Inspire Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum at Arley Primary Academy

At Arley Primary Academy our curriculum is designed to give children the future they deserve.  We believe that each child is a unique individual who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured. Our children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. All our children are active, inquisitive, and intelligent and we provide them with a caring, secure environment which is also challenging and interesting.  Our children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates. At Arley Primary Academy we believe that everyone has the right to reach their full potential surrounded by people who believe in them.

The aims of the EYFS curriculum at Inspire are: 

• To provide engaging, challenging, and exciting play-based learning opportunities for all
• To develop children’s communication skills
• To develop children’s abilities to manage emotions and build a positive sense of self
• To provide high quality phonics and early reading teaching so become confident mark makers and readers
• To develop and improve children’s skills in counting, understanding, and using numbers as well as exploring shape, space, and measure
• To provide opportunities for children to explore the world around them
• To develop enthusiastic risk takers who set their own challenges and follow their own interests and lines of enquiry

EYFS curriculum

Our Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is organised to take care of and develop the whole child and not just their academic learning. Our EYFS curriculum is split into 7 areas of learning, 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas.

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Communication and Language
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Our EYFS curriculum also includes the Characteristics of Effective Learning. These focus not on what children know but how children learn. 

The three characteristics are:  

• Playing and Exploring – our children investigate and experience things and events around them and ‘have a go.’ 
• Active Learning – our children concentrate and keep trying if they experience difficulties, as well as enjoying what they achieve. 
• Creating and Thinking Critically – our children have and develop their own ideas, make links between different and experiences and develop strategies for doing things. 

The M’s

At Arley Primary Academy this is just the start. We have designed our own bespoke curriculum that encompasses the 7 areas of learning and the characteristics of learning in an engaging and exciting curriculum that we call the 5 Ms.

We prioritise making conversations and learning to communicate, mark making and understanding the meaning of marks, developing secure early mathematical skills, exploring the marvelous world around them, and giving children the opportunities to use and develop their muscles and movement.Magic is at the heart of all we do, making sure that our children are engaged and excited in all their learning.   

Tapestry

All the learning and experiences of our children are recorded on Tapestry, our on-line learning journal. Tapestry builds a very special record of each child’s experiences, development and learning journey through their early years’ education at Arley Primary. Parents and/or carers can view their child’s progress, the activities provided for them, and how much fun they’re having, whilst also uploading their own comments and media.