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The Howard Partnership Trust (THPT) is a Surrey based Multi-Academy Trust, comprising four secondary, six primary and two special schools with two further under development. We are proud of our ethos of collaboration and inclusion, "Bringing out the best" in students of all abilities and backgrounds. Visit website

Part of The Howard Partnership Trust

Curriculum in the Early Years

At Kenyngton Manor School we recognise that the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) of education for children has a distinct identity and is fundamental in providing an essential base both academically and socially in a child’s education.

It is also the foundation upon which the rest of the curriculum will be built. The curriculum in Years 1 to 6 is rooted in the knowledge and skills learnt in the Early Years. 

We aim to:

  • provide a well-planned, carefully structured and resourced curriculum, in partnership with parents and carers, to take children’s learning forwards and to provide opportunities for all children to succeed in an atmosphere of care where they feel valued.
  • provide a welcoming environment for children and their families
  • ensure that all children feel included, secure and valued
  • establish positive relationships with parents
  • keep parents well informed about the curriculum and their child's progress
  • build on what children already know and can do and to celebrate achievement
  • help children make links in their learning
  • stimulate positive attitudes and dispositions to learning
  • encourage independence
  • value children's interests, providing a balance of direct teaching and child initiated activities
  • help children build friendships and learn to co-operate with each other
  • provide a solid foundation in the six areas of learning through well planned, rich and stimulating experiences
  • make careful observations in order to support and extend children's learning appropriately
  • to ensure that children with special educational needs are identified and receive appropriate support.

There are seven areas of learning and development that shape educational programs in the Foundation Stage. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

The Prime Areas are:

  • communication and language (CL);
  • physical development (PD); and
  • personal, social and emotional development (PSED).

Children are also support in the following specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.

The Specific Areas are:

  • Literacy (reading & writing) (L);
  • Mathematics (Number & Shape, space and measure) (M);
  • Understanding the world (UW); and
  • Expressive arts and design (EAD).

At Kenyngton Manor School we recognise that children learn best though play and direct experiences.

The learning environments across the EYFS are designed to reflect the seven areas of learning.  Each has a writing/mark making area, role play area, maths area, a creative area, a small world area, a construction area and a sand and water area.  Each classroom has a carpet area for group work and an interactive white board.  Free flow between the two environments is encouraged. The children enjoy a wide range of activities, learning through whole class inputs, group work and one to one focused learning activities. There are opportunities for adult initiated and child initiated activities every day linked to themes taken from the children’s interests and ideas. 

Our shared outdoor area is accessible from the classrooms. In all types of weather children enjoy a large range of physical activities as mentioned above, as well as a mud kitchen, a digging area, a static climbing frame, a music area and a wildlife garden.  The children enjoy observing the environment outside change, watching the leaves fall, animals, birds and insects emerge. We take care to protect and respect our natural environment, finding ways to nurture and encourage the animals and plant life.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

This area of learning involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others;

to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. PSED development feeds into all subjects of the national curriculum. We ensure that the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded in our practice. An example of this is when the children share views on what the theme of their role play area could be with a show of hands, this is democracy in action.  

Physical Development

This area of learning involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement.

We have an extensive outside area for the children to develop physically through large movements. The children will also develop their fine motor control so that they are able to hold a pen/pencil and use it to form recognisable letters. They will understand how their bodies feel when they exercise and will begin to gain more control when using different P.E. equipment.

Communication and Language

This area of learning involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations. We give the children opportunities to talk and listen to each other in a variety of situations inside and outside and we encourage good communication skills through clear modelling.

Literacy

Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write.

We provide writing resources for both indoor and outdoor play enabling a range of opportunities to write for different purposes about things that interest children. We plan fun activities and games that help children create rhyming strings of real and imaginary words.

Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest. We have a language rich environment to enable print to be seen inside and outside. We provide daily systematic synthetic phonics sessions using the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Approach. 

Maths

Maths is everywhere! It involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures. The children have opportunities to explore number, shape, space and measure inside and outside.

Understanding the World

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

Expressive Arts and Design

Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.