Foundation Stage
At Purston Infant School we aim to provide the highest quality care and education for all our children thereby giving them a strong foundation for their future learning. We create a safe and happy environment with motivating and enjoyable learning experiences that enable children to become confident and independent. We value the individual child and work alongside parents and others to meet their needs and help every child to reach their full potential.
As outlined in the EYFS ‘All children deserve the care and support they need to have the best start in life.
Children learn and develop at a faster rate from birth to five years old than at any other time in their lives, so their experiences in early years have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe, and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high-quality early learning provide the foundation children need to fulfil their potential.’ (Statutory Framework for the early years foundation stage – 2024)
We adhere to the EYFS Statutory Framework 2024 and the four guiding principles that shape practice within Early Years settings.
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
- Children learn and develop in different ways
We put these principles into practice by:
- Providing a balanced curriculum, based on the EYFS, across the seven areas of learning, using play as the vehicle for learning
- Promoting equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice. We provide early intervention for those children who require additional support
- Working in partnership with parents
- Planning challenging learning experiences, based on the individual child, informed by observation and assessment
- Providing opportunities for children to engage in activities that are adult-initiated and child-initiated, supported by the adult
- Having a key person approach to develop close relationships with individual children
- Providing a secure and safe learning environment inside and outside
We plan an exciting and challenging curriculum based on the educational programmes set in the EYFS Statutory Framework and on our children’s needs, interests, and stages of development across the seven areas of learning to enable the children to achieve the Early Learning Goals.
Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework