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Ingoldmells Academy

Early Years Curriculum

At Ingoldmells Academy, we have a fantastic Nursery that creates amazing learning opportunities for children from 2 years to 4 years. Following this, they can progress into our Reception class with the added bonus of being familiar with the school environment, the whole staff team and older pupils.

We follow the Early Years Statutory Framework as set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage published in March 2014 and updated in 2021 by the DfE. This Framework specifies the requirement for learning and development in the Early Years and provides specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. There are seven areas of learning and development that are taught in early years, all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. The prime areas consist of three areas of learning that are crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm enabling children to acquire the key skills to learn effectively and form secure relationships. These areas are:  

  • Communication and language. 

  • Physical development. 

  • Personal, social and emotional development. 

The four other areas, the specific areas, are also taught. These strengthen and allow the prime areas to be applied. The specific areas are:  

  • Literacy. 

  • Mathematics. 

  • Understanding the world. 

  • Expressive arts and design.  

A vital aspect in the development of essential knowledge and skills is the use of continuous provision. This means that children are using and developing certain skills throughout the year on a daily/weekly basis. Each area of learning and development is taught through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led, adult-initiated, and child-initiated activity. In particular, we try to ensure that the development of real-life skills such as how to use cutlery or how to ride a bike are evident within our curriculum and suit the needs of our children.  

Continuous Provision is essential for children’s development, enabling them to build their confidence as they learn to explore, problem solve, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in activities that are directed by adults. They develop key life skills such as independence, innovation, creativity, enquiry, analysis, and problem solving setting them up for their future learning journeys. 

Phonics

At Ingoldmells Primary Academy, we believe that all our children can become fluent readers and writers. We teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme that teaches children to read effectively and quickly, using a consistent Phonics programme. All pupils in Foundation Stage and Key stage 1 will receive daily teaching of synthetic phonics, sight vocabulary, decoding and encoding words as well as spelling and accurate letter formation.   

We start teaching phonics in Nursery and follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school.  

Children’s progress is tracked every 6 weeks alongside their reading fluency, based upon these assessments, structured interventions are swiftly put into place for any child who needs additional support.  

We believe that it is vital for phonics to be at the centre of teaching reading and writing, as these skills are essential for ensuring children can engage with the rest of the curriculum and have an impact on their future.