Throughout the Early Years at Blaydon West Primary School we believe in providing children with a safe and stimulating environment where children flourish and where play and learning is combined. We understand the importance of practical learning experiences and strive to equip children with a love of learning and a natural curiosity. Here at Blaydon West Primary School we value the importance of the outdoor environment to develop children’s thinking, physical and problem solving skills. We are committed to giving our children the best possible start to their school life, teaching them skills which ensure their well-being now and success in the future.

In Nursery and Reception, we follow the Early Years Foundation stage curriculum. There are 7 areas of learning and 17 Early Learning Goals which the children are assessed against at the end of Reception.

The 3 prime areas are fundamental and ensure that children can develop in all other areas, these include: –

• Personal, Social and Emotional development
• Communication and Language development
• Physical Development

The specific areas include essential skills and knowledge and enable the prime areas to be strengthened and applied, these include: –

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

The characteristics of effective learning thread through all areas of learning and are a fundamental part of children’s development. The characteristics of effective learning are: –

Playing and exploring (engagement)

• Finding out and exploring
• Playing with what they know
• Being willing to have a go

Active learning (motivation)

• Being involved and concentrating
• Keeping on trying
• Enjoying and achieving what they set out to do.

Creating and thinking critically (thinking)

• Having their own ideas
• Making links
• Choosing ways to do things.

We know that all children learn at different rates and in different ways. We use observations to carefully assess children’s skills and knowledge and from these observations and assessments, we can plan the next steps for each individual child and provide experiences to fill any gaps. We recognise the importance of working in partnership with parents and carers and we are committed to promoting positive relationships between home and school. Parents and carers are a child’s first teacher and have a crucial role in their development before and during their time at school. By working in partnership we can all support our children in every step of their learning journey.