‘Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold’ - Joseph Chilton Pearce
‘Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood’ – Fred Rogers
We are extremely proud of our Early Years Foundation Stage here at Pennoweth Primary School. We have one Nursery and two Reception classes with a shared outdoor learning environment. We have a huge variety of high-quality resources that enable the children to develop the skills that they need to become active learners.
We understand what makes children successful learners and make sure that we provide the children with endless opportunities to develop these skills.
Our qualified and experienced staff are strongly committed to the development of language, physical and social skills alongside the development of early reading, phonics, writing and maths. The children are enabled to learn these skills rapidly through high quality, meaningful play experiences which make learning fun!
It is our priority that children develop a positive self-awareness, an understanding and respect of themselves and others regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender.
We believe that children should receive a broad, deep and balanced curriculum. At Pennoweth we have developed a bespoke curriculum that is inspiring and creative for all our learners as well as taking into account National Curriculum requirements. As a result, we teach all of the foundation subjects in a context (where possible) and each topic is rich in experiences, opportunities for educational visits, drama, art, RE, music and P.E.
Every half-term there is a new topic for the children to learn about and explore. These topics are carefully planned and take into account the children's interests and schemas of learning. The topic usually begins with an educational visit or experience in school. The reason for this is to excite and inspire the children, whilst providing a real experience where children can see, make, handle artefacts, gather information and take part in role-play, in order to learn and understand as much as possible. These visits also help the child with their understanding and will deepen and broaden their learning across the curriculum.
Each topic reaches its conclusion with a memorable event. This can take many forms including opening a minibeast hotel, rock pooling at the beach or even staging a superhero day. These are all designed to showcase the learning that has taken place and the curriculum skills they have learned. Where possible, we invite parent and carers to join in the celebration and share their children's learning journey.
The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is delivered through carefully planned activities, learning and play opportunities to help ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential and experience the best possible start to their education.
The EYFS sets out seven ‘Areas of Learning and Development’ and together these make up the skills, knowledge and experiences appropriate for children as they grow, learn and develop. They are:
The Prime areas are fundamental, work together and move through to support development in all other areas.
The Specific areas include essential skills and knowledge for children to participate successfully in society. Together they help to provide a balanced Early Years curriculum. You will receive more information regarding the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum once your child attends Pennoweth.