Early Years Curriculum
Download the latest EYFS Framework published by the Government by clicking this link
On this page we shall explain what we do throughout the different parts of the day. We are ever so busy in Ledston Class!
Our Curriculum is based on the principles of giving our youngest children the ability to be life long learners. We focus on developing the children's individual learning characteristics. We have designed our curriculum to be personal to the surrounding areas of Ledston and Castleford and the people who live in our community. Underpinning the curriculum is the thinking of leading Early Years Expert Greg Bottrill.
The three characteristics of effective learning describe the behaviours children use in order to learn.
Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and build the resilience to ‘have a go’
Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achieving
Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
The three prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children's curosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships, and thriving, underpinning the specific areas of learning.
The Prime areas:
Communication and Language
Personal, social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
There are four specific areas through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied.
The specific areas:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design
Drawing Club
Drawing Club is the approach we use in Reception. English It was created by a practitioner called Greg Bottrill and it bring the magic of story into the classroom. It is a way to share skills including fine motor,
early writing, vocabulary , maths and most importantly, imagination and excitement!
How do we teach it?
At the beginning of each week, we use a new quality text to grab the interest of the
children. We read the story and talk about the front cover, the title and make predictions
about what the story could be about. We talk about the beginning, middle and end and
we may sequence events to help them to familiarise themselves with what
happens. The texts we use will link to our topic whenever appropriate.
We learn 5 words each week which link to the text. To help the children to remember
them, we choose actions together as a class for each word. This is a way of developing
new and exciting vocabulary in context that the children may not otherwise hear. We
then encourage the children to use these words in their play.
How does Drawing Club link to writing?
Each time the children draw they have to add a 'magic button'. To make the magic work,
they have to add a secret code. This could be the sound they are learning that day, a
word, a caption or full sentences - whatever we feel they need to reinforce. The secret
code could also be a number or a maths fact.
Early Number
There are six key areas of early mathematics learning.
Long term plans 2025-2026
