We are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all pupils and recognise that preparation for life in a multicultural society is relevant to all children and should permeate every aspect of the curriculum.  For information about how our curriculum meets the needs of pupils with SEND and how we address our responsibilities under the equalities duty please see the relevant pages on the website.  Our accessibility poilcy can also be viewed on our policies page

Early Years Curriculum

Vision & Intent

Our aim for the Early Years Foundation Stage is to ignite a passion and curiosity for learning about the world around them and begin a positive journey of personal growth resulting in confidence, independence and a strong understanding of self, self- worth and a sense of belonging.  These essential life skills, alongside the ability to self- regulate and develop executive functioning skills, link to Wendell Park School’s core values and learning powers.

At Wendell Park School, the EYFS team has high expectations for every child in our setting.  We recognise the crucial role that Early Years education has to play in providing the firm foundations upon which the rest of the child’s education is successfully based. 

Please click here for more information on our EY curriculum

We pride ourselves on providing a rich, broad and exciting curriculum and our topics are supported by diverse and inclusive texts & experiences.  Key events and themes are woven into a broad and balanced experience for every child.  Our team is caring and responsive to the needs and interests of the children. We carefully adjust and develop our provision using research based evidence.

The children have the opportunity to learn in a safe, happy and stimulating environment both indoors and outdoors, including weekly Forest School sessions that offer further opportunities to build the children's physical strength and coordination.  We recognise the value of outdoor education in providing children with another pathway for play and exploration and view outdoor learning as being integral to supporting children’s development.

We understand that play is an essential part of learning and this is at the heart of our Early Years curriculum. We aim to create an enabling and adaptable learning environment where children can re-enact real life experiences, work together, set their own goals, solve problems and become curious learners.  Our timetable is a blend of focused direct teaching and continuous provision where children have the opportunity to learn independently through exploration and challenge.  A mix of high quality adult interaction and child led play ensures the best outcomes for pupils.  We embrace the wide range of starting points and experiences with which our learners arrive.  We recognise that a significant number of children have had limited opportunities for social interaction and language development during the last two academic years.  Therefore, we prioritise creating a ‘language rich’ environment where pupils are able to develop their speaking and listening skills through a range of vocabulary rich experiences and continuous interactions between adults and peers.  Children are encouraged to become early readers through the enjoyment of books and systematic teaching of phonics.  The children develop their mathematical thinking through a mix of direct teaching and exploration.   We achieve this by ensuring that every pupil has securely embedded new concepts before moving on to the next stage.

We believe that parents play a crucial role in their child’s education. Therefore, close daily contact and parental engagement is immensely beneficial in promoting this ethos and in working with the wider community.  We work hard to create a strong partnership between home and school.

Above all, the learning environment in the Early Years at Wendell Park encourages and supports pupils to engage in a range of experiences to develop new concepts, skills and key knowledge in preparation for the next stage of their learning in Key Stage One.

For more information about our Early Years Provision please see our EYFS policy.