Early Years Curriculum

Our Ambition

Our Early Years curriculum provides children with an exceptional foundation, which fosters a lifelong love of learning. We provide the children at Buckton Fields with unique learning experiences centred around a theme, where they are encouraged to take an active role in their learning, resulting in creative, resilient learners. As a team we are extremely passionate about ensuring the child is at the centre of everything we do, providing a caring, supportive environment where our children feel safe to develop as an individual. We believe that this provides our children and families with an exceptional start to school.

At Buckton Fields, you will find our children are fully immersed in their learning through a range of creative opportunities both indoor and outdoor which forms our rich curriculum, enabling them to develop physically, academically and mentally, consequently building on their understanding and knowledge. We treat every child as an individual, getting to know them as a learner and as a thriving, young person. We ensure that we support and challenge their academic development as well as their well-being, character and personality development, whilst embedded our school values.

 

 

 

Our Implementation

Reading and Phonics is a central part of our EYFS, with daily phonics sessions, individual reading and class story time. We foster a love of reading in the children, by exposing them to a wide variety of books in their literacy sessions. We are very proud of our Reading reef where children are able to choose a library book to take home with them every week. There are inviting reading areas in both the classrooms and outdoor area where children can independently choose a book to read. We provide reading workshops to parents and use our successful reward system to help support reading at home.

We believe our children’s physical development as just as important as their intellectual development and our classrooms, outside classroom and outdoor area, allow learning opportunities to develop the whole child.

The children’s learning is enhanced through our themed role play area, mud kitchen, sand pit and lookout lodge, which the children can explore for sustained periods of time with or without adult support.

Literacy and Maths sessions are embedded into our curriculum, with exceptional experiences where children can consolidate their learning in both indoor and outdoor settings.

The importance of early number is evident throughout our setting, with key learning opportunities being planned into all areas forming a strong foundation. With stations both indoor and outdoors, Maths is evident throughout the EYFS environment and encourages children to use Mathematical vocabulary independently.

We promote a love of the outdoors, and are excited to be developing an outdoor learning classroom on our school field. Here we will be able to take the children on ‘welly walks’ where they will be able to explore the nature we are so lucky to have on our doorstep! Through these experiences children’s learning opportunities are enriched and children are encouraged to take risks.

The children’s mental wellbeing is of our highest priority and every week we have ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays where we explore the 5 Ways to Wellbeing – Be Active, Keep Learning, Take Notice, Give, and Connect. This enables the children to explore their own emotions as well as developing empathy and resilience. Every day the children have access to a Feelings Check In where they can show their teacher how they are feeling.

At Buckton Fields we are very proud to work closely with other networks in our community, and we have had the pleasure of taking the children on local walks to the Care home and Farm Shop where they have been able to exercise their school values of respect, tolerance and kindness. We provide all children with exciting, unique experiences throughout the year such as a visit from Santa’s reindeer and a trip to the theatre!

 

 

Our Impact

The proportion of children nationally achieving a Good Level of Development in Year R in 2021 was 72%. At Buckton Fields, 83% of children achieved a Good Level of Development. Our approach leads to happy children, with a love for learning and school, and families that feel at the heart of their school community and who truly believe that Buckton Fields is their school.