Starting school is an exciting time. At Nythe Primary School, we endeavour to give all of our pupils the best possible start to their time at school. Our new Reception classroom has been designed to facilitate free-flow play, enabling the children to access both the indoor and outdoor environments throughout the day.
Miss Robbins, our EYFS Lead and Nursery teacher, works closely with the staff in Reception to ensure that the children have a positive transition from Nursery to Reception. If your child is joining us from another nursery or preschool setting, our Reception teachers will work closely with their current setting to find the best ways to support your child as they start Reception at Nythe. To further support the transition into Reception, we hold Stay and Play sessions and Welcome Meetings in the Summer Term, and begin the Autumn Term with a staggered start so that children can get used to their new environment and routine.
In EYFS, the children follow a topic-based approach to learning, working towards the Early Learning Goals:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding of the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Children also develop the key learning skills and behaviours that will support their learning as they move throughout the school. Our Reception staff provide a safe, nurturing environment where children are encouraged to become happy, confident and independent learners.
Early Years Curriculum Map
| History | |
| Nursery |
Understanding the World (30-50 months) Talk about times that are special to them (e.g. first day at nursery, getting a scooter…) Talk about people and times that are special to them and their family/friends (e.g. parties/celebrations) |
| Reception |
Understanding the World – children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members Comparison of toys played with by them, parents and grandparents. Exploring how they have changed from a baby to the present. |
| Geography | |
| Nursery |
Understanding of the World: Notices detailed features of objects in their environment. Comments and asks questions about aspects of their familiar world such as the place where they live or the natural world. Play with a range of small-models. Talk about what they can see in school and on their way to/from school. |
| Reception |
Understanding of the World: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places…They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another Talk about what they can see in and around the school – what is our environment like? Compare to images/videos of different locations around the world (e.g. a village in Africa, Antarctica…) considering what they can see that is the same and what is different. |
| Computing | |
| Nursery |
Understanding the World: Technology Seeks to acquire basic skills in turning on and operating some ICT equipment; operates mechanical toys, e.g. turns the knob on a wind-up toy or pulls back on a friction car; knows how to operate simple equipment, e.g. turns on a CD player and uses a remote control; knows that information can be retrieved from computers. |
| Reception |
Understanding the World: Technology Completes a simple program on a computer Uses ICT hardware to interact with age-appropriate computer software; shows an interest in technological toys with knobs or pulleys, or real objects such as cameras or mobile phones; shows skill in making toys work by pressing parts or lifting flaps to achieve effects such as sound, movements or new images. Link to history topic on toys. |
| Religious Education (RE) | |
| Reception |
F1 Which stories are special and why? F2 Which people are special and why? F3 What places are special and why? F4 What times are special and why? F5 Being special: where do we belong? F6 What is special about our world? |
| Art | |
| Nursery | Expressive Arts and Design: Experiments with blocks, colours and marks. Explores colour and how colours can be changed. Understands that they can use lines to enclose a space, and then begin to use these shapes to represent objects. |
| Reception | Expressive Arts and Design: Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. |
| Design & Technology (DT) | |
| Nursery | Expressive Arts and Design: Uses various construction materials. Beginning to construct, stacking blocks vertically and horizontally, making enclosures and creating spaces. Joins construction pieces together to build and balance. Realises tools can be used for a purposes. Uses available resources to create props to support role-play. |
| Reception |
Expressive Arts and Design: Use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function. Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. Link to history work on toys – designing and making own toys (junk modelling). Include weaving. Make pancakes for pancake day. Other opportunities linked to children’s interests. |
| Music | |
| Nursery |
Expressive Arts and Design: Exploring and using media and materials. Joins in singing favourite songs; creates sounds by banging, shaking, tapping or blowing; shows an interest in the way musical instruments sound; taps out simple repeated rhythms; explores and learns how sounds can be changed. |
| Reception |
Me! My Stories Everyone! Our World Big Bear Funk Reflect, Rewind and Replay |