Early Years (Nursery & Reception)
Graded as Outstanding by Ofsted July 2023.
Nursery (Farida Zaman Class) and Reception (Wassilly Kandinsky Class)
Our Early Years Expectations
When our children leave Reception they will have a love for learning and be motivated, confident and resilient individuals who are able to build positive relationships. They will have learnt and will use a wide vocabulary and have a good understanding and knowledge across all the areas of learning ready for the next stage of their learning in Key Stage 1.
Click here for our Welcome to Nursery presentation
Click here for our Welcome to Reception presentation
Starting Nursery Booklet/Information Pack
Starting Reception Booklet/Information Pack
Starting Reception Transition Activity Booklet
Reception Baseline Assessment Leaflet for Parents
Early Years Termly NewslettersEarwsletters
Farida Zaman Class (Nursery) - Autumn 2024
Wassily Kandinsky Class (Reception) - Autumn 2024
Farida Zaman Class (Nursery) - Spring 2025
Wassily Kandinsky Class (Reception) - Spring 2025
Farida Zaman Class (Nursery) - Summer 2025
Wassily Kandinsky Class (Reception) - Summer 2025
The Early Years Curriculum
In the Early Years, leaders’ curriculum-thinking is particularly strong. Leaders know exactly what they want children to know, in order to be able to do preparation for Year 1, across all subjects. (Ofsted Report 2023)
At Bangabandhu Primary School we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework. Our play based curriculum has been designed specifically to meet the needs of our youngest learners with an emphasis on the unique child at the centre. The curriculum takes a holistic approach to teaching and learning and is divided up into two main areas - the Prime Areas and the Specific Areas. There is an explanation of each area below.
What to Expect in the Early Years - a Guide for Parents
Development Matters - Non statutory curriculum guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage
Want to know what Forest School is? have a read about how we do Forest School at Bangabandhu.
The Prime Areas – The prime areas of learning are divided into three sections: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development. The prime areas are important because they lay the foundations for children’s success in all other areas of learning and of life.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
In this area children develop confidence and self-esteem. They learn about relationships and how to express their feelings. Children learn about sharing, taking turns and negotiating with others. They begin to understand rules but also develop independence and responsibility.
Communication and Language
In this area children talk about what they want and feel, likes and dislikes. They have opportunities to express themselves through role-play and they can enjoy stories, songs, poems and rhymes. Children use language to describe past and present experiences, and sequence events. Children will learn to speak in small and large groups and listen and follow instructions, also listening carefully to others and demonstrate asking interesting and appropriate questions.
Physical Development
This area sees children playing and learning inside and outside. They become good at moving, climbing, controlling, catching, throwing and coordinating with more and more skill.
They will get opportunities to chase, race, jump, balance and play with a partner and in teams. Children will find out about keeping healthy as well as learning to dress and undress themselves. They will use different types of tools for drawing, painting, cutting and sticking to develop fine motor skills.
The Specific Areas – The specific areas are divided into three sections: literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design. The specific areas provide the range of experiences and opportunities for children to broaden their knowledge and skills.
Literacy
In this area children handle and share books with others. Children will have chances to see letters and words written down, they will learn the sounds of the alphabet through phonic sessions and speaking and listening activities.
They will start to hear the different sounds that make up a word and apply this knowledge when looking at words in books and begin to read and write captions and sentences.
Literacy Development - progression of skills from Nursery to end of Reception
Mathematics
In this area the children sort and group objects and materials, explaining why they have done something. They will compare height, weight, size and texture.
Children will begin to use positional language to tell where things are and to put things in order.
Children have opportunities to make models with shapes and talk about them and what they look like. They will then notice and make patterns with them.
Children will recognise numbers around them, they will begin to count, add objects together and take them away. They will start to put events in order and investigate how to solve practical problems.
Understanding the World
In this area the children have opportunities to explore and investigate the world around them.
They will be able to look at and talk about objects, materials, living creatures and plant life, noticing details, similarities and difference. They will try things out and come to some conclusions and see reason.
Children will have support to record findings by drawing, using the computer and camera. They will begin to know about different people and their cultures, traditions and places in the community.
Expressive Art and Design
In this area, children will express their own thoughts, ideas and feelings through drawing, painting and model making.
They will have the chance to design and make their own creations using man-made and natural materials.
They will explore colour, shape and texture using their senses. Children will be able to listen to and make their own music, dance, sing songs and take part in imaginative role play with others.
The Characteristics of Effective Learning
The above areas are all about what the children learn but an equal emphasis is also placed on how the children learn. The characteristics of effective learning are the way in which children engage with other people and their environment and are divided into 3 sections - playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically.
Playing and Exploring
This looks at how children engage with people and the environment surrounding them. We want our children to find out about things and explore. We want them to play with what they know and be willing to ‘have a go’ no matter how big or small the challenge.
Active Learning
We want our children to find out about things and explore. We want them to play with what they know and be willing to ‘have a go’ no matter how big or small the challenge.
This looks at children’s motivation and we want children to get involved in activities and be able to concentrate, particularly on activities that they have chosen themselves.
We want children to persevere in what they choose to do and also have a sense of pride and achievement in what they set out to do.
Creating and Thinking Critically
This is about children’s thinking and we want children to have their own ideas, make links between what they know and what they learn and also be in charge of the way they do things.
What does learning look like in Early Years at Bangabandhu Primary School?
At Bangabandhu Primary School we have a commitment to ensure that we provide a broad and enriching curriculum that meets the needs of all our learners. We do not follow a set list of topics but instead choose our half termly topics based on the needs and interests of learners. Examples of our recent topics include:
Art Attack! – The children spent the half term learning all about different artist and styles of art. From Anish Kapoor to Claude Monet the children sculpted, drew, painted and modelled their ideas into the most fantastic creations and we put all of their art on display at the end of the term for parents to come and see.
High in the Sky! – The children developed a real interest in building and famous buildings so we decided to learn all about different types of building from around the world. The children ‘travelled’ far and wide to learn about famous buildings such as the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids and enjoyed reconstructing them using a range of materials.
Once Upon a Time … – This topic was inspired by the children’s love of stories and storytelling and included creating their own stories through interactive storytelling techniques, writing their own stories and making videos with the iPad. The children’s creativity came alive and the topic culminated in a show for the parents, which was the highlight of the half term.
As well as following the topics we ensure that our children are prepared for the next stage in their academic career and the children have small focused sessions of learning throughout the day.
These sessions include:
Listening and pre-phonics (Nursery)
Reading and Writing (Reception)
Maths
Mindfulness and Yoga (Reception and Nursery)
Music
Forest School
PE
The Early Years is the foundation of your child’s learning and is where they will learn the skills that will help them get the best start in life.
At Bangabandhu Primary School we ensure that every child is treated as an individual and we have a commitment to strong working relationship with parents.
Here is our Early Years curriculum overview which gives you much more detail about our curriculum:
Bangabandhu EYFS Curriculum Overview
Books and Topics
Books are at the core of what we do and are the basis of our curriculum topics. Here is a plan of our curriculum topic books.
Early Years Curriculum Topics and Core Book Overview
Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Progression
Our Early Years curriculum forms the foundation for the National Curriculum which is taught from Year 1 onwards. Once children enter in Year 1, they are taught subjects. The documents below demonstrate the links between the Early Years and the Key Stage 1 curriculum, including the specifc vocabulary which will be taught to enable curriuclum access.
Art & Design - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Computing -Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Design & Technology - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Geography - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Health and Realtionships - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
History - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Mathematics - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Music - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Physical Education - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Religious Education - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Science - Early Years to Key Stage 1 Curriculum Links
Early Years 2022
Have a look at what our Early Years children learned throughout the year ...
/Learning/Early-Years-Nursery-Reception/EYFS_Grad_show.mp4