EYFS

Intent 

At Martello, we aim to provide a curriculum that breaks cycles of disadvantage, opens horizons for all and levels the playing field. Our curriculum supports the development of the whole child, leading to kind and respectful children who are confident, resilient and curious life-long learners. We provide children with a safe learning environment, where highly skilled practitioners support the children to form strong and secure relationships. This leads to children who feel valued and are comfortable to take risks with their learning. 

Our curriculum ensures children have strong foundations in all areas of learning; giving them the academic skills,  emotional awareness and moral purpose they need to become valuable members of our local community. Our  school values, of Bravery, Responsibility and Kindness, provide the cornerstone of our children’s personal,  social and emotional development and are embedded throughout our curriculum. The children are taught about  ‘The Martello Way’ from day one, leading to the development of effective learning behaviours that continue  throughout the school. 

Our curriculum is balanced and well thought out, allowing for the children to sequentially build up the  component knowledge and skills they need, and also make room for spontaneous learning led by the child’s own  wants, needs and interests. We start from what the children know, using our strong relationships with parents  and carers to ensure we know all we can about each child before they embark on their learning journey with us.  We aim to provide creative and memorable learning experiences that lead to high levels of engagement from all. 

By the end of the Reception year, our intent is to ensure that all children make better than expected progress  from their starting points and are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to have a smooth transition  into Year 1. 

At Martello, our EYFS curriculum is designed to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment that fosters a love of learning and encourages curiosity in young children. Our intent is underpinned by the following aims:

• To ensure that all children maximise their potential 

• To ensure our values are a cornerstone of our curriculum, promoting inclusivity and respect for all 

• To ensure every child is a speaker  

• To instil a love of reading  

• To develop confident, independent and curious learners  

Implementation

To achieve our intent, we implement a carefully structured curriculum that adheres to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. Key components include:

• Balanced Learning Approaches: We prioritise a balance between play-based learning and teacher-led activities that create engaging and meaningful learning experiences. This combination allows children to explore their interests while benefiting from guided instruction to develop new skills and concepts.

• Thematic Planning: Our curriculum is organised thematically, with each term focusing on a specific topic of interest that connects learning across different areas, including communication and language, physical development, personal, social, and emotional development, literacy, maths, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design.

• Continuous Assessment: Our educators conduct ongoing formative assessments, using observational strategies to track children's progress. These assessments inform our planning, ensuring that individual needs are met, and learning is appropriately scaffolded.

• Engagement with Families: Recognising the vital role families play in a child's education, we actively involve parents through regular communication, workshops, and opportunities for home learning. We encourage parents to share observations of their child's learning experiences outside of school.

• Environmental Richness: Our learning environments—both indoors and outdoors—are designed to be engaging and adaptable. We regularly update resources and ensure that areas reflect children’s interests while providing sufficient challenges to stimulate learning.

Communication and Language 

The development of spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning in the EYFS. The importance of  language development is widely acknowledged and is a key indicator of future success in life, academically,  emotionally and socially. It is vitally important that we provide children with a language rich environment, in  which they can develop their listening and attention, receptive and expressive language skills. At Martello, we provide a language rich curriculum in a number of ways. Our environment  is word and book rich, we read with and to the children frequently. We engage them in stories, rhymes, poems,  songs, non-fiction and we set up our environment in a way that gives them the opportunity to embed these new  words in a variety of contexts.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) 

Children’s personal, social and emotional development is crucial for them to lead happy and healthy lives, and is  fundamental to their cognitive development. At Martello we follow the school’s bespoke PSHE curriculum (utilising the PSHE Association), as well as interwoven activities and conversations throughout the day. We want children to be able to feel comfortable in their own skin, celebrate uniqueness and diversity, know how to support their peers as well as stay safe online, in school and in their community. We believe children need the self-awareness, self-esteem and confidence to:

• Keep themselves healthy

• Keep themselves and others safe

• Recognise and build healthy relationships

• Respect differences and similarities between people

• Develop independence and responsibility

• Prepare for life in a modern, democratic Britain

• Be aware of, and utilise their own and others’ abilities

Our aim is that through the teaching of PSHE, pupils will develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to value their own achievements, assess and deal with risk appropriately and become aware of their own values, whilst celebrating and respecting those of others.

Physical Development 

Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active  lives. We have teacher-led gross motor and fine motor activities available during child-initiated play as well as weekly Physical Education sessions led by our specialist sports coach. Throughout the year, children will also learn about healthy lifestyle choices and the effect staying active and making healthy choices can have on their well-being. 

 Literacy 

It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. At Martello, we pride ourselves on having a book rich environment, children are read stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction regularly. Our classroom has an inviting book corner where adults and children spend time together sharing books. In addition, we set up  our environment to encourage children to mark make in their play both inside and outside. Alongside, fostering a  love and will to read and write, our staff use the Read, Write Inc program to give children the phonics skills they  need to become confident readers and writers. To complement our phonics program, we also use engaging topic based texts in our English lessons, where children have the opportunity to use their phonics skills to write simple phrases and sentences throughout the year.

Mathematics 

Developing a strong grounding in number, shape, space and measure is essential, so that all children develop the  necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. In reception, we use our environment to aim to develop  positive attitudes and interest in mathematics. We provide natural and engaging resources and activities to  encourage counting, comparison of quantities, exploration of patterns, space and shape and most of all  discussion between pupils and adults surrounding mathematical concepts and using mathematical vocabulary.  With the support of the White Rose Maths program, we provide a carefully planned out curriculum that offers children the opportunities they need to develop a deep, long term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. 

Understanding of the world 

Understanding of the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and community. We aim to provide the children with a wide range of personal experiences that increase their knowledge of the world around them. These include exploring our local area and meeting important people from our local community, for example, fire-fighters and nurses, having  hands on experiences with wildlife, including visits to the zoo or farm and planting and growing  our own plants and food. We learn about past events from our own and others’ lives, as well as learning about what life is like in other parts of the world. The children love to learn about other cultures and religions, studying festivals and celebrations such as Diwali, Lunar New Year, Diwali and Easter around the world. Through this they learn to truly value what diversity across the world brings. 

Expressive Arts and Design 

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. Through  our curriculum we offer children opportunities to explore and play with a variety of media, materials, tools and  model a range of techniques. We encourage them to experiment with colour, design and texture and to go back  to what they have created to see if they can improve it. The children will have one dedicated music session a  week, led by a specialist teacher. This will be followed up in class with opportunities to create dance sequences,  compositions and perform songs and rhymes. Role-play plays a huge part in supporting children's creative,  language and social development. Children are provided with props and materials to encourage and support  role-play both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Impact

The impact of our EYFS provision can be measured through a variety of indicators:

• High Levels of Engagement: Children demonstrate a strong eagerness to learn, with high levels of engagement in both guided and independent activities. Observations show that they actively participate in discussions and problem-solving tasks.

• Progress and Attainment: Our assessment data indicates that children make excellent progress from their individual starting points, with the majority achieving expected levels of development across all areas of learning by the end of the EYFS.

• Positive Relationships: Children build strong relationships with their peers and adults, fostering a sense of belonging and emotional security. Observational data reveals cooperative behaviours and the ability to resolve conflicts independently.

• Parental Satisfaction: Feedback from parents indicates a high level of satisfaction with the provision of our EYFS, with many noting remarkable growth in their child's confidence, independence, and social skills.

• Readiness for Year 1: Children leave the EYFS well-prepared for the transition to Year 1, with a solid foundation in key skills such as literacy and numeracy, as well as essential social skills that support collaborative learning.

The impact of our curriculum is also measured by how effectively it helps our children develop into well rounded  individuals who embody our school values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will  make them lifelong learners and valuable future citizens. 

Our EYFS provision at Martello not only embodies the principles of the EYFS framework but also promotes an enthusiastic and inclusive learning culture, ensuring all children are equipped with the skills and attributes necessary for future success.