St. Finian's Catholic Primary School

In EYFS, we maximise the amount of time that children are actively engaged in learning and play; we use a successful early years model that uses the power of play and magic of childhood to engage children and put them at the heart of their learning (for more information, see... www.canigoandplaynow.com). We are particularly inspired by the work of renowned early years practitioner - Greg Bottril. 

This philosophy follows the principles of the ‘3 Ms’ to facilitate learning by: 

• Making Conversation
• Mark Making
• Mathematics

Through 'Making Conversation', we facilitate high-quality talk throughout the EYFS setting, in the following ways...

• Adult to Child Chat - facillitating conversations with all children to develop their language and communiction skills
• Child to Child Chat - enabling conversations between children through access to talk friendly spaces in the environment, inluding dens, seating areas and a cosy reading corner
• Access to Vocabulary - exploring and extending vocabulary through regular reading and book talk as well as poetry and story telling
• Commentary Play - adults narrate what they or children are doing during play

This ‘M’ incorporates reading and writing.  We carefully plan opportunities to introduce writing or mark making into play. 

Below are some of the ways we do this:

• Mark making opportunities in all areas, for example shopping lists in cooking area, labelling in construction area and painting in the art area.
• Using a variety of materials – chalk, paint brushes, pens, choice of paper, vertical surfaces etc.
• Message Centre – encouraging mark making and written communication without worrying about ‘getting it right’ or calling it a ‘writing or drawing area.
• Opportunities to practise skills taught in discreet phonics sessions

Through the 3 'M's, children develop crucial muscle and movement skills (vital aspects of the EYFS curriculum), for example- developing fine motor control precedes the ability to hold a pencil and form letters. We encourage children to be physically active throughout the day facilitated through our extensive outdoor environment, allowing children to balance, climb, dig, travel up and down slopes and lift heavy items.

Reading and Books: Books are central to our childrens' everyday learning. We fill our early years classrooms with beautiful and inspiring texts; these are carefully chosen to engage their imagination and stimulate quality discussion, linking to every aspect of the curriculum and helping to make links through children's own experiences from both inside and outside of school.

Poetry: We explore poems from our class ‘Poetry Basket’. We learn, perform and enjoy reading poems repeatedly, reinforced through simple actions that help to emphasise expression and ensure they 'stick' in children’s memories.

Cooking: Cooking skills are introduced gradually over the course of the year (mixing, seifting, chopping etc), including following basic recipes; children practise these skills independently in the cooking area of our classroom.

Roleplay: Roleplay enables children to imagine and play out familar situations. During roleplay, children introduce their own ideas and apply newly learnt language structures and vocabulary alongside their peers. A more structured form of roleplay can be found in our 'Helicopter Story' sessions. This approach developed by renowned early years practitioner, Vivian Gussin Paley, incorporates story telling and story acting. Children take the lead by creating their own story narrative and acting out the plot, using their class peers as the characters. 

Woodwork: From the beginning of the year, children are safely taught basic woodwork skills in the woodwork area on the terrace (hammering nails, sawing). This enables them to plan and make their own creations in the woodwork area on the terrace.

Art: The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. Children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. This also supports the development of their fine motor skills which are closely linked to early literacy skills.

Challenges: Children are encouraged to become independent learners, with access to weekly challenges, set up throughout the classroom e.g. writing their own name, creating 3D structures using lolly pop sticks, completing simple maths tasks.

Drawing Club: Drawing Club is part of the daily routine in EYFS. Each week, we choose one story; each day, there is a different focus for children to explore and talk about with an adult whilst drawing.