Foundation Stage (Early Years)

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creative and Critical Thinking

These characteristics are encouraged, developed and supported to enable children to make progress in all areas of learning and development.

Encourage the children to listen and follow simple instructions appropriate for a 2 year old.
Sing familiar songs and rhymes.
Using a song bag with puppets to encourage new songs to be introduced.
Small groups Lift Off to Language sessions.
Begin to talk about their feelings and show them emotions cards to enable them to express how they feel.

Opportunities to make a mark with a range of different mediums, giving them new experiences.
Join in with singing songs and rhymes.
Small world to extend their imaginative skills.
Variety of role play opportunities based on first hand experiences.

Draw the children's attention to the importance of books in the setting both inside and out, model how to handle them.
Interactive books, story sacks and children's choices on a daily basis, either 1-1 or within small groups.

Encourage the children with opportunities to support their counting through activities and number rhymes.
Introduce size language into their play.
Learning shapes and patterns, giving them a variety of puzzles to extend their development and problem solving.
Tipping and pouring activities.

Warm welcome, learning the routine and boundaries.
Ensuring all children are supported with the settling process.
Supporting the children with social interactions, sharing and friendships.
Support the children with hand washing and toileting or nappy changes.
Promote the importance of eating well and healthy food choices, and touch on sun safety.
Encourage the children to be independent in handwashing and putting on their coat using the flip over the head.

Outdoor play available in all weathers, including the large garden with balancing and climbing equipment.
Opportunities for nature walks on the school field and using the outside classrooms.
The bikes and scooters are available on the tarmac road playground.
Encourage the children to be independent in handwashing and putting on their coat using the flip over the head.
Opportunities for large physical movement outside moving in a range of different ways.
Movement and yoga sessions indoors.
Sun safety and appropriate clothing for the warmer weather.

Learning about people who help us in the community.
Encourage children to talk about experiences, especially holiday time with their families.
From the children's needs and interests we always make adaptations to the planning to extend their own knowledge and learning.

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creative and Critical Thinking

These characteristics are encouraged, developed and supported to enable children to make progress in all areas of learning and development.

In group time, encourage the children to sit for a short period of time for registration and the welcome song.
Share any news, including Olive and Otis the Owl adventures.
Books and rhymes indoors and outside.
Small groups Lift-Off to Language sessions throughout the week.
Positive role modelling, listening and following simple instructions.
Song of Sounds at Circle Time.
Talk about experiences, including Summer holidays.

Join in with singing songs and rhymes daily.
Movement sessions, circle songs and parachute games.
Use the ribbons or scarves to move expressively to the music.
Offer a variety of small world resources to enhance their imagination and build stories around their play.
Opportunities for a range of sensory activities.
Mark-making activities on a large and small scale.
Water and sand provision readily available.

Draw the children's attention to the importance of books in the setting both inside and out, model how to handle them.
Interactive books, story sacks and children's choices on a daily basis, either 1-1 or within small groups.
Pirate stories and number books linking to topic and interests.

Develop the children’s knowledge of numbers, shapes and sizes through a variety of engaging activities.
Give opportunities to problem solve with puzzles and games.
Tipping and pouring activities.
Talk about different forms of transport and categorise them into groups, talking about the number/quantity, types, size and colour.
Number and rhymes and poetry will be our focus at group times.

Warm welcome, learning the routine and boundaries.
Ensuring all children are supported with the setting process.
Support the children with social interactions, sharing and friendships.
Support the children with hand-washing and toileting.
Promote the importance of eating well and healthy food choices.
Encourage independence in managing belongings, e.g. coats and bags, and include sun safety in discussions.

Outdoor play available in all weathers, including the large garden with balancing and climbing equipment.
Opportunities for nature walks on the school field and using the outside classrooms.
The bikes and scooters are available on the tarmac road playground.
Encourage the children to be independent in self-care.
Opportunities for large physical movement outside moving in a range of different ways.
Movement and yoga sessions indoors.

Exploring which materials can float or sink.
Doing some experiments around this.
We will be talking about and researching which creatures live in the sea.
The children will be able to share their own experiences of trips out or holidays with their families, linking back to seasonal changes and sun safety.

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creative and Critical Thinking

These characteristics are encouraged, developed and supported to enable children to make progress in all areas of learning and development.

Listening, Attention & Understanding Speaking:
Weekly focused games to encourage interaction, listening and developing conversational skills (Following the Lift Off to Language initiative).
Encouraging questioning conversations and sparking verbal interaction through activities
Looking at how minibeasts are equipped to live in the environment, how do they differ?
Changes in seasons and weather.
Looking at all different reading material, fiction and non-fiction.
Encouraging bursts of focused listening by watching topic-based clips, playing games and using the Internet to fact find.

Creating with Materials:
Be able to use equipment and tools to change and create with a purpose, starting to choose the types of media they want to create with and deciding tools to assist in the outcomes.

Being Imaginative & Expressive:
Introduce story and imagination into play, for example through role-play and small world.
Learn and sing familiar songs and rhymes, responding to music with dance, actions and instruments.
Looking at a variety of new instruments and songs that they may not have had access to, considering tempo, volume and beat.

Comprehension:
Be encouraged to make suggestions for what could happen next when hearing new stories.
Looking at the structure of story books.

Reading Stories:
The Hungry Caterpillar, The Quiet Cricket, non-fiction books.
Develop an awareness of the purpose of words and descriptive language.
Focus on rhyme using songs and games, such as Slug in a Jug and Rhyming Lotto.

Writing:
Recognise and make marks with meaning; use a variety of mark-making tools and gain confidence and strength.

Number:
Continue developing our knowledge of shapes and patterns in the natural environment.
Looking for evidence of numbers around us and the concept of counting items that can't be moved or are not present.

Number Pattern:
Use toys and resources, such as tessellating shapes and repeating patterns, including number patterns.
Explore how numbers and shapes can be used and adapted for a purpose.

Self-regulation:
Understand different feelings and emotions, including discussions about facial expressions and how to show different feelings.

Managing Self:
Be confident to try new activities and make choices for themselves, with a focus on turn-taking, sharing and kindness.
Learn how to be responsible in the setting, tidy up activities used.
Consider clothing for weather conditions, making their own choices.

Building Relationships:
Become familiar with adults and children in the setting, learning names and becoming familiar with routines.
Be happy to join in with a range of group activities.
How to integrate new peers into the established setting.

Gross Motor:
Focusing on using the large equipment; Trim Trail, climbing frame, scooters and bikes.
Encouraging children to consider their safety and give some thought to risks, e.g. safe climbing, height, bike helmets, weather conditions.

Topic Based:
Moving like bugs and minibeasts.

Fine Motor:
Using tweezers to hunt and collect bugs in the garden, practising holding and using mark-making tools to mark make confidently with purpose.

Past & Present:
Looking at the seasons and weather changes in the space of a year and what we expect from the seasons.

People, Culture & Communities:
Look at events that are happening such as Father's Day, May Day, summer holidays.
Look at how the weather and seasons affect jobs and businesses.

The Natural World:
Looking at the environment and how different minibeasts live in and around us; how they have adapted to their environment.
How they help our ecosystem and the effect humans are having on the natural world, including how we can help.

• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creative and Critical Thinking

These characteristics are encouraged, developed and supported to enable children to make progress in all areas of learning and development.

Listening, Attention & Understanding:
Listen and respond in a range of situations, using questioning to clarify and extend understanding.

Speaking:
Instigate and join in with a range of discussions.
Use familiar vocabulary, new vocabulary and actions to explain and extend ideas.
Be confident in using conversation as a means to express their feelings and communicate effectively, using past, present and future tenses, as well as longer sentences with differing conjunctions.

Creating with Materials:
Complete the process of creating models/craft projects/play from start to finish and talk about the process/ideas/skills used.
Use resources and equipment safely with clear ideas/purpose and use exploration to extend thinking, including incorporating props in play.

Being Imaginative and Expressive:
Use and extend narrative/stories in own and collaborative play.
Use song/dance/story to explore and express ideas, showing confidence in sharing these with others (including performing/showing others).
Sing a range of songs, moving and responding in time to music.

Reading:
Recall and apply phonic knowledge to decode and read cations/phrases/sentences with independence and accuracy.
Use a love of reading to enjoy stories/books/word games demonstrating comprehension of text, as well as knowledge and acquisition of vocabulary.
Know the letters of the alphabet, including upper and lower case.

Writing:
Use recognisable letters, with secure formation, to write cations/phrases/sentences which themselves and others can read.
Use and apply phonic and word knowledge in writing.
Use capital letters, spaces and full stops in writing.

Phonics:
Revisit and apply phonics, words, tricky words.

Number:
Verbally count to 20, demonstrating a secure understanding of numbers to 10; grouping quantities and subitising (know the number without counting) to 5.
Explore grouping and combining numbers to investigate number bonds and doubles to 5 and then 10, developing recall of number facts.

Number Pattern:
Compare numbers and solve problems using numbers to 10 and their knowledge of greater than, less than the same as, groupings and quantity.
Explore counting beyond 20 using number patterns.
Identify patterns and comparisons in weight and measures, including estimating and checking ideas and amounts.

Self-regulation:
Set own goals, using the virtues; Integrity, Respect, Ambition and Determination.
Demonstrate focus and patience, including waiting, in a range of situations.
Follow instructions and regulate their behaviour.

Managing Self:
Show confidence, resilience, ability to follow rules and routines but also make own choices (including managing hygiene and health).

Building Relationships:
Play/work cooperatively, and show sensitivity in a range of situations.

Gross Motor:
Demonstrate consideration of space and safety when playing active games and going on large play equipment.
Show strength, balance and coordination in their movements and active play.

Fine Motor:
Demonstrate accuracy and care when using a range of equipment and toys, including fastenings, Lego, scissors and cutlery.
Use a tripod grip to hold a pencil and use well-defined/fluent marks, including anticlockwise formations, to write.
Demonstrate control to add detail to drawings.

Past & Present:
Discuss similarities & differences between experiences in their own lifetime, making references to locations.
Discuss similarities and differences between locations (locally and further).

People, Culture & Communities:
Show awareness of countries and cultures, looking at maps/photos, as well as ‘community’ through discussing own life.
Use stories/books to extend ideas/learning.

The Natural World:
Look at the process of change in the natural world for both plants and animals, making observations and comments.