Early Years
The Early Years Curriculum at Archibald
Please also look through the subject pages to see how the Early Years Curriculum blends with the National Curriculum delivered in Years 1-4.
The Early Years Curriculum
In the Early Years, the curriculum is delivered through three prime areas of learning which are Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development and four specific areas which are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. The Prime Areas are the fundamental parts of development which children need in order to develop fully in all of the other Specific Areas of learning.
At Archibald First School, we work hard to develop exciting and stimulating learning environments. Each area within the classroom is set up with a range of activities to develop and enhance learning opportunities. Learning takes place through a range of whole class teaching, adult led activities and regular opportunities for child-initiated play providing children with time to access their own learning and consolidate the knowledge of the new skills they have gained.
Prime Areas
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
We support your child and give them the tools they need to manage their own feelings, make relationships and develop self confidence and self awareness. We aim to enable your child to understand their feelings and ensure that they become independent learners in a nurturing environment which helps them feel safe and secure.
Physical Development
Your child will develop many skills such as climbing, sliding, crawling, riding a bike and being able to judge their own and others space. They will develop skills in handling tools and equipment such as pencils, clay tools, knives and forks and brushes.
We aim to encourage every child to understand the need to be healthy and what we need to do to stay healthy.
Communication and Language
We aim first to enable your child to become a good listener and provide the tools for every child to become a great communicator. Through lots of speaking and listening games and activities we can ensure that your child plays in a language rich environment where they are constantly encouraged to talk about what they see, what they do and begin to use their own developing knowledge to make new connections and links.
Specific Areas of Learning
Literacy
Your child will enter an environment which is full of print, stories, poems and rhymes. We aim to intrigue children with a wide variety of fiction and non fiction books as well as things that particularly interest your child. Children will have daily phonic sessions which may include listening to sounds in the environment, learning new sounds and blending these sounds to read words. Children are encouraged to be writers both inside and out with most areas having writing equipment attractively placed in them.
Mathematics
Children’s knowledge of number will be deepened through real life experiences and things that children understand e.g. trips to the shops. They will develop a strong grounding in number. By the end of Reception they should be able to count confidently and have a deep understanding of the numbers to 10 as well as the relationships between numbers such as how many different ways to make 5. They will also have a sound knoweldge of shape, space and measure through shape walks, weighing and measuring real things.
Understanding of the World
Your child will develop a greater knowledge of the world in which they live, helping them to make sense of their physical world and community. They will do this through trips out, visitors coming into school and the use of a broad selection of stories and non-fiction books. In addition they will foster an understanding of our cultural, social, technological and ecological diverse world. As well as gaining a greater respect of their own and other people’s beliefs. Through he topics we explore they will enrich and widen their vocabulary too.
Expressive Arts and Design
We aim to encourage your child to develop their imagination to its full potential. We want them to discover their own abilities in creativity and use a variety of media in innovative ways. In creating an environment which allows them to independently explore a range of media it allows every child to express themselves in a way that is fun and exciting to them.