The EYFS at Walkley consists of one Nursery Class, Elmers taught by one teacher and two teaching assistants.

Children can attend morning, afternoon or full day sessions, starting from when they are 3 years old.

Reception consists of two classes, Caterpillars and Chameleons with a maximum of 30 children per class. Each class has one teacher and one teaching assistant.

Specialist teachers are brought in for some dance PE lessons.

The children have lunch with the KS1 children. The classes join the main school for assemblies and other whole school events.

Extra teaching assistants are employed for children who have an Education Health and Care Plan or to lead interventions.

Our EYFS Curriculum has been designed to reflect our local environment with a multi-cultural community, the seasons of the year and the nature around our school. It aims to teach the children how their environment compares to other places, cultures and nature in other parts of the world. It provides children with first-hand experiences to support their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. It is therefore unique to Walkley Primary school. (See Appendix 1)

The Walkley EYFS curriculum has been written in accordance with the latest version of the ‘Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)’ (September 2021). The EYFS framework includes seven areas of learning and development that are important and interconnected:

The prime areas are:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development

The prime areas are strengthened and applied through 4 specific areas:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

The prime areas, are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive:

We have developed the curriculum giving communication and language skills a high priority. This is in line with Development Matters 2020: “The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children’s language effectively.”