely and evaluated/reviewed regularly through effective use of assessment information. Visits, visitors and the local community are also utilized where possible to enrich the curriculum and we aim to work in partnership with parents and carers as fully as possible through Parent Workshops and 1:1 meetings.

Providing experiences and opportunities through Cultural Capital

Cultural capital in EYFS is about celebrating and building on the early experiences that each parent has provided for their child and it aims to build on and provide other new opportunities to be curious, explore, try new things and experience awe and wonder. The aim of cultural capital is to create possibilities for children's knowledge, understanding and abilities to be developed and extended through new opportunities and experiences. This gives children the best possible start to their education and promotes future success. 

Please take a look at our overview below to see some of the ways we provide this at Jubilee Park Academy as well as through day-to-day teaching and learning experiences and opportunities. 

Take a look at the videos and photos below to see our EYFS in action.

Impact

The success of our curriculum is evaluated by how effectively children can use, apply, and retain the knowledge and skills they have learned ready for their next stage of learning. This includes measuring their engagement in learning and their overall confidence. As part of this process, we use various monitoring and assessments methods throughout the year to help us regularly evaluate and be reactive to provide any additional support so our children ‘keep up so they don’t have to catch up.’ Ultimately, the greatest measure of impact is seen in our children’s enthusiasm, independence and curiosity which will give them the strong foundation and self-belief they need to build on their future learning and success.

Parents as Partners

We recognise that parents are children’s first and most enduring educators and we value the contribution they make. We recognise the role that parents have played and their future role, in educating their child and in helping them to succeed. We do this through:

• Home visits.
• Stay and play sessions.
• Key workers assigned to children to inform parents weekly of children’s progress.
• Parents’ Evenings and 1:1 meetings.
• Inviting all parents to an induction meeting during the term before their child starts full-time school.
• Ensuring parents receive a written end of year report on their child’s attainment and progress.
• Encouraging parents to talk to the child’s teacher if there are any concerns.
• Arranging a range of activities throughout the year that encourage collaboration between child, school and parents which includes: celebration assemblies, class assemblies, parent pop-ins and sports day.

We know that this strong partnership between home and school supports a child’s education and brings real-world experiences and diverse perspectives to enrich learning beyond the classroom.

At Jubilee Park Academy, we value this partnership and welcome parents into school to take part in workshops to learn more about the strategies and approaches we use so you can support your child at home. We also understand that you may not be able to attend every workshop or would like to refresh some of the information we have shared so please take a look at the videos below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of the team.

Phonics and Reading Guidance for Parents